Support

Paul Burstow MP, Minister of State for Care Services:
“We need to get better at supporting people to manage their health effectively and to learn to live well.”

Professor Nigel Sparrow, Chair of the Professional Development Board of the Royal College of General Practitioners:
“I believe that giving patients the information and support needed to make informed decisions about their own health and the healthcare they receive is vital to improving the public’s general health.  Many GPs and nurses already do this, but I hope the e-learning module will provide clinicians with more opportunities to develop and enhance their consultation skills.”

Dr Michael Dixon, Chairman of the NHS Alliance:
“Increasingly there are stark choices to be made around healthcare.  We need to make sure patients feel empowered and supported by us so they can make informed and responsible decisions.”

Dr Laurence Buckman, Chair of the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee (GPC):
“Patients will self-treat if they have already done so successfully and have easy access to information which shows that they’re doing the right thing.”

Stephanie Varah, CEO, National Association for Patient Participation:
"We need people to understand that the self-care message is not about telling you not to access your GP, it is about why it is important to look after yourself and how to help the NHS help you.”

Lynn Young, primary care advisor, Royal College of Nursing:
“We need to inspire people to live differently, and the only good reform is the one that promotes self-care and looking after yourself…Time spent on self-care is time saved further down the line.”

Sue Summers, assistant director of quality assurance and self-care, NHS North West Strategic Health Authority:
“Education of GPs is critical if we’re going to have behavioural change - this is about a movement.”

Dr Beth McCarron-Nash, UK General Practice Committee (GPC) negotiator at the BMA:
“Shared care is the way of the future, and this not only means that patients must have the right skills - GPs also need to change their behaviour.”

Dr Ian Banks, president, Men’s Health Forum:
“The debate is now over and the time has come to stimulate action towards greater self-care. We have to empower people along the right roads.”