NHS England has developed this ‘Bite-size guide’ to principles of participation based on a review of research, best practice reports and the views of stakeholders. The guide also includes some steps you can take to put these principles into practice.

The principles for embedding patient and public voice (PPV) in governance frameworks for commissioning and service development, with practical steps you can take to ensure accountability to the public and those affected by plans and decisions.

Principles and practical steps you can take to ensure you build participation into your programme plans from the outset. This should be read in conjunction with Bite-size guide 4: Budgeting for participation.

This ‘Bite-size guide’ should be read in conjunction with guide 3: Planning for participation. It sets out why it is important to ensure realistic resourcing for participation, in routine business as well as specific engagement or consultation activity, and suggests some practical steps you can take.

This bite size guide sets out the benefits and principles of providing grant funding for the voluntary and community (VCS) sector and suggests some Practical Steps commissioners can take to use grants in the most effective way to support local priorities.

Supporting effective participation from deafblind patient, carers and the public requires knowledge, understanding, planning, support and resource. Understanding the unique challenges of deafblindness and supporting deafblind people to participate will promote effective and inclusive patient involvement.

This guide recommends connecting with those who we find hardest to reach, taking steps to overcome barriers to participation and encouraging everyone to have their say. Working productively together can bring different perspectives in programme development and service planning.

This bite size guide explains the benefits and principals of engaging with patients and the public using online channels, and suggests some practical steps commissioners can take to use these channels to support their strategic objectives.

NHS England is committed to ensuring that public and patient voices are at the centre of shaping our healthcare services. Their views should inform service development. This will mean large consultation pieces as well as smaller, more focused sessions developed to listen to individuals, particularly those who don’t usually engage in public consultations.

To design and deliver high quality patient-centred care, it is vital that public and patient voices are able to shape NHS services. To do this successfully it is important to use the most effective and efficient approaches to participation, including working in partnership with other organisations, at national, regional and local levels.

We should involve patients and carers in decisions relating to their care and treatment and support them to be heard and have their views taken into account. This may include mediation to help resolve areas of concern or conflict.

Every level of our commissioning system needs to be informed by insightful methods of listening to those who use and care about our services. Their views should inform our commissioning processes and service development.

NHS England’s Five Year Forward View, published in 2014, set out new ways of working to support our NHS to improve. A key part of this is having much stronger partnerships with diverse local communities; building on local ideas and using the strengths of individuals and partner organisations to give us new opportunities and ways to improve the health of our communities.

As well as involving people directly in decisions about services, it also means working with community advocates such as local businesses, voluntary groups, volunteers and schools as well as others to help shift the conversation onto preventing ill health, being active in pursuing health and wellbeing and shaping the future of health and care services.

Every level of our commissioning system must listen to, and act on, comments by those who use and care about our services. This feedback should be embedded into our commissioning processes to acknowledge the full value of it. This bitesize guide offers some principles and practical tips on involving carers in healthcare service planning, delivery and evaluation.