Patient and public involvement in the restructured NHS

Abstract

Purpose

As it is now some time since the publication of the Health White Paper, and there is currently a pause in the progress of the Health and Social Care Bill through Parliament, it seems timely to look at how the proposed changes to patient and public involvement (PPI) may develop. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the proposals for PPI set out in the legislation and uses the findings of the authors' recent research to examine them.

Findings

The paper argues that the legislation, as currently written, contains nothing that will guarantee a more effective engagement with either patients or the public.

Originality/value

This is a fast moving field at present, and the eventual outcome of this major reorganisation is unclear. This paper uses evidence from previous studies to provide an overview of the issues relating to patient and public involvement in the National Health Service and highlights the potential problems in the proposals as they stand at present.

Citation

Coleman, A., Checkland, K., McDermott, I. and Harrison, S. (2011), "Patient and public involvement in the restructured NHS", Journal of Integrated Care, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 30-36. https://doi.org/10.1108/14769011111164287