Empowering the patient

couple in waiting room © Melanie Wagner

Doctors and patients may see health through a very different lens.  Doctors are armed with knowledge about how illnesses affect people in general, and how to treat them.  Patients have information about their own experiences in particular.  These pages will contain a growing bank of information about how patients respond to illness and the healthcare system.  We look at how a collaborative, rather than top-down, approach to dealing with illness helps people to recover more quickly, or at least cope more easily.

What patients want from doctors

Pat Lister has worked in the health service for many years.  She has also had a series of chronic illnesses since she was a teenager.  In September 2007 she spoke at the Royal College of Physicians about her experiences as a patient.  Her story of everyday un-integrated care underlines why collaboration between doctors and patients is so important.

Why do patients turn to complementary and alternative medicine?

Dr Felicity Bishop is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, with a background in health psychology.  She argues that, with 46% of people using a CAM intervention at some time in their lives, it's important to understand what motivates people, and what the implications may be for mainstream health provision.

The mind and spirit in health

Father Fergus Capie, Director of the London Interfaith Centre explores what he's learned from Buddhism about how mental attitude can affect our health.

Empowering the patient news