News & Events > Patient and public involvement

Through a series of presentations, this one day conference, chaired by Jeremy Taylor Chief Executive National Voices, focuses on the challenges ahead as set out in the Operating Framework and provides important updates on recent changes in Patient Involvement and Empowerment. Sessions include measuring the outcomes of patient involvement in an NHS Trust; empowering patients to lead on quality improvement; learning from patient experience and the power of patients and users to improve services and practice.

Health Minister Edwina Hart has announced reforms to Community Health Councils (CHCs) in Wales following extensive consultation. Under the changes, from 1 April, 17 of the existing 19 CHCs will be dissolved and six new CHCs created in their place, with the same boundaries as the Health Boards. Each new CHC will consist of Local Committees, providing strong local links and having the same boundaries as the local authorities within the CHC's area.

Dr Angela Coulter is hosting a web seminar later this month with the NHS Institute. Prior to the event the NHS Institute have published an editorial piece on the same subject, in which Dr Coulter discussed some of the key issues in shared decision making. Go to the news story on the PiF web site for details of the web seminar.

The Department of Health in England has produced a guide for health and social care managers about LINks. The guide outlines how, through proactive engagement, the needs of a community can be better understood. Working with the local LINk should be a key part of commissioning, running and reviewing health and social care services

Kings College London are writing a handbook of service user involvement in nursing and healthcare research, to help nurses and healthcare researchers to understand service user's expectations about involvement, the types of contributions they can make, and the impact their involvement is likely to have. They are looking for case studies of user involvement to add to the handbook.