The Patients Association is an advocacy group operating in the UK that aims to improve patients' experience of healthcare. Established in 1963, it became a registered charity in 1991. The Patients Association works with patients directly: they are its members and supporters, and also the people who benefit from the organisation's help and advice services.
Activities
The Patients Association's current projects include:
The organisation runs a national helpline, "providing specialist information, advice and signposting to help people navigate the often complex world of health and social care." The helpline operates a telephone service and also responds to enquiries by email, post and through its Live Chat service. Helpline advisers do not provide medical or legal advice to callers. The Association reported in its 2018 Annual Review that 96 per cent of helpline callers would recommend the free service to friends and family members. The types of organisations the Association's helpline receive calls about range from A&Es to dentists, but care at GP practices and patients’ experiences as outpatients account for almost half of all enquiries.
Funding
The Patients Association's income for 2016 was £254,862 and it held reserves of £471,604 at the end of the year. It receives most of its funding from individual and corporate membership which the organisation says "ensures that we do not have to receive core funding from Government; therefore, we can represent the interests of patients alone." It receives a smaller amount of funding through donations from patients, the public, and grant giving charitable organisations.
The Patients Association was set up in 1963 by Helen Hodgson, "a part-time teacher who was motivated by recent events concerning the drug Thalidomide, and reports of patients receiving the wrong treatment and tests being carried out on patients without their informed consent." Over the years the association has monitored trends in patient satisfaction and opinion; promoted the voice of the patient in NHS and private healthcare; represented the patient's viewpoint to official bodies such as the Department of Health, medical and nursing colleges and professional organisations such as the British Medical Association and General Medical Council; provided an advisory service for patients and their relatives; offered patients the opportunity to share their experiences of the whole range of healthcare services; campaigned on issues such as hospital conditions, waiting lists and visiting hours, standards of care, patient consent, codes of practice regarding use of patients in teaching, subject access to medical records, and confidentiality. Dame Elizabeth Ackroyd was the President from 1971 to 1978, and from 1978 she was appointed as the Chair. She was considered the heart and soul of the association in terms of representation on committees and working parties, engagement with the media, attending events, and the day-to-day business and running of the organisation. A source of formidable energy and enthusiasm, as well as running the association, Dame Elizabeth held prominent roles in the National Consumer Council established in 1963, the Consumers' Association and numerous other voluntary organisations. Katherine Murphy was the Director and Chief Executive Officer from 2007 to 2017. During this ten year period, she led and maintained the Patients Association as market leader in the campaigning and lobbying on the subject of patient and carer rights. Under her leadership, the Patients Association established successful relationships with regulators and other bodies. Katherine was the Association's media spokesperson at a national level, representing and defending the organisation's policy and strategy, and calling for reform of the NHS complaints system. Katherine Murphy stepped down in March 2017 http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/News/murphy-steps-down-as-patients-association-ceo-/163990
