About National Association
for Patient Participation

Every person in the United Kingdom has the right to shape the future of primary care. From Shetland to Swansea, from Londonderry to Lincolnshire, we represent 17.5 million patients, all of whom we strive to place at the centre of the primary health and social care agenda.

About National Association for Patient Participation

With more than 40 years’ experience in facilitating and fostering patient participation, our unrivalled knowledge, network and reach enables us to use the grassroots of general practice to ensure the patient voice remains at the heart of local, regional and national decision making.

Recognising the need to address health inequalities, we listen to those who are not always heard and unite those who can make a difference. As a result, our work sees us support and interact with:

Patients – who we educate on the importance of their role in shaping their health and how to go about it
Members – who we equip with the resources needed to establish effective Patient Participation Groups
Primary care professionals – who we connect to create a unique community which has the patient voice at its heart
Policy makers – who we advise on issues relating to patient participation

But above all, we represent every person who strives to improve the health and wellbeing of themselves, their families and their neighbours. We are your supporter, your champion and your advocate. We are the authoritative, go-to voice for patients in primary care.

Mission

We believe that every person in the United Kingdom has the right to shape the future of their care. Established in 1978, our passionate, volunteer-led organisation is the go-to voice of patients in primary care. We facilitate and foster patient participation, ensuring the patients’ interests, perspectives and priorities are at the heart of local, regional and national decision making.

Vision

To see every general practice in the United Kingdom affiliated with an effective Patient Participation Group which impacts the development of primary care policy, so that the quality of services and health outcomes continuously improve.

N.A.P.P. Board

Our Charitable objectves

Encourage patients to take responsibility for their own health and that of their family.

Support the development of forums in the community for patients, carers and health service staff that have benefits for all.

Encourage groups to network with each other locally, regionally and nationally to share learning.

Recognise the need to address the serious health inequalities that persist across the United Kingdom and to be proactive in listening to the voices of those who are seldom heard.

Contribute to the national policy debates to ensure that patients have opportunities to make themselves heard.

Establish the principle that the patient perspective should be crucial evidence in any commissioning decisions that are taken locally, regionally and nationally.

Annual Conference

N.A.P.P. has been holding an annual teleconference since Covid, and this has been found to be very popular. It usually follows our AGM, and is ideal for established PPGs who want to share ideas, and for newly formed PPGs who want to learn from more experienced Groups.

Corkill Award

(PPG of the year)

In recognition of Joe Corkill’s contribution (past chair) to the promotion of patient participation over more than twenty years, the N.A.P.P. Board has established the Corkill Award in his memory. The Award recognises outstanding work by a PPG in the preceding year.

PPG Awareness Week

May – June

PPG Awareness Week aims to promote the role and benefits of PPGs to patients, the public and health professionals, to create more understanding of the value of true patient participation also to promote the support available from N.A.P.P.

Our Partners

N.A.P.P. is an influential UK wide champion of the patient voice in health issues, policy development and academic research working closely with leading politicians, policy makers, health professionals and academics the voluntary sector and public at large.

Regularly contributing to the highest level of debate at the House of Commons All Party Parliamentary Group and national policy forums, N.A.P.P. ensures the voice of patients in the community informs decision making at political, system wide and practice levels.

N.A.P.P. is collaborating with a wide range of national partners to:

Promote and support effective meaningful patient participation as a core principle in all aspects of health care

Ensure provision of the most appropriate and effective support to practices, PPGs and patients

Raise the profile of PPGs and their potential in empowering patients

To ensure patient participation continuously drives quality improvement

Current Partners

A key strategic aim of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is to shape the future of general practice, ensuring that the profession is strong and sustainable. With general practice at the very heart of the evolving service delivery structures, the RCGP is perfectly placed to support and facilitate collaborative working of GP practices, supporting them to deliver new models of care to better serve the needs of patients.

https://www.rcgp.org.uk/

To highlight the support available from N.A.P.P. to Practice Managers in implementing the Patient Participation DES including some dedicated sessions for Practice Managers to share ideas and good practice. The Practice Management Network (PMN) is a national community run by practice managers for practice managers. The Network offers support and opportunities to share, develop and influence.

https://napc.co.uk/pmn/

The Self Care Forum, NHS North West and the Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB) as the national patient champion to the self care campaign harnessing a ‘bottom up’ patient-led approach through PPGs by developing guidance for PPGs on self care and exploring how PPGs can assist practices in conveying self care messages to patients.

http://www.selfcareforum.org/
http://www.selfcareforum.org/fact-sheets//

NHS England and NHS Improvement leads the National Health Service (NHS) in England /

https://www.england.nhs.uk