NHS England has published a new policy on Working in partnership with people and communities. It replaces the following previous NHS England policies:

• Patient and public participation policy (2017)
• Patient and public voice partners policy (2017)
• Working with our patient and public voice partners – reimbursing expenses and paying involvement payments (updated 2021)

The policy sets out how NHS England supports people and communities to be involved in its work. These include patients, service users, carers, families, people with lived experience and other members of the public who make vital contributions to NHS England’s work. The policy sets out the support and governance arrangements in place to enable them to be effective in their roles. It sets out the reimbursements and financial support available for certain roles, including those of patient and public voice (PPV) partners.

Opportunities to get involved

There are many ways that people are involved in having their say about the NHS. These include surveys, one-off events, and ongoing voluntary public voice roles. Not all work is about meetings – more and more, the NHS is getting out and meeting people where they are.

• you could visit the website of your local integrated care system (ICS) to find out ways to get involved in your area. ICS websites often have a page called ‘get involved’
• you could find your local Healthwatch
• NHS England lists opportunities to get involved in our work

Patient and public voice partners and chairs survey 2023

These surveys have closed. The report and findings from these surveys can be requested at: england.engagement@nhs.net 

Additional resources

Please visit resources for people who bring, or work with people who bring, their lived experience to a voluntary role and to find out more about how we work in partnership people and communities, visit working in partnership with people and communities.