The Patients Association Podcast

About this event Are you struggling to fund specialist care? Find out whether NHS Continuing Healthcare could be the answer. The cost of specialist care is a key concern for families. For those with long-term complex health needs, there is help available with a fully funded package of care, NHS continuing healthcare. Yet many potential recipients are missing out, due to lack of awareness, misinfor...

About this event This webinar explored why many patients still feel unheard, confused, or excluded when communicating with the NHS. The discussion examined whether NHS communication is truly designed with patients, or simply delivered to them, alongside the growing balance between digital efficiency and meaningful human interaction. Panellists considered the importance of trust, transparency, and...

About this event This webinar explored the inequities that shape patients' access to treatment and care, and why many people still face barriers to receiving timely, effective support. The discussion examined the structural challenges within the health system that affect uptake and adoption of treatments, including why innovations can take so long to reach patients in practice. Panellists also con...

About this event This webinar explored how organisations can partner with   patients in the use of health data, placing trust and transparency at the heart of decision-making. It examined how technology currently uses patient data to support improvements in research and care, why involving patient panels is essential, and how this supports better outcomes and public confidence.   The session highl...

About this event This webinar assessed progress to date on the 10 Year Plan's commitment to give "power to the people" by amplifying patient voice, expanding patient choice and reprioritising people's experiences of care.   The conversation was facilitated by Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan, NHS doctor and author of Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing, and was tailored to what progress has been made...

Our panel explored whether patients' goals, values, and preferences genuinely shaped the care they received. A patient, as well as colleagues from a Welsh Government sponsored public body, a charity, and a think tank, shared real-world insights from patients, highlighting where care did and did not reflect what mattered most to people, particularly for those from underrepresented groups. Discussin...

About this event This webinar gave an overview of what patients can expect from NHS England's updated guidelines on working with people and communities. We discussed how the NHS in England can maximise patient engagement, ensuring that the patients and communities it serves are truly at the heart of everything they do. The panel reflected on how patients can be activated to engage further with the...

In this fireside chat, Habib and Rachel explored the root causes of health inequalities and why building trust with communities is essential to improving outcomes. Reflecting on lessons from the pandemic, they considered what has changed - and what still needs to. The conversation also looked ahead to the growing role of AI in healthcare, alongside the important work of addressing bias in clinical...

There are many reasons why missed appointments happen, and some of the causes can be complex. 'Missingness' can have poor outcomes for patients and research shows that those who experience the greatest health inequalities are at highest risk. This webinar looked at missed appointments, or 'missingness'. Our panel explored the reasons why patients might miss their health appointments, from practica...

If the 10-Year Health Plan is to deliver real change, patient partnership must be more than a buzzword, it must be the foundation. Patients continue to face disempowerment in a system that often speaks the language of partnership while maintaining deeply unequal power dynamics. This session from Patient Partnership Week 2025 explored what meaningful patient agency looks like in practice, drawing o...

We were delighted to host a conversation with Sir Jim Mackey, Interim Chief Executive of NHS England, hosted by Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, as part of our Patient Partnership Week 2025. In this important conversation, Jim and Rachel discussed how NHS leaders and systems can work with patients to shape a more transparent, accountable and patient-focused NHS. This is a...

"Doctors aren't listening, and it is making us unwell". In her book, 'Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing', Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan takes us on a journey to show how not listening to patients has been ingrained in medicine since its inception. Join our Chief Executive Rachel Power, in a fireside chat with Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan, as they discuss the importance of engaged listening and its pla...