Public Involvement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public Involvement - Essay Example A good amount of research has gone into exploring how patients can be incorporated into the Health Care Planning process. The underlying principle of shared decision-making is that professionals and patients exchange information about treatment options and preferences, and through negotiation find solutions to the existing problems. The involvement of patients in healthcare service planning and evaluation is thought to increase accountability to tax-payers, better identify and meet their needs, and broaden the value base underlying evaluation (Gagliardi et al. 2007). A recent government policy in the UK, issued in 1999 and reviewed in 2002, under the title of ‘Patient and Public Involvement in the new NHS’, has stressed the need â€Å"to involve patients, users, carers and the public in health and health services, highlighting the opportunities which the Government’s NHS reforms offer to develop effective patient and public partnership† (HSC 1999/210 p. 2). All over the world an awareness campaign has taken birth to understand the implications of public participation and their impacts. (Anderson et al. 2006). Pollitt (2003) used a quotation from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to list some of the motives the governments are trying to employ to enhance the quality of services. It states, â€Å"†¦if service users participate, then surely they will know best what they want?† (Pollitt 2003: p. 100). It is also to escalate the credibility of policy decisions in trying to make the general public feel part of the process. It states, â€Å"This is not just our "political" decision making, it is yours too, because you participated in it† (Pollitt 2003: p. 100). As Farrell (2004) points out, the outcomes of public involvement increases the confidence, understanding and skills of the people who participate. It also