Testimonials

"Ash Ryan's Open Source Policy represents what seems to me an entirely new approach to engage with patients.

Her venture will attract interest from Members of Parliament and the Civil Service, because it will help them to better address the challenges of high quality healthcare in our society.

Ash's thinking is constructive and her proposal is the right way to go."

-Charles Clarke, former Home Secretary

"This sounds like a really great idea to me because when my Dad was in hospital, if he'd seen a way he could have given his thoughts about his experiences, this would have helped him feel not only safer but more comfortable and confident in the ward.

Having a voice means you can have complete confidence that you will be safe and your vulnerability won't be taken advantage of."

-Asha Kaushal, NHS patient

"In the rush of all the urgent things that occur whilst trying to manage the healthcare system, we often miss the most important things.

I often feel that we don't have the time to take time, to listen to our staff, to listen to those that use our services, and even to listen to ourselves.

Open Source Policy's work is really important because it helps us to listen. To make services better for you, for me, for us. To make services better for those that use them, and for those that work in them.

We touch so many lives both directly and indirectly; so let us listen, so when we speak we can really help, first understanding and then supporting. Together let us create a service that actually serves you. You speak, and I'll listen."

-NHS Manager

When having to deal with the NHS in its many guises, often at a time of great anxiety, whether for a loved one or for yourself, it is all too easy to become overwhelmed, diffident, deferential or tongue-tied.

My own experience when being treated for cancer revealed how I, usually an extremely articulate woman, could initially feel silenced by fear and apprehension and eventually speechless with gratitude.

If, as a patient, I had been given a better opportunity to voice my concerns, questions and opinions regarding my treatment, perhaps other cancer sufferers could have subsequently benefitted from those experiences, both good and bad.

Open Source Policy, with its patient-centred focus, will thankfully now provide individuals with the opportunity to use their voice.

-NHS Patient (now in remission)

"When Ash Ryan took part in Policy Idol at King's College London, it was clear that her idea to build important links between patients, clinicians and policymakers was well thought through and very much needed.

Open Source Policy could really make a difference and create opportunities for patients to be listened to, in order to help improve outcomes."

-Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of The Policy Institute at King's College London

"This initiative brings together the very best people to tackle some of the most pressing health issues we face today.

Harnessing lived experience and expertise, this network will help to transform the lives of many NHS patients around the country."

-NHS Patient

"The project is one that hit my heart.... hearing the stories of patients experiences appears to be normal and at times to be honest I have become desensitised to it. But hearing these stories in conversations within my personal life hit a different pain point in my heart.

Working as a Commissioner you are regularly faced with tensions of money, quality and experience. The triad that undergirds how services are designed and delivered are within the duties of a commissioner, however, the operational delivery lies with the provider.

Being at least four steps removed from patients I am reliant on my providers telling me what is happening. Hearing stories from people close to my heart I have become compelled to step out and make a change.

This project brings together two strings of my heart: experience and quality. This project provides a proactive mechanism to hear what matters to patients systematically through connectivity with NHS infrastructure.

Qualitative feedback can be used to capture the cultural nuances that create barriers to access and increase the risk of health inequalities for groups disproportionally represented within tertiary care.

Feedback creates evidence which in turn creates opportunities to see through a different lens ways to improve service provision.

This project does just that - connects voice to the bureaucratic boardrooms."

-Healthcare Commissioner