Policy and Legislation
Patient Focus and Public Involvement in a Mutual NHS
NHS Boards are required to involve people in designing, developing and delivering the health care services they provide for them. NHS Boards' responsibilities in this area were initially set out in the document 
Patient Focus and Public Involvement (2001).
Policy, Guidance and Legislation
To reflect the importance of their Patient Focus and Public Involvement agenda, duties of public involvement and equal opportunities were placed on NHS Boards in the NHS Reform (Scotland) Act 2004. This Act also required NHS Boards to establish Community Health Partnerships.
Each Community Health Partnership is responsible for developing a Public Partnership Forum as one important means by which it can maintain an effective and formal dialogue with its local community.
The Scottish Government's Better Health, Better Care: Action Plan (2007) set out a vision for the NHS, based on a theme of mutuality that sees the Scottish people and the staff of the NHS as partners, or co-owners in the NHS, giving people a greater say in the services they use. The NHSScotland Quality Strategy (May 2010) seeks to improve the quality of healthcare in Scotland through a range of activities, including measuring the experiences of patients.
To fulfil their responsibilities for public involvement, NHS Boards should routinely communicate with and involve the communities they serve. In February 2010 the Scottish Government published updated guidance on
Informing, engaging and consulting people in developing health and community care services, which is supplemented by guidance produced by the Scottish Health Council. Boards should also follow the principles and practice endorsed in the National Standards for Community Engagement.
There are a number of pieces of work ongoing which underpin this vision and will help to improve patient focus and public involvement in Scotland. These include strengthening the role of Public Partnership Forums and developing a Participation Standard, which will be used to collect systematic, comparable information on good practice and inform future development.