ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how patient dignity became a pressing policy issue in the UK, and what the response. In order to do this, it is necessary to discuss briefly some key aspects of the policy process to demonstrate how dignity came to be placed on the policy agenda. The manifesto of a political party or the underlying ideology of a particular government sets the overall direction for the way it addresses policy issues. The work of Ham and Kingdon will be used to inform the explanation of how dignity became a policy issue in healthcare. Two definitions usefully summarise the policy process and signal the particular aspects of it that need to be explored in more detail if its effects on health services and patient care are to be understood. Champions are committed to taking action, however small, to create a care system that has compassion and respect for its clients.
