The purpose of this paper is to consider the issues which emerge when an autonomous, professional, member‐led organisation attempts to demonstrate its accountability to patients through lay involvement in its standard‐setting processes.
The paper reports a project, which is still in progress and could be described as action research. Data were collected through participant observation in a series of discussions and working groups. A limited literature search was carried out at the start of the initiative but found little which relates to lay involvement in professional bodies.
The paper finds that patient involvement in a professional body is unlikely by itself to be a useful mechanism for delivering greater professional accountability.
The paper is a single case study and can only suggest hypotheses for further research.
The paper shows that professional bodies of various types are increasingly being asked to demonstrate public involvement in their decision making. It is important to identify the most effective mechanisms for this and the limitations inherent in the structures of organisations, which are accountable primarily to their members.
The paper shows that individual doctors are held to account through a number of mechanisms, but little attention has been given to how medical professional bodies can be made more accountable for the collective power they hold. Patient involvement is interpreted within a consumerist model, which focuses on the doctor‐patient relationship and ignores the considerable strategic influence which medical royal colleges exercise within the health service.
