Patient care (empowerment): the view from a national society

These two papers form the sixth article in a series of seven

This week our series on modernising the NHS (in which we are responding to the prime minister's desire to create a national plan for the NHS) covers patient care (empowerment). We asked two people to respond—from different perspectives. In this article Mary Baker writes from her position as chief executive of a prominent national organisation representing people with a specific chronic disease. In the accompanying article on p 1663 Marie Taylor writes as a patient advocate running a local advocacy service.

These are challenging times. People are living longer, and with old age comes frailty and more long term illnesses. At the same time there is a decrease in the availability of informal carers because of the falling birth rate, changes in family structure, and changes in the role of women in society, with more now taking part in higher education and following a career. An urgent need therefore exists to focus more sharply on families affected by chronic disorders so that their needs can be met appropriately. People want to participate in the management of their illness, and we can no longer afford to waste time, scarce resources, and finance. The challenge is to harness the knowledge of patients—and their desire to manage their own condition—to ensure that resources are used wisely and services provided appropriately.