Politics and elections

2021 - Letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Our Chief Executive wrote to the Health Secretary in November, calling on him to act to protect the NHS. We made three specific suggestions on what ought to be done.

2021 - Letter to the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Our Chief Executive wrote to Sajid Javid to congratulate him on his appointment as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and affirm our willingness to work with the Department.

2019 - Letter to the new Prime Minister
Our Chief Executive wrote to Boris Johnson to congratulate him on his appointment and set out priorities for health, care and wellbeing.

2019 - Letter to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer
Our Chief Executive wrote to Sajid Javid to congratulate him on his appointment and set out priorities for spending decisions in respect of health, care and wellbeing.

2019 - Letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Our Chief Executive wrote to Matt Hancock on his re-appointment as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to make him aware of her letters to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, and affirm our willingness to work with his Department.

2017 – Policy statement – Recommendations ahead of the general election
We made five key recommendations to all parties at the 2017 general election, as part of our Vote4theNHS campaign. These related to funding, service transformation, person-centred care, safety and compassion, and Brexit.

2017 – Policy statement – Reaction to the general election result
The 2017 general election produced a hung Parliament, in which the previous Conservative Government remained in office. Our reaction piece outlined the implications for health and social care.

Latest

Take your chance to shape the future of medical practice

The General Medical Council (GMC) is consulting on an updated version of Good medical practice, its overarching ethical guidance for all doctors working in the UK. Neil Tester, deputy chair of the GMC’s Good medical practice advisory forum, explains why it’s important for patients to have their say.
Snapshot of health professionals' attitudes to shared decision making

Our latest report, Shared decision making from the perspective of clinicians and healthcare professionals, is based on the views of more than 1,400 professionals. We highlight our findings in this infographic.
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.
Health professionals back patient involvement in their own care, Patients Association survey finds

But workforce crisis prevents patients from participating fully in decisions about their care

The long road to recovery

The number of people waiting for hospital treatment is now 6.1 million, including 300,000 who have been waiting a year. We analyse the elective recovery plan and the integration white paper from a patient point of view.
Act now to protect the NHS

The Patients Association calls on Sajid Javid to prevent ‘catastrophic winter’ in a letter to the Health Secretary
Social care changes: how will the new charging system work?

What is the 'cap' and the 'floor' in the new plans for charging for social care? We give an explanation.
Pandemic Patient Experience II: Delays and cancellations

Most respondents to our survey had experienced delayed or cancelled appointments.
Pandemic Patient Experience II: Staying away from care?

We found that it was more common during the pandemic for patients to try to access care but struggle than to stay away voluntarily, although both happened.
Pandemic Patient Experience II: NHS 111

Our survey showed a modest increase in use of NHS 111 during the pandemic, and a mix of patient experiences - more positive than negative, but still with some cause for concern.
Pandemic Patient Experience II: Access to services

Patients told us about the difficulties they encountered accessing care during the pandemic, with GP services a particular problem.
Pandemic Patient Experience II: Vaccinations

Patient feedback about the vaccination programme has been very positive, with most respondents to our survey finding appointments easy to arrange and reassuring to experience.
Pandemic Patient Experience II: Shielding

We found that many people chose to shield themselves without having been told to do so, and not in line with official NHS advice.
Pandemic Patient Experience II: what patients told us

An overview of the findings of our report Pandemic Patient Experience II.