Blogs

Our blogs highlight the voices of people working across the health and social care sector, talking about a range of timely issues.

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- 24 August 2023
I trust the NHS with my data. But should you?
Jacob Lant
I very much believe that better use of data by the NHS has the potential to save lives. During the pandemic we saw this very clearly, with the data sharing rules in a national emergency allowing infection rates and outcomes to be tracked, and for the vaccine programme to be targeted more effectively. In peace time too the NHS has begun to use data more effectively, for example the increased use of the summary care records.
- Communication and administration
- Digital health and care
- 14 August 2023
Winter planning needs a cultural patient centred shift, not just ambitious targets
Jacob Lant, Stella Vig
In the NHS, summers do not last long, and with each passing year, the planning for next winter gets earlier and earlier. Given the pressures we all experienced last year, NHS England have already written out to systems across the country to set out the plans in emergency and elective care.
- Hospital waiting lists
- Communication and administration
- 13 July 2023
“They understand that ‘gut in throat’ moment”: how peer support for a life-changing diagnosis helps people get the right information and make health decisions
Usha Grieve
Compassion in Dying’s ‘Peer Navigator’ project sought to understand how talking to a peer – someone who has walked in similar shoes to you – can help people get the information they need to make decisions about treatment and navigate support.
- Person-centred care
- 6 July 2023
Health inequalities: Disabled people face huge barriers to accessing sexual, reproductive and cancer-screening healthcare
Lorraine Stanley
Lorraine Stanley, Founder and CEO of SWAD, a training organisation that specialises in the area of disability and sex, puts a spotlight on the many barriers facing disabled people in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare.
- Health inequalities
- 13 June 2023
National Voices’ asks for Primary Care
Pavi Brar
As our work advocating for inclusive and person centred care has ramped up in recent years, we have been working hard to use our influence to make what matters to people matter in primary care.
- A vision for the future of primary care
- A shift to multidisciplinary teams in general practice
- Accessible and inclusive communication within primary care
- Primary care
- Communication and administration
- Person-centred care
- Digital health and care
- 31 May 2023
The hidden cost: the cost of living crisis risks leaving people with diabetes storing up health problems for the future
Hannah Poll
Diabetes UK is seeing the impact that the cost of living crisis is having on people who are living with or who are at risk of diabetes. As well as being forced to cut back on essentials in ways which risk their health now, there’s a serious risk that people will be storing up health problems for years to come – and the NHS needs to be prepared for this.
- Health inequalities
- 25 May 2023
Addison’s Disease Day: support for a rare condition
Philippa Sharman
For Addison’s Disease Day, on 29 May, the Addison’s Disease Self Help Group raises awareness of the support needed for those living with a life-threatening rare condition, and the role of the expert patient.
- Lived experience
- Person-centred care
- 23 May 2023
The Healthcare Show 2023: Moving towards a safer, more equal, and personalised experience of care
Lucy Seymour
In April, The Healthcare Show, one of three co-located Health Plus Care events, brought together thought leaders from across health and social care. The host of topics under discussion included acting on inequality to ensure safety for those accessing care, leaning into lived experience, and thinking about elements of health and care more broadly. Attending on behalf of National Voices to determine policy priorities in the sector, the following reflects on my time at the event.
- A vision for the future of primary care
- The Core20PLUS5 Community Connector Programme
- Voices for Improvement
- Health inequalities
- Lived experience
- Person-centred care
- Communication and administration
- Primary care
- 18 May 2023
MS and mental health: Joining forces to amplify voices
Meg Stapleton
This Mental Health Awareness Week, six MS charities have come together to better understand the mental health needs of the MS community. Through coproduction and collaboration, we are working to ensure everyone can access mental health and wellbeing support when they need it.
- Lived experience
- Health inequalities
- 16 May 2023
Step by step: practical approaches to joining up the NHS and VCSE sector
Shilpa Ross
A new King’s Fund report, ‘Actions to support partnership: Addressing barriers to working with the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in integrated care systems’, aims to support leaders in statutory and VCSE organisations by identifying and testing approaches to facilitate more equal partnership working.
- Integrated care