Self-care, self-management, illness prevention and personal goals are a vital part of wellbeing for many patients and carers. That’s why the PRSB is building a Patient and People Network, in order to support them in influencing the information that is prioritised for care and decide how it’s shared. 

Covid has changed health and care priorities permanently and we know that digital is here to stay. Our goal is to ensure this can be done in the best way possible to maximise patient benefits and minimise any risks. To do this we have established a people priorities team, made up of patients and engagement specialists, and developed a strategy to help us deliver a programme of work that puts patient needs and priorities at its heart. We will be aiming to expand the team of patients and carers we currently work with, to address the issues that they feel are most pressing as well as work closely with our members’ and partners’ user networks. This will include challenges such as health inequalities, lack of access to information and sharing in decision-making. We appreciate that people’s information needs may be different to the professionals who treat them, but are equally important.  

Our goals will be to work with a more diverse network of people on projects and better support people in sharing their views and concerns. We will be re-evaluating current processes to ensure that topics are accessible and that people feel they can get involved and share their views in a meaningful way to support change within the system.  The new network will also offer support and training where needed. If you’re a carer or someone who has used services in the past and would like to get involved, please contact us on info@theprsb.org.