Open AccessUndermining patient and public engagement and limiting its impact: The consequences of the H ealth and S ocial C are A ct 2012 on collective patient and public involvement
Author(s) -
Tritter Jonathan Q,
Koivusalo Meri
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
health expectations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.314
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1369-7625
pISSN - 1369-6513
DOI - 10.1111/hex.12069
Subject(s) - legislation , equity (law) , public health , health care , accountability , public relations , government (linguistics) , public administration , political science , limiting , health care reform , health policy , medicine , nursing , law , linguistics , philosophy , mechanical engineering , engineering
Patient and public involvement has been at the heart of UK health policy for more than two decades. This commitment to putting patients at the heart of the British National Health Service (NHS) has become a central principle helping to ensure equity, patient safety and effectiveness in the health system. The recent Health and Social Care Act 2012 is the most significant reform of the NHS since its foundation in 1948. More radically, this legislation undermines the principle of patient and public involvement, public accountability and returns the power for prioritisation of health services to an unaccountable medical elite. This legislation marks a sea‐change in the approach to patient and public involvement in the UK and signals a shift in the commitment of the UK government to patient‐centred care.