Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) has launched a new continuing professional development (CPD) course designed to help health and care professionals better understand, interpret and act on patient and carer experiences to improve care.
Learning from major healthcare inquiries and reviews has repeatedly shown that harm can occur when the patient voice is not fully heard. In response, BSMS has developed Patient and Carer Experience: Delivering Safe, Equitable, High-Quality Care, a new three-part online course that equips health and care professionals with practical approaches to ensuring patient and carer voices inform safe, equitable and high-quality care.
The programme is aimed at frontline clinicians, service and commissioning managers, and staff working in Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS), complaints and patient experience teams, and others with an interest in the subject.
Delivered through three interactive half-day online sessions on 12, 19 and 26 November 2026, the course explores how patient and carer experience can drive improvements in healthcare quality, safety and equity.
Participants will examine barriers to acting on patient experience, develop a deeper understanding of how patient and carer insights can be interpreted and used effectively, and learn practical strategies for overcoming obstacles to change and embedding patient-centred approaches in everyday practice.
The course is led by experienced academics and practitioners in patient experience and health and care leadership with more than 75 years of combined expertise. Their experience spans NHS leadership, high-profile healthcare reviews, and national work on patient involvement and evidence.
Across three modules, participants will explore:
Module 1: Hearing the Patient and Carer Voice
- Barriers to acting on patient experience
- Context and key concepts
- Sources of evidence, including their strengths and limitations
Module 2: Understanding Experience
- Interpreting patient and carer experiences
- Exploring different ways of knowing
- Building deeper insight to inform care
Module 3: Acting on Experience
- Overcoming barriers to change
- Influencing improvement
- Embedding patient-centred approaches in practice
Jessie Cunnett, Course Lead, said:
“Patients and carers are experts in their own experiences, and their insights can be one of the most powerful drivers of improvement in health and care. This programme is designed to help professionals move beyond simply collecting feedback to understanding what it tells us and how it can be used to create meaningful change. Our aim is to equip participants with practical tools and fresh perspectives that will help them embed patient-centred approaches and improve care in their own settings.”
Fraser Gilmore, Chief Executive of Care Opinion, said:
“At Care Opinion, we believe that every experience shared by a patient or carer is an opportunity to listen, learn and make care better. My hope is that this programme will inspire people from across health and care to come together with curiosity, compassion and a shared determination to act on what they hear. Improving people’s experiences cannot rest with one team or profession alone. It takes all of us, learning with and from one another. This much-needed programme is a wonderful opportunity to build the confidence, connections and sense of possibility needed to turn people’s stories into meaningful and lasting change.”
The course offers a unique opportunity for professionals across health and care settings to strengthen their understanding of patient and carer experience and develop the skills needed to translate insight into meaningful and lasting improvements.
View more information here >