NHS England publishes policy on working in partnership with people and communities

On 7th August 2025, NHS England published a policy on working in partnership with people and communities.

This policy sets out how NHS England meet their commitments to working in partnership with people and communities, including through roles such as patient and public voice (PPV) partners. It is a policy for NHS England employees to follow and applies to all NHS England’s directorates and regions. It is not a policy for integrated care boards (ICBs), providers or other NHS organisations to follow.

The policy supports NHS England to meet its ‘public involvement’ legal duty and to use this as a platform for building genuine and meaningful partnerships with the people and communities we serve. It sets out how the statutory guidance on Working in partnership with people and communities should be applied throughout NHS England.

By implementing this policy, NHS England have stated that they will:

• meet their public involvement legal duty and involve people in decisions about the services we commission
• work with people and communities to ensure the views of those we serve are integral to their policy, planning and decision-making processes

Read the full policy below.

Source: NHS England » Policy on working in partnership with people and communities