If the 10-Year Health Plan is to deliver real change, patient partnership must be more than a buzzword, it must be the foundation. Patients continue to face disempowerment in a system that often speaks the language of partnership while maintaining deeply unequal power dynamics.

This session from Patient Partnership Week 2025 explored what meaningful patient agency looks like in practice, drawing on real-life insights from our helpline and focus groups. Patients consistently tell us they are left out of decisions, uninformed about their care, and too often treated as passive recipients rather than equal partners.

Chaired by Julie Thallon, former nurse and Chair of the Patients Association, you’ll hear from:

• Ellie Howe, patient advocate and founder of A Note of Hope,
• Ellen Tutton, patient advocate,
• Professor Alf Collins, former NHS England National Clinical Director for Personalised Care and trustee, the Patients Association.

Together, they explored how patient agency isn’t just about empathy but about tangible outcomes that increase life expectancy and improve both patient wellbeing and system efficiency. Join us to explore how true patient power can transform the future of care.

Find out more: https://www.patients-association.org.uk/