I’m still spooked when I walk through the portal of St Mary’s Hospital Paddington. Memories of my patient journey through the hospital’s intensive care and high dependency wards remain vivid. […]
Patient and public perspectives
Angela Coulter: What does the NHS long term plan promise for patients?
Few patients are likely to wade through all 136 pages of the NHS long term plan, but those brave souls that do will find it contains quite a bit of […]
Sara Yaron: Meaningful involvement as a patient reviewer for Cochrane
I have been a member of the Cochrane Consumer Network for many years. Over this time I have responded to many requests to comment as a patient user or “consumer” […]
Savia de Souza: Renaming a disease is only part of the solution
I have had rheumatoid arthritis for nearly a decade now. I used to think that it only affected hand joints and caused them to deform. That was until I got […]
Sarah Markham: Online tool provides support for people with suicidal thoughts
As an individual with lived experience of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, I was so happy to see “Staying Safe from Suicidal Thoughts” (StayingSafe.net) launched by 4 Mental Health last […]
Matthew Lariviere: We need person centred research for person centred care
Earlier this year, my local haemophilia treatment centre invited me to take part in a clinical trial for a new anti-haemophilia medication. This new medication would involve administering subcutaneous injections […]
Helen Haskell: Improving patient safety? Ask the patient
What do you think of first when you think of patient and family centered care? For many healthcare providers, it’s about providing information to patients in a way that they […]
Sarah Markham: Dealing with iatrogenic harm in mental health
When the prime minister Theresa May commissioned the current independent review of the Mental Health Act (MHA), she committed to dealing with “the burning injustice of mental illness.” One aspect […]
Jeremy Smith: The malady of boredom
For patients experiencing long hospital stays, the hardest part to endure may not be the pain or inconvenience of treatment but boredom, says Jeremy Smith […]
“Researchers don’t know what they’re missing”—the impact of patient involvement in research
Through their experience of living with a health condition, patients gain experiential knowledge that no one else has. Researchers working in health research typically lack this knowledge, but often don’t […]