This week saw the Patients Association actively participating in the Labour Party conference. Our engagement centred around presenting at fringe panel events and holding key meetings with Labour Party members, focusing on critical issues in healthcare for patients.

We presented on important panels during the conference, focusing on key areas such as:

• Self care and prevention
• Health Inequalities         
• Care Closer to Home
• Patient partnership and the design and delivery of services and shared decision making

During these panels and in our key meetings, we emphasised several crucial points:

• The struggle to access healthcare appointments and the urgent need for action
• Providing care in local communities rather than large hospitals.
• The importance of care co-ordination and joining up care around patients
• The need for genuine two way communication and accessible information
• The importance of treating patients as equal partners in their care, sharing our patient partnership principles and discussing initiatives to better help patients to be prepared and informed for their healthcare journey.
• Drawing from our research with the British Red Cross and projects involving low-income and racially marginalised groups, we outlined challenges such as digital exclusion, lack of adaptation for various health conditions, information barriers, and social determinants of health.
•  Discussed the need for a well-trained, well-supported workforce to deliver high-quality, patient-centred care.

Our key meetings and discussions with Ministers, MPs and fellow stakeholders allowed us to delve deeper into these issues. We discussed potential initiatives such as providing accessible health information, implementing shared decision-making practices, and collaborating with patients to co-design health resources and services.

The response to our presentations and ideas was encouraging. There was genuine interest in understanding how to better involve patients in the healthcare system, address the current crisis in primary care, reduce health inequalities, and develop a robust NHS workforce.

As we move forward, the Patients Association will continue to advocate for these changes. We believe that bringing care closer to home, combined with a strong focus on patient partnership, preparedness, and a well-supported NHS workforce, is a powerful strategy for creating a more equitable and efficient healthcare system.