Roisin's story: Why I volunteer for Healthwatch Lambeth.
"I was drawn to volunteer with Healthwatch Lambeth because I’m passionate about community-driven healthcare and improving the NHS.
I really believe health services should be shaped by the people who use them, and Healthwatch plays such an important role in making that happen.
At the Norwood Open Day, I helped gather feedback from local residents about their experiences with local health and care services and met people from other health organisations. It was great to speak directly with members of the community. The atmosphere was so positive, and it really reminded me that the work we do behind the scenes has a real impact on people’s lives. Putting faces to the community we serve made the purpose of our work feel very tangible.
I also carried out a literature review to support the BRAVE project – Black women’s experiences of care for Fibroids and Endometriosis in Lambeth. I focused on gathering existing evidence, exploring patient experiences, and identifying gaps in research. I was honestly surprised to learn how common fibroids are among Black women, and yet how little research exists on their experiences and access to care.
Finally, I helped design a survey aimed at understanding how health and care services could work better together. The survey targeted members of the public, and it taught me a lot about how tricky it can be to create questions that are both accessible and robust — short enough for people to complete easily but detailed enough to gather meaningful insights.
Volunteering with Healthwatch has been a great bridge between my studies and the kind of work I want to do in the future.
It’s made me appreciate just how powerful it is when communities have a real voice, and how much impact initiatives can have when they’re shaped by the people they’re meant to serve.
I recently finished my master’s in public health, and I’m hoping to build a career focused on shaping more inclusive and accessible healthcare systems, both locally in Lambeth and across the UK."
