I recently hosted a meeting in Parliament with Dr Paul Hodgkin, Chief Executive of an excellent service called Patient Opinion, to which I invited all English MPs and their staff.

Patient Opinion allows people to tell their story – either positive or negative – about their local health service. Hospitals can then respond, including saying whether any action has been taken as a result.

I’ve registered with the website and receive alerts whenever one of my constituents shares their experience. This is very useful in helping make sure I know what my constituents are saying about their treatment, and I encouraged the MPs who attended the meeting to sign up and use the website too.

Patient Opinion is a very powerful tool for patients to tell their story and find out about other people’s experiences, and for local staff to get the feedback they need to tackle poor standards of care. It gives patients a voice, and staff a powerful incentive to improve in a simple, easy and cost effective way.