To ask the Minister of Health , in the light of the establishment of the Strategic Health Partnership to hear the vision of service providers, how she will ensure the views and vision of service users are heard.

There are currently a number of ways in which the views and vision of service users are already heard, for example, through: the role of the Patient and Client Council (established in 2009 as a powerful independent voice for people); Personal and Public Involvement (PPI) (the active involvement of service users, carers and the public in the planning, commissioning and delivery of services); Patient Experience surveys; HSC complaints; and so on. However, I am committed to ensuring that the future transformation of the health and social care services is underpinned by the principle of co-production and co-design with those that use and those that provide those services. Only then will we achieve lasting change and improvement to the health of our population.

In the coming weeks, I will be setting the approach and actions I will take to lead on the transformational changes to our health and social care system, and this will include a range of actions in relation to the voice of patients and service users.