Patient-centred consultations

At its heart, being patient-centred means providing a health service that responds to individuals' needs, takes their preferences into account and provides interactions that are respectful and empowering to patients.¹

The trend away from a paternalistic doctor-knows-best culture towards one that is more patient-centred is relatively recent and reflects wider social, cultural and political changes.

In England, both the current and recent governments have stated aspirations to provide a more patient-centred NHS, made explicit in documents such as the Patients' Charter, the NHS Constitution and the newly published NHS Operating Framework which 'puts patients at the centre of decision making'. The coalition government has been using the slogan, 'no decision about me without me' to capture the essence of a patient-centred healthcare culture.