Time to choose - patient choice and the NHS backlog

In this report, developed in partnership with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, we look at variations in NHS waiting times across England and how the right to choose your care provider can enable patients to access treatment more quickly. Read more
Patients ability to work with health professionals undermined by current crisis in the NHS

Doctors, nurses and other health professionals practice and support shared decision making. But, as our latest reports lays out, there are many obstacles preventing them for working this way with patients on a daily basis. Read more
The patient voice: The secret weapon against superbugs

Last year, we held an advisory board with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to discuss how patients could be more involved in the fight against superbugs. Highlights from the meeting are now available. They include suggestions on how important patient partnership is when treating patients with serious infections and the need to look at the threat of superbugs from the patient’s point of view. Read more
Fears for wound care patients after COVID-19 pandemic

One in 50 people in the UK lives with a chronic wound but wound care services are not something we talk about very often. This report, we hope, can start a conversation about the current state of wound care services in the UK, and how they can be improved. Read more

Reports

Patients Association reports cover a range of topics across health and social care.

Through listening to patients, their families and the professionals caring for them, we address issues around access to services, patient engagement, quality of care and patient safety.

Our focus is on improving patient experience, and recommendations in our reports help to form the basis of our future campaigns.

Older reports not published on this website are available on request from [email protected], where we still hold them. Please note that the Patients Association's archives up to c.1996 are held by the Wellcome Collection.

Time to choose - patient choice and the NHS backlog

In this report, developed in partnership with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, we look at variations in NHS waiting times across England and how the right to choose your care provider can enable patients to access treatment more quickly. Read more

Patients ability to work with health professionals undermined by current crisis in the NHS

Doctors, nurses and other health professionals practice and support shared decision making. But, as our latest reports lays out, there are many obstacles preventing them for working this way with patients on a daily basis. Read more

The patient voice: The secret weapon against superbugs

Last year, we held an advisory board with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to discuss how patients could be more involved in the fight against superbugs. Highlights from the meeting are now available. They include suggestions on how important patient partnership is when treating patients with serious infections and the need to look at the threat of superbugs from the patient’s point of view. Read more

Fears for wound care patients after COVID-19 pandemic

One in 50 people in the UK lives with a chronic wound but wound care services are not something we talk about very often. This report, we hope, can start a conversation about the current state of wound care services in the UK, and how they can be improved. Read more

Patient experience before the omicron wave: the storm before the storm

We have warned of how the health emergency has disrupted the relationship between patients and the NHS. Our latest survey shows things have worsened for some patients, and we worry for the long-term consequences. Read more

Making shared decision making everyday practice

Our report finds shared decision making provides benefits to patients and the health service. But patients, and the professionals, face many barriers in making it work in practice. We make several recommendations on how to make shared decision making a reality. Read more

Latest

NHS England introduces new decision support tools for patients and explains why they’re so important for patient partnership

Aimee Robson, Deputy Director at the Personalised Care Group NHS England, introduces new decision support tools for patients and explains why they’re so important for patient partnership.
Stop the decline in NHS services - our call to action to the Secretary of State

We watched, aghast, this week at two television reports showing the dire state the NHS is in. The reports, as well as warnings from the NHS Confederation about the threat to patient safety because of staff shortages, prompted us to write to Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State.
Patient Voice is back

Our membership magazine Patient Voice took a break over the worst of the pandemic, but it’s back bigger than before and packed with news, features and stories about our members and us.
Healthcare organisations explained

There are lots of organisations that provide health services. Members of Patient Voices Matter told us that this can be confusing. So we've created a short document to explain some of them.