ABSTRACT
Service user involvement in planning and delivery of care is not a new concept. There has long been a tradition within the voluntary sector of organizing and delivering services around the priorities and needs of users, to support mainstream health and social services (Truman and Raine 2002). In recent years, user participation in the planning and development of health care has become central to government policy. Patients now have a significant role in determining and shaping services, identifying their own health needs and making choices about their own health care (Department of Health 2000, 2001; Trivedi and Wykes 2002; Rutter et al. 2004).
