Reflecting on Patient Experience Week 2026: Listening to Local Voices Across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
From Addenbrooke’s Hospital to Peterborough City Hospital, patients and families shared their experiences of access to care, communication and support. This feedback is now being reviewed and will help shape the insights we share with service providers in the coming weeks.
Read more about what we heard and how it will inform future improvements across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
During Patient Experience Week, from 27 April to 1 May 2026, the team at Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough spent time out in communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough speaking directly with patients, carers, families and local residents about their experiences of health and social care services.
Over the course of the week, we visited hospitals, GP practices and community health settings across the area, including Peterborough City Hospital, Boroughbury Medical Centre, Botolph Bridge Community Health Centre, Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Addenbrooke's Hospital and North Cambridgeshire Hospital.
Across the week, we:
- Spoke to 415 people
- Collected 152 pieces of NHS feedback
- Gathered 5 Adult Social Care survey responses
- Recorded a total of 157 pieces of feedback
The conversations we had highlighted just how important it is for people to have opportunities to share both positive experiences and concerns about the services they use. From access to appointments and waiting times, to communication, support from staff and continuity of care, local people shared valuable insight into what is working well and where improvements are still needed.
Our busiest engagement day took place at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where we spoke with 89 people in a single day, while strong engagement was also seen at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Peterborough City Hospital.
As part of the week, our CEO, Jess Slater, also featured in an interview with Peterborough Community Radio, discussing the importance of patient feedback, community engagement and ensuring local voices are heard within health and social care services.
Patient Experience Week is an important reminder that listening to people’s real experiences helps shape better services. Every conversation helps us build a clearer picture of the challenges local communities are facing and ensures decision-makers hear directly from the people using services every day.
Over the coming weeks, the feedback gathered during Patient Experience Week will be fully reviewed and processed by the team. Further insights and emerging themes will then be shared with local service providers to help inform improvements and support ongoing work across health and social care services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
We would like to thank everyone who stopped to speak with us during the week, completed a survey, or shared their experiences. Your feedback helps influence change across health and social care services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
