Work with us

What we offer

The Patients Association has six decades of experience of working with patients from all walks of life and supporting organisations to partner with patients and communities to improve services.

We are dedicated to supporting patient organisations to support their engagement with patients and carers.

Our work with our partners is award winning. In July 2023 we were awarded a Gold standard in the Ovid Patient Partnership Index for the AMR Patient Shield Project. This project co-produced resources for patients and carers of things to consider when deciding about antibiotics.

Learn more about our work in four key areas with healthcare organisations and read about some of our recent projects in the sections below. We offer services in:

Patient Engagement

Training and Development

Patient Support

Understanding Patient Perspectives.

If you would like to learn more about how your patient, carer and community engagement work can benefit from working with us, contact our Head of Programmes, Shivani Shah, for more information on our projects and partnerships [email protected]

How we facilitate patient engagement

We facilitate partnerships between patients and carers and health and care organisations.

Through focus groups, surveys, and case studies, we enable a two-way conversation between patients from diverse backgrounds and organisations, the co-creation of resources and tools, and the sharing of insights.

We have a track record of work supporting patients from over-looked communities. Recent work with the British Red Cross, N ottingham and Nottinghamhire Integrated Care Board and Engage Britain have all successfully involved patients and carers from ethnic minorities, who live with learning disabilities or who live in left-behind communities.

We have a particular focus on encouraging and supporting participation from people who are members of communities whose opinons and experience are often under-represented. The work we did wtih our lived experience advisory group, Patient Voices Matter, has suported our understanding of how to encourage participation from overlooked communities. We continue to refine and develop how we work with people from under-represented communities and the groups that represent them in our work to influence policy and practice in health and social care.

When you work with us, you are assured that you will understand what patients, carers and different communities need and expect from the services you provide.

Contact our Head of Programmes, Shivani Shah, for more information on our work in patient engagement [email protected]

"Working in partnership with the Patients Association has been brilliant. It has amplified the patient voice in the Outpatients Recovery and Transformation Programme at NHS England. Working together ensures we hear the views and experiences of patients to shape our work, and to help develop strategies that better reflect the voices and lived experiences of patients and carers. This is vital partnership work."
Emma Munro
Programme Manager: Delivery and Implementation
Outpatient Recovery and Transformation Programme
NHS England

Latest

Developing GP practice patient groups

We've been working with patient participation groups in Hertfordshire and West Essex for more than a year now. In this workshop, the team review progress to date.
Patients Association statement on planned strike action by junior doctors

Festive season strikes will strike fear into patients waiting for care. We urge both parties to return to talks.
Understanding changes in primary care: your wider general practice team

In this webinar, we’ll look at some of the new professionals patients may see in general practice, such as social prescriber, paramedic and mental health practitioner.
Changes in primary care, understanding the role of the reception team

We had a great panel join us to talk about the plan to recover access to primary care and talk about the new reception team.

Support for ICSs to embed patient partnership in your work

We bring genuine patient engagement and expertise to our collaborations with healthcare organisations. We can support your efforts to work in partnership with patients and communities.
Transforming outpatient services for patients

We supported NHS England to improve patients’ experience of outpatient services, focusing on GP referrals to hospitals. The patient panel and focus group we brought together enabled NHS England to hear the perspectives of diverse communities and work with them to craft recommendations to improve referrals for all patients.
Let us help you understand the patient point of view

We can help organisations understand patients’ experiences and the impact of healthcare on their day-to-day lives.
How we support patients

We empower patients to navigate the complexities of the healthcare system with confidence.
Training programmes tailored to your organisation's needs

We are experts in supporting organisations to integrate shared decision making and patient partnership into their culture.
Transforming outpatient services for patients

We supported NHS England to improve patients’ experience of outpatient services, focusing on GP referrals to hospitals. The patient panel and focus group we brought together enabled NHS England to hear the perspectives of diverse communities and work with them to craft recommendations to improve referrals for all patients.
Hospital Food Review 2020

The Patients Association ran a survey of patients asking them what they thought of hospital food. We were commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care to do this and the perspectives were used in the Hospital Food Review in 2020. The report provided recommendations for improvement, emphasising the importance of meal choices, quality, and the impact of food on patients' overall hospital experience.
Switching to Biosimilars

If you you're asked to switch to a new biosimilar medicine, we have worked with patients, clinicians and pharmacists to create resources to help you decide what’s best for you. There are also resources for healthcare professionals to better engage patients in making decisions about whether to swtich. We were also by three pharmaceutical companies, which supported this work.