Nhs england

This is the report of a project commissioned by NHS England in support of its Commitment to Carers programme. The focus of the work was to scope exemplar models of support for older carers, and carers of people with dementia (of any age). The project reviewed existing literature and knowledge and used this as the foundation for examining developments with invited third sector organisations using an on-line questionnaire and additional semi-structured interviews.

This guide sets out key principles to ensure that patient, carer and public voices are included in governance frameworks for commissioning and service development in the NHS and health care services. It also includes practical steps to put these principles in place and contains links to supporting material. The guide is based on a review of research, best practice reports and the views of stakeholders. It aims to support clinical commissioning groups and others to plan and deliver good patient and public participation. One of four guides developed by NHS England with their partners.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 introduced significant amendments to the NHS Act 2006. This guidance supports two legal duties, requiring clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and commissioners in NHS England to enable patients and carers to participate in planning, managing and making decisions about their care and treatment through the services they commission; and to enable effective public participation in the commissioning process, so that services provided reflect the needs of local people.