Consumers or Citizens? Whose Voice Will Healthwatch Represent and Will It Matter?; Comment on “Challenges Facing Healthwatch, a New Consumer Champion in England”

Abstract

Efforts to achieve effective and meaningful patient and public involvement (PPI) in healthcare have existed for nearly a century, albeit with limited success. This brief commentary discusses a recent paper by Carter and Martin exploring the “Challenges Facing Healthwatch, a New Consumer Champion in England,” and places these challenges in the context of the broader struggle to give a voice to healthcare consumers and citizens. With an overview of what can go right and—perhaps more importantly—what can go wrong, the question remains: will Healthwatch—and other PPI efforts in healthcare—represent the voice of consumers or citizens and will it matter?

Keywords

• Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)
• Consumer Involvement
• Governance
• Representation
• Healthwatch
• England