CLEAR VOICES

Please note that this episode contains discussions of bereavement.

In this episode we speak to Mary, who lost her granddaughter Maisie to meningitis 17 years ago. 
Mary shares Maisie's experience of meningitis and the long lasting impacts on their family. 
Mary is now a volunteer for Meningitis Now, raising awareness to help others get the help they need sooner.

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode, please get in touch with our Information and Guidance team - https://healthwatchessex.org.uk/speak-to-our-team/ Meningitis Now - https://www.meningitisnow.org/

In this episode we speak to Faye, our newest Young Mental Health Ambassador, about her mental health experiences.

Faye shares how she found out that she has BPD(Borderline Personality Disorder) in a letter at 18 years old and her experiences of mental health treatment.

Faye is now a Miss Continental UK 2025 finalist and uses her modelling platform to raise awareness of mental health. Follow her journey online @fayeex___

If you have been affected by anything discussed on the podcast and would like to seek support, get in touch with our Information and Guidance Team https://healthwatchessex.org.uk/speak-to-our-team/

In this episode we spoke to Heidi, a Police Officer who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, about the challenges she has faced and the support she has received in her career.

Heidi also shares the difficulties she is having trying to access her ADHD medication, since changes made at the beginning of the year mean that she cannot get the prescription from her GP anymore.

If you also have ADHD and have been experiencing the same issues, you can take part in our survey until 7th July - https://healthwatchessex.org.uk/2025/05/shared-care-access-to-adhd-medication/

If you would like to access support for anything discussed on our podcast, get in touch with our Information and Guidance team - https://healthwatchessex.org.uk/speak-to-our-team/

In this episode we're joined by Belle and her mum Lou. Belle was diagnosed with dyslexia in primary school. In this episode they share their experiences of getting Belle diagnosed, the support she has received and how it affects her day to day.

Read more here - https://healthwatchessex.org.uk/2025/05/living-with-dyslexia/

In this episode we speak to Zisan Abedin, who is a former professional cricket player for the Bangladesh national team. Zisan shares how his health and wellbeing was impacted whilst playing professional sport, and how he is changing the culture for young players now as a coach.

Please note this episode discusses mental and physical health.

In this episode we talk to Katie who is the Lead Organiser at Colchester Foodbank.

Katie shares some of the struggles the foodbank are facing with increased demand and the need to move premises. She discusses some of the myths about how the foodbank works and explains how people can access foodbank support if they need it. She also talks about her latest campaign around furniture poverty and how this is affecting the foodbank community.

To find out more about Colchester Foodbank, visit https://colchester.foodbank.org.uk/

In this episode we talk to Katie who is the Lead Organiser at Colchester Foodbank.

Katie shares some of the struggles the foodbank are facing with increased demand and the need to move premises. She discusses some of the myths about how the foodbank works and explains how people can access foodbank support if they need it. She also talks about her latest campaign around furniture poverty and how this is affecting the foodbank community.

To find out more about Colchester Foodbank, visit https://colchester.foodbank.org.uk/

In this episode, we speak to Tara McIntyre. Tara survived a traumatic brain injury following a road traffic accident in 2014 caused by a drink driver.

Tara is sharing her recovery journey in the hope of reaching other brain injury survivors. Tara has her own podcast 'Neuro Nonsense' where she shares bitesize stories about living with a brain injury.

If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode and would like to seek support, get in touch with our Information and Guidance team.

In this episode, we’re talking to Graham and Kaurina, who are

This episode contains discussion of alcohol addiction and

For our final episode this season, we're shining a light on something less talked about when it comes to careers and education - apprenticeships.

At Healthwatch Essex, we're lucky to have several apprentices who bring fresh insights to our various teams. In this episode we meet six of our apprentices - Libby, Sam, Grace, Renée, Alicia and Max - who reveal what doing an apprenticeship is really like.