Ministers

Government Ministers have formal oversight of the whole health service. You can write to their office about a particular issue to raise awareness of it.

You can find the relevant Minister by reading their responsibilities on the Department of Health and Social Care’s page.

They are unlikely to act without a substantive number of letters and MPs raising the issue, but it is an important step. But prepared for the fact they may also defer the issue to NHS England or your local provider.

Your local MP

Your local MP can play an important role in championing an issue with your NHS provider or at a national level. You can find out who they are here and write to them using our template letter.

Important outcomes you can ask for include:

• Your MP's intervention locally
• Your MP writing to the relevant Minister
• Your MP tabling questions in Parliament and organising a debate.

Making these direct requests will encourage a Minister to get involved in the issue.

If you are working as an individual (not part of a campaign), your MP is most likely to respond to local or personal issues.

Other MPs and Peers

Some MPs and Peers are particularly interested in certain issues, including specific healthcare conditions or general issues that are related issues such as inequalities. They are unlikely to reply to local or individual issues if you are not a constituent, but if you are part of a campaign and you want to seek additional support in Parliament you can write to them for support.

To find an MP or Peer who is interested in a particular issue you can use the simple search function for Parliamentary records to find who has spoken about a particular issue, or search through a list of informal groups where MPs and Peers get together to discuss these issues (known as All Party Parliamentary Groups or APPGs).

Local government

Some health and care services are commissioned by your local government, including social care, and sometimes sexual health services. Local Government can also play a joint oversight role, including through Integrated Care Systems.

You can write to the local councillor responsible for health and wellbeing issues (you can find out who this is on your local council website) or directly to you council. To find out which council covers where you live, use this search function on the Government's website.

NHS England

NHS England leads the National Health Service (NHS) in England and provides funding to Integrated Care Systems and providers to deliver services to patients. It is also directly responsible for a variety of specialised services and for managing the Cancer Drugs Fund.

NHS England is unlikely to get involved in a local issue, but you can write to it about widespread or national problems that affect many patients or about issues with a service or drug NHS England directly funds. For local issues, you are probably better off writing to your local commissioner and MP.

UK Health Security Agency

The UKHSA is responsible for public health, which can cover issues such as sexual health services and vaccinations.

As with NHS England, it is unlikely to get involved in a local issue, but you can write to it about widespread or national problems that affect many patients or about issues with a service or drug they directly fund. For local issues, you are probably better of writing to your local commissioner and MP.

Your local commissioner or trust

Depending on the issue, the policy affecting you may have been set by your local trust or a grouping of health organisations or your local integrated care system. You can write directly to these organisations to appeal the decision.

Use this link to find your local integrated care system in England.

Use this link to find your health board in Scotland.

Use this link to find your health board in Wales.

Use this link to find your trust in Northern Ireland.

Read how to promote your campaign.

Posted 12th October 2022