Yvette Cooper drops plan to abolish Healthwatch England, the NHS patient watchdog

UK Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has abandoned plans to abolish Healthwatch England, the statutory independent body that represents patients' views on the National Health Service (NHS) in England. The decision came after objections from MPs and peers across the political spectrum. It is one of several government U-turns on the health service reorganisation bill since Andy Burnham became prime minister in July.

What the new decision means

Healthwatch England and its 150 branches will continue to collect and analyse patient feedback on their experiences of the NHS and point to where services need to improve. Supporters in parliament say the body helps identify areas where care is falling short of patient needs and holds the service to account.

Cooper told the Guardian that patients need a voice in the NHS, and promised to keep both Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch while strengthening them. Gillian Merron, the Department of Health and Social Care minister in the House of Lords, will confirm the change when peers debate the bill on Wednesday. Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parliamentarians had criticised the planned abolition.

Healthwatch has earned respect for reports on problems such as declining patient access to NHS-funded dental treatment and waiting times of years for ADHD assessments. It has also pointed to flaws in communication with patients, such as telling some of them about appointments after the date had passed.

The earlier plan and the criticism

Until now, the government had intended to move Healthwatch's functions to regional NHS integrated care boards and to local councils. Thea Stein, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust thinktank, said abolition would have thrown away the body's independence without addressing why the NHS often fails to listen to patients. The Local Government Association warned it could cause confusion for patients.

Ministers have also dropped plans to axe the Health Services Safety Investigations Body, end councils' automatic seats on integrated care board boards, and remove the requirement for a nurse on every NHS foundation trust board.