The patient voice in local, regional and national NHS decisions

Baroness Masham of Ilton, Officer of the APPG on Cancer, chaired a breakout session looking at the current policy on Patient and Public Involvement in national, regional and local structures. Delegates heard a presentation from Angela Coulter from the University of Oxford setting out the current policy environment.

Key issues

Delegates were given a background on the current environment and the importance of involving patients in local, regional and national NHS decisions. Delegates were informed that by engaging patients, this could improve the care process, help to build health literacy, strengthen self-care, ensure safer care, and improve participation in research.

Delegates were informed of the distinction between individual patient involvement and collective or public engagement and the importance of ensuring that patient and public involvement are brought together. 

 

 
A photo from the session.

Some of the key recommendations discussed in the session were: a need to involve more people in PPI (Patient & Public Involvement) and ensure the involvement of hard to reach groups. The session also brought to light a need to make sure there is genuine and impactful patient involvement by using the existing knowledge and expertise of Cancer Networks. It was agreed in the session of a need to improve health literacy and provide adequate training for patients so that they can fully engage in the process. This could be achieved by Providers showing right at the start how they plan on involving patients and the public.