Health consumer groups and the national policy process

In the UK the role and influence of health consumer groups1 in the national policy process has been little investigated. To date, most studies have either focused on particular conditions or on action at the local level. For example, there have been studies of voluntary groups for HIV/AIDS (Weeks et al. 1996), on disability campaigns (Campbell and Oliver 1996) and the role of mental health user groups (Barnes et al. 1996; Rogers and Pilgrim 1996). Two recent books discuss patients’ groups in general. Hogg (1999) gives a descriptive account of recent policies to promote a more patient-centred health service drawing on her experience in the field. Wood (2000) has researched the activities of patients’ groups in the US and the UK at local and national level using data from the groups themselves. Both authors conclude that the patient interest is weakly represented, although neither investigates how the collective representation of consumer interests is channelled through participation in the policy process, how political networks are established and utilized and how effective they are.