The Health and Social Care Act 2012 required each local authority area to set up a Healthwatch organisation. Healthwatch gives people a powerful voice both locally and nationally. Healthwatch Greenwich works to help people get the best from their health and social care services, whether it's improving them today, or helping to shape them for tomorrow. Healthwatch Greenwich is about local voices being able to influence the delivery and design of their services.

Healthwatch Greenwich is commissioned by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to provide the following 6 key functions:

• Gather views and understand the experiences of patients and the public.
• Make people’s views known.
• Promote and support the involvement of people in the commissioning and provision of local health and care services and how they are scrutinised.
• Provide advice and information (signposting) about access to services and support for making informed choices.
• Making the views and experiences of local people known to Healthwatch England (and to other local Healthwatch organisations) and providing a steer to help it carry out its role as national champion.
• Recommend investigation or special review of services via Healthwatch England or directly to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).