To provide an overview of the learning from four practical programmes that explore different aspects of patient participation in healthcare provision.
To describe the origin and rationale for each project or programme, and to summarise the learning from it.
At a variety of levels, involving patients in the design of care services can provide new insights, and leads to more patient‐focused and locally appropriate solutions. Engaging patients appropriately is not a trivial exercise, and those that are engaged need appropriate support, but the resulting solution is often more widely applicable than is first anticipated and can be cost‐neutral.
The active participation of patients in the design and provision of care is a widely voiced public and professional aspiration, but is genuinely realised only rarely. The paper describes the principles, benefits and learning common to four practical expressions of that aspiration.
