The soon-to-be-launched consumer champion of the healthcare sector HealthWatch is like a social care equivalent of the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), it has been claimed.

Writing for The Guardian's Joe Public blog, chair of the HealthWatch advisory group Patrick Vernon hailed the quality of the NHS and suggested the new watchdog - set to begin operations in October 2012 - will help drive better service delivery, satisfaction and patient accountability.

People in social care jobs will receive feedback from patients and the local community from HealthWatch, which is currently classified as a partly autonomous organisation, but has been compared to the independent charity CAB because of its focus on consumer standards.

Mr Vernon said: "We have developed strong ideas on what HealthWatch should look and feel like as a critical friend - inclusive and open to all, irrespective of your economic status, age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, faith and health condition."

In his opinion, the health and social care bill going through the House of Lords will make the NHS accountable for its work in a completely new way.

Health secretary Andrew Lansley this week claimed that the key to the new legislation is that it places clinicians at the heart of the commissioning process, reported BBC News.

The bill will introduce a greater degree of competition among healthcare providers, but Mr Lansley stressed that giving patients more choice over the medical options does not constitute a form of privatisation.