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Welcome to National Voices

We believe in people shaping health and social care services.  We want people to have better quality care and more choice, control and autonomy in the way they receive treatment and services.  We campaign for people to have a stronger voice in the design and delivery of services...read more

LATEST

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Health White Paper: Everyone Needs a Voice
(12/07/10)

Patient and carers’ coalition National Voices welcomes the government’s Health White Paper but warns of the need to stay focused on vulnerable people.

National Voices chief executive Jeremy Taylor says:

"National Voices welcomes the vision of patients and professionals driving change together but it mustn’t just become a charter for the most articulate. Everyone needs a voice".

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The Health White Paper and consultation documents: links
(12/07/10)

For links to the new Health White Paper from Andrew Lansley, along with consultation documents as they are published, visit http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/LiberatingtheNHS/index.htm.

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National Voices media interviews
(12/07/10)

National Voices' chief executive, Jeremy Taylor, spoke to ITV news on 12 July following the release of the new Health White Paper. The footage can be found at http://www.itv.com/news/major-nhs-overhaul83018 at 2:12.

Jeremy also gave a live interview to the BBC News Channel.

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‘The patient will see you now: Rebalancing relationships between people who use services and those who provide them’
(24/06/10)

The Health Service Journal and the Health Foundation have published a supplement, 'The patient will see you now', which explores how changing the interaction between patients and service providers can be a driver for improving quality. National Voices took part in a roundtable discussion which fed into the above.

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Jeremy Taylor on regulation in patient safety
(13/07/10)

National Voices’ chief executive Jeremy Taylor has contributed an opinion piece to the Council of Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) on regulation in patient safety. The article can be found here.

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Health Secretary Delivers First Speech to National Voices
(08/06/10)

Andrew Lansley gave his first speech as Health Secretary yesterSource: Department of HealthSource: Department of Healthday at an event hosted by National Voices in association with the Bromley by Bow Centre in East London, and the Patients Association.

Mr Lansley said patients would become the driving force of improvements to the NHS. Not just as beneficiaries of care but as participants, with shared decision-making. He said health and social care should be better integrated and that he is determined to bring about a shift from top-down culture, to one responsive to patients, where patient safety is put first.

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Patients hold the key to the new Government's NHS solutions
(12/05/10) 

National Voices is calling on the new government to put patients and families at the heart of decisions around health and social care.  Welcoming the appointment of the new Secretary of State for health Andrew Lansley,  National Voices has set out the key issues that must be addressed:

There needs to be a new honesty and realism about the scale of the financial challenge in the NHS and what it will mean for services.

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National Voices in the News
(April - May 2010)

National Voices CEO Jeremy Taylor comments on hospital closures in the The Guardian; on the coalition government on the BBC’s website; and on a new system of appraisals for doctors in Medical News Today. 

Click on the following links for extracts from recent articles in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) on the new government; hospital closures and NHS fast track reconfigurations.

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Checks on doctors: National Voices' chief executive calls for patients to comment
(29/04/10)

National Voices is working with the General Medical Council (GMC) on its consultation around a new system of regular checks on doctors.

National Voices Service Users Panelists are taking part in workshops as part of a nation-wide consultation on the new system, known as revalidation. Meanwhile National Voices chief executive Jeremy Taylor encourages people to respond to the consultation in a GMC podcast.

To see the GMC news release click here

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Hospital closures: National Voices' members call for earlier patient involvement
(March - April 2010)

The media have been picking up National Voices’ call for earlier and better involvement of patients and the public in major service changes.  It was the lead item on the BBC website on 8 April.  Earlier, The Times carried a letter from National Voices with more than 40 signatories.  This was picked up in Paul Corrigan's commentaries as one of two letters which may "change the way in which NHS services develop". The Yorkshire Post and The Health Service Journal (HSJ) carried articles on the same theme. Click here to read an extract from the HSJ article.

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Jeremy Taylor presses for patient rights on Radio 4
(23/03/10)

National Voices' Chief Executive Jeremy Taylor joined an expert panel on Radio 4’s You and Yours programme to advocate for patients on 23 March. Click here to hear a recording.  The phone-in programme covered appointment times, self-care and complaints.  Jeremy questioned the notion of the “worried well”, dismissed a suggestion that people should be charged for access to GPs, advocated better support and information for people with long term conditions and called for improved complaints and feedback handling, echoing a strand of National Voices' current campaign.

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SHARE THE POWER:
National Voices launches pre-election campaign
(11/03/10)

Health and social care are entering a period of political uncertainty and belt tightening. The risks to quality, safety and person-focus are clear.  If change is to be managed successfully, more power needs to be shared with patients and families.  National Voices is calling for:

  • Involving people earlier in decisions about service change and giving them a real say
  • Making it much easier for people to voice concern and give feedback
  • Tackling the continuing culture of medical paternalism

See our briefing paper and press release reporting our new opinion poll for more detail.  We will be working with Government, politicians, the NHS, regulators and the professions to seek these changes.   Contact us if you would like to support our campaign.