London leads the way in innovative healthcare change

This is being done through The Health Foundation’s £5 million Co-creating Health initiative which is being launched today in Hammersmith. It aims to create better partnerships between patients, doctors and nurses and give patients more control over their condition.

Health services in Islington and Haringey, Southwark and Wandsworth are leading the way for the capital. These services will centre around three sites at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, The Whittington NHS Trust and South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. Only five other sites nationwide have been chosen to run this initiative.

Natalie Grazin, Assistant Director at The Health Foundation, said:

“If you have diabetes, or another a long-term condition, everything you do affects your condition and your quality of life. Co-creating Health aims to work with patients to understand how to change their lives for the better and manage their condition.

“We want to change attitudes so that patients no longer think that it’s just the Doctor’s job to improve their health. We need to find better ways for doctors, nurses and patients to work together to improve patients’ lives.

“Co-creating Health aims to meet this challenge through training that gives patients the knowledge to make important lifestyle changes and doctors and nurses the skills to support patients better – in their own home, at their GPs and in hospital.”

Anna Reid, Nurse Consultant for Diabetes at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust hospital, also commented:

“When you consider that patients with long-term conditions only see a health professional for several hours each year, then they really need to have the ability to make informed choices about their own health in a way that’s relevant for them.”

Kate Saxton lives with depression and is involved in the project at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. She said: 

“This project is an excellent innovation. It encourages people to take charge of their own care. People with long-term conditions have a substantial knowledge of their own? condition and it is important that clinicians draw on this expertise to help their patients achieve better recovery.”

Felicity Singh has diabetes and supported the selection process at The Whittington Hospital. She talked about why Co-creating Health is important to her:

“Co-creating Health will give me knowledge and understanding to take more responsibility for my condition. I think that by doing this my quality of life and my health will benefit.”

Paul Corrigan, Director of Strategy and Commissioning at the London Strategic Health Authority said:

“Involving patients in their own health care is not only a decent way to treat them but it improves the medical efficacy of treatment. Helping more people choose health and improving the NHS all depends upon the public and patients understanding the relationship between their own minds and bodies and the treatment medical staff want to prescribe.  A world city such as London is famous for the diversity of its population - better medicine needs these different communities to play a fuller role in helping medical staff to work with them to improve their health.”