Practices are being offered the chance to join a new project intended to give people with long-term conditions a greater chance to manage their own health care needs.

NHS England has tested the initiative, called the Patient Activation Measure, in a pilot scheme based in five English Clinical Commissioning Groups and the UK Renal Registry.

The tool “captures the extent to which people feel engaged and confident in taking care of their health and wellbeing”, explains Dr Alf Collins, NHS England national Clinical Advisor.

The Patient Activation Measure will be rolled out over the next five years, during which time nearly 1.8 million people will be asked to use it. The move is part of the wider New Models of Care Programme, announced in January 2016.

Dr Collins says local NHS organisations and their partners are being invited to apply for free access to patient activation licences.

“Truly empowering patients to keep themselves well, manage their conditions and stay out of hospitals requires health professionals to understand the needs, the skills, and the confidence of the individual patient they are working with,” Dr Collins says.

“The Patient Activation Measure shows real promise as a tool to achieve this, and I look forward to seeing how more local areas can use it in innovative ways to provide care which is more person-centred, delivering better outcomes for patients and better value for taxpayers.”

Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group took part in the pilot stage.

Dr Ollie Hart, of Sheffield CCG, said: “In Sheffield, we have been finding the Patient Activation Measure a really useful tool for tailoring our level of support and health coaching to match a person’s needs. It has allowed us to ensure that resources – particularly staff time – are being used more effectively for their benefit.”

About 40 CCGs and other primary care organisations will be granted access to licences in 2016/17.

More details: https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patients/patient-participation/self-care/patient-activation