23rd April 2026

A step-change in public and patient involvement

Your Healthcare has developed and implemented a dedicated pathway to meaningfully involve individuals with learning disabilities and autistic people in service improvement, and is now expanding the approach to other marginalised groups across the organisation. This approach strengthens patient and public involvement and engagement, and supports people and communities to shape how services are designed and delivered, with active inclusion of those facing barriers to involvement who are at greater risk of health inequalities.

The initiative formalised what had previously been informal involvement, ensuring people with lived experience are recognised, supported, and valued. It established the role of company partners (experts by experience), following consultation with service users which confirmed that the term “patient” was not liked by people accessing some services.

To ensure accessibility and inclusion, easy read documents have been produced covering role information, applications and service procedures. One-to-one support is provided throughout recruitment, onboarding, and HR and payroll processes, enabling company partners to be paid appropriately for their contributions. From having 3-5 people involved informally in 2025, a group of around 20 company partners has evolved over six months, supported by strong clinician interest to adopt meaningful co-production.

Company partners are now available to support a wide range of organisational processes including interview panels, service reviews, the development of easy read materials and consultation on new initiatives. They have also begun co delivering Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on autism and learning disabilities, and are being supported to take on wider quality improvement and research activity as the programme grows.

Dr Karen Long, frontline service lead for Neurodevelopmental Services, commented: “The introduction of company partners has improved the accessibility and quality of co-production across Your Healthcare by creating a consistent, practical route for teams to involve people with lived experience and to pay them fairly and reliably. People with learning disabilities are now empowered to take on strategic, paid roles, resulting in more representative and inclusive service development.”

Dr Paul Shanahan, YH lead for behaviour analysis, added: “The company partners initiative has reduced barriers to participation, particularly around HR and payroll complexity and the need for reasonable adjustments to be identified early. This has also increased confidence across teams that involvement is meaningful and can influence decisions, rather than being occasional or informal. Company partners’ insights have directly influenced key projects and  their ongoing contribution to interview panels has strengthened recruitment by ensuring candidates are assessed against real world needs and lived experience perspectives.”

The company partners pathway is embedded within Your Healthcare’s Patient and Public  Involvement and Engagement strategy (PPIE) and will be adopted across the organisation during 2026.

If you would like to consider getting involved as a Your Healthcare company partner, please contact nds@yourhealthcare.org for further information.