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Patients have grown up
and there's no going
back
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Paternalism is endemic in the NHS. Benign and well
intentioned it may be, but it has the effect of creating and
maintaining an unhealthy dependency which is out of step with other
currents in society. Assumptions that doctor (or nurse) knows best,
making decisions on behalf of patients without involving them and
feeling threatened when patients have access to alternative sources of medical information
these signs of paternalism should have no place in
modern health care. The articles assembled in this issue of the
BMJ consider the scope for creating meaningful partnerships between doctors and patients and between health policymakers and local communities.
Partners work together to achieve common goals. Their relationship is
based on mutual respect for each other's skills and competencies and
recognition of the advantages of combining these resources to achieve
beneficial outcomes. Successful partnerships are non-hierarchical and
the partners share decision making and responsibility. The key
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