The Patients Association is an independent patient charity campaigning for improvements in health and social care for patients.

Uniquely for a charity with a remit covering all health and care issues, we work with patients directly: they are our members and supporters, and also the people who benefit from our help and information services. Through our helpline we provide information to thousands of people each year about the health and social care system. 

We also speak to government, the NHS and other stakeholders about patients' priorities and concerns, to ensure the patient voice is heard and acted upon.

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Our purpose

To ensure that everybody can access and benefit from the health and care they need to live well, by ensuring that services are designed and delivered through equal partnership with patients.

Our 2024 annual review

   

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Our strategic focus 2026–2030

As we look ahead to 2030, our ambition is to be recognised as the independent voice advocating for patients, giving them the tools to navigate their care, ensuring their voices are heard, and driving demonstrable change in policy, services, and patient experiences.

Building on our work from 2021–25, our new strategy sharpens our focus on where we can make the greatest difference. We work through a continuous cycle: listening to patients, translating their experiences into robust evidence and using that evidence to influence policy and practice. Our independence allows us to challenge the system when it fails patients. Our credibility allows us to partner effectively with those committed to improvement. And our cross-condition focus means we can identify the systemic issues that others miss.

Download our 2026-2030 strategy (full)

Download our 2026-2030 strategy (short)

We deliver our mission through four connected core services:

Patient engagement: giving patients a voice and practical tools to manage their care, and gathering their experiences to strengthen our campaigns and policy work

Policy influence: championing the patient voice in national policy, working constructively with government and the NHS while holding them to account when patients are let down

National campaigns: leading campaigns on the issues that matter most to patients, raising awareness and driving meaningful change

Project work and consultancy: working with health and care organisations to involve patients genuinely and use their insights to improve services

Everything we do is tested against a simple set of questions: does it advance patient engagement, does it strengthen our policy voice, is it sustainable, and can we do it well?

By 2030, we will have expanded our reach to engage a far more diverse range of patients , including those whose voices are too often overlooked , delivered national campaigns that result in real, documented changes to the system, and established ourselves as the go-to organisation for anybody serious about putting patients at the heart of health and care.

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Our core values ensure we never lose sight of what we're trying to achieve.

 

Diversity: We value diversity by encouraging a trusting, open and inclusive environment for staff, volunteers, patients, and stakeholders.

Dignity and Respect: We treat every person with kindness, respect and dignity.

Inclusive: We welcome people’s differences and believe it is important people are comfortable to be themselves while they are working/engaging with us. 

Partnership: We work in partnership to make things better for patients so everyone can get and benefit from the health and care they need.

These core values serve to guide our decision-making and the strategic direction of the Patients Association, and fundamentally underpin everything we do.

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Board of Trustee's statement on diversity

Diversity goes to the heart of the Patients Association and we are committed to being a diverse organisation, tackling inequality in all its forms. Diversity is at the heart of our purpose to ensure everybody can access and benefit from the health and care they need to live well by ensuring that services are designed and delivered through equal partnership with patients. As an organisation that wants to speak for patients, it is our responsibility to understand the experiences of all patients. We do that by working in partnership with patients and stakeholders.

Health inequalities are increasing. Outcomes for patients from Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority communities, and those from more socially deprived backgrounds are poorer than for patients from more affluent, white communities. If we are to play our part in reducing inequalities, we must first look at ourselves. As a board of trustees we are committed to building and maintaining a board of trustees and staff group that are diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and background.

We recognise diverse perspectives contribute to better decision making and we are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where all board members and staff and volunteers feel valued, respected and empowered to share their unique insights.