Last Updated on June 13, 2016

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a new report exploring people's involvement in their care. People’s right to being involved in their own care is enshrined in law in the fundamental standards of care. It is an essential part of person-centred care and leads to better and often more cost-effective outcomes. Better Care In My Hands is based on analysis of CQC’s national and thematic reports, such as State of Care, its inspection findings and on its NHS patient surveys. It sets out what enables people’s involvement in their own care and provides examples of good practice, as identified by CQC inspectors.

The reports key conclusions include:

• As reported in recent national patient survey data, just over half of patients definitely felt involved in decisions about their health care and treatment.
• Adults and young people with long terms physical and mental health conditions, people with a learning disability and people over 75 are less likely to be involved in their care than other groups – they report feeling less involved and other evidence demonstrates this.
• Women who use maternity services are particularly positive about how well they are involved in decisions about their care.
• There has been little change in people’s perceptions of how well they are involved in their health or social care over the last five years. A significant minority of people have consistently reported only feeling involved in their care to some extent or not at all over this period.
• CQC has reported a lack of progress over the last six years in involving people in their care when they are detained under the Mental Health Act. Poor involvement in care is the biggest issue the regulator found in monitoring the use of the Mental Health Act in 2014/15.

The report comes at a time when health and social care services need to reconfigure to adapt to the changing needs of their populations. There is an opportunity to make sure person-centred care becomes a reality for more people.

The full report looking at people's involvement in their care,  including the review's key findings, recommendations and data is available here.