Citizen power will transform the NHS

An article by Dr Neil Bacon, founder of iWantGreatCare, has been published on the Public Service website. Co-written with Professor David Kerr, advisor to the Government, it describes the unique power that the public and patients have to transform the NHS, and ensure that they and their familes get the very best care.

How can the public properly understand what sort of care their local GP, dentist or hospital provides, let alone be part of a process of improving the quality?

Some would say that sort of improvement programme should be left to the government, hospitals and medical professions. However, evidence suggests otherwise. Perhaps in this case, rather than the doctor, it is the patient who knows best.

In order to start this information revolution citizens need unfettered access to two sorts of information: clinical outcome and performance data (hospital infection rates, cancer survival figures) and the shared experiences of other patients.