In recent years, there has been a strong policy emphasis on user involvement. All major healthcare initiatives have included commitments to involving people and communities in decisions that affect them. Two key statements to be aware of are 'The NHS Constitution' and 'Section 242 of the NHS Act'.
'The NHS Constitution' states in Section 2a, ‘Patients and the public’: 'You have the right to be involved, directly or through representatives, in the planning of healthcare services, the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and in decisions to be made affecting the operation of those services.’ For more information, visit www.nhs.uk/nhsconstitution.
'Section 242 of the NHS Act 2006' places a duty on NHS trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to make arrangements to involve patients and the public in an ongoing manner in service planning and operation, and in the development of proposals for change. This duty is supported by the guidance 'Real Involvement: Working with People to Improve Healthcare' (DH, 2008), available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/
PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_089787
This emphasis on involvement has continued with the Coalition Government’s planned changes to commissioning structures outlined in the Health and Social Care Bill 2011. User involvement continues to be as important as ever. GP consortia will be required to actively involve people in their planning and commissioning decisions:
Patients must be at the heart of everything we do, not just as beneficiaries of care, but as participants in its design. We must see the NHS through their eyes – their experience, their outcomes – and make delivering what they want a shared experience and responsibility.
Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health