10 Ways to Embed the Patient Voice in Health and Social Care
In health and social care, embedding the voices of service users and carers is not just good practice—it’s essential for delivering compassionate, person-centred care. My work across public health and social care has shown that when lived experience is genuinely integrated into decision-making, services become more relevant, equitable, and effective.
To move beyond tokenistic involvement, it is important to create multiple and meaningful opportunities for service users and carers to shape the way care is designed, delivered, and evaluated. This is why I developed this infographic as a guide: 10 Ways to Embed the Patient Voice.
From including lived experience in staff training and recruiting into advisory roles, to co-designing services and evaluating impact alongside those directly affected, these approaches ensure that patient and carer perspectives are central—not peripheral.
Embedding patient voice requires recognising the value of lived experience, including providing fair compensation for involvement. It also demands a culture shift: that prioritises working with people.
The challenge now is for organisations to turn these principles into everyday practice. The rewards?
Services that are more responsive, trusted, and capable of delivering better outcomes for all.
To think about - which of these 10 strategies is already happening in your organisation, and which could you start tomorrow?
