Patient and public engagement has been on the NHS agenda for many years, but the impact has been disappointing. There have been a great many public consultations, surveys, and one-off initiatives, but the service is still not sufficiently patient-centred. In particular there has been a lack of focus on engaging patients in their own clinical care, despite strong evidence that this could make a real difference to health outcomes. This paper argues that a more strategic approach is required to create the necessary shift in beliefs, attitudes and behaviours.
This paper was commissioned by The King’s Fund to inform its review of leadership in the NHS.