Blogs

Our blogs highlight the voices of people working across the health and social care sector, talking about a range of timely issues.

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- 16 July 2025
The Accessible Information Standard: Towards mandatory equality in practice
Lucy Seymour, Senior Policy and External Affairs Officer at National Voices
The refreshed Accessible Information Standard recognises that real health equity begins with accessible, understandable information and effective communication across NHS services. For many, equitable access has long been a promise; this update is a vital step towards making it a common practice.
- Accessible and inclusive communication within primary care
- Health inequalities
- 30 June 2025
The new 10 Year Plan: Our hopes and expectations
Clare Woodford, Head of Policy and Influencing, Stroke Association and Helen Kirrane, Head of Policy, Campaigns and Mobilisation, Diabetes UK
Expectations for this week’s 10 Year Health Plan are sky-high. In October 2024, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting launched “the biggest ever national conversation” on the NHS. Charities like ours went out far and wide to talk to our communities, bringing the voices of lived experience and professionals into the conversation.
- Person-centred care
- Lived experience
- Health inequalities
- 26 June 2025
How improving transport support could help us address health inequalities
Sharon Brennan, Director of Policy and External Affairs at National Voices and William Pett, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research at Healthwatch England
Sharon Brennan and William Pett unpack the value of patient transport in breaking down access barriers and makes the case for changes.
- Health inequalities
- Person-centred care
- 24 June 2025
Pride is different this year
Sharon Brennan
Director of Policy and External Affairs, Sharon Brennan shares concerns about the safety and treatment of trans people using NHS services in light of proposed changes to the EHRC code of practice.
- Health inequalities
- Lived experience
- 19 June 2025
Voluntary partners are key: Reflections from NHS ConfedExpo 2025
Elizabeth Hoda
National Voices’ Policy and Projects Officer, Elizabeth Hoda, reflects on key takeaways from NHS ConfedExpo 2025, highlighting the role of the VCSE sector and lived experience ingrained in the event.
- A self assessment and improvement framework for integrated care systems
- Health inequalities
- Lived experience
- 4 June 2025
We aren’t listening to people with long-term conditions – but doing so could save the NHS
Sharon Brennan
In this blog, National Voices’ Director of Policy and External Affairs, Sharon Brennan, shares how listening to people with long-term conditions may be the key to saving the NHS.
- What We Need Now
- I statements
- Communication and administration
- Integrated care
- Person-centred care
- COVID-19
- Digital health and care
- Lived experience
- Health inequalities
- Hospital waiting lists
- 22 May 2025
Crunch time: Putting the finishing touches on the 10 Year Health Plan
Jacob Lant
As the Government reaches crunch time for putting the finishing touches to its 10 Year Plan for the NHS, National Voices Chief Executive, Jacob Lant, share his hopes for the Plan.
- Hospital waiting lists
- Health inequalities
- Lived experience
- Person-centred care
- Integrated care
- Primary care
- 13 May 2025
From Exclusion to Inclusion: Designing for Digital Health Accessibility
Pritesh Mistry, Fellow at The King's Fund specialising in Digital Technologies
Pritesh Mistry, a Fellow at The King’s Fund specialising in Digital Technologies, shares how The King’s Fund identified three fundamental barriers to digital inclusion, and how these challenges can be addressed to create more inclusive and trusted digital health services.
- Digital health and care
- Health inequalities
- Lived experience
- 23 April 2025
Learning to improve: Engaging with communities to tackle health inequalities
Tessa Fulton
National Voices’ Policy Manager, Tessa Fulton, shares her reflections on collaborating with ICSs to learn and improve how community engagement practices can meaningfully address health inequalities.
- A self assessment and improvement framework for integrated care systems
- Health inequalities
- 2 April 2025
Reflecting on National Voices’ Next Generation Network
Lucy Seymour
National Voices’ Senior Policy and External Affairs Officer, Lucy Seymour, reflects on what she has learnt from supporting the development of the Next Generation Network events series, through conversations with attendees and talks from sector thought leaders.
- National Voices’ Next Generation Network
- Lived experience
- Health inequalities