Re: Patient power: How one patient editor influences research
Dear Editor,
The date of this BMJ News item, 4th July, is also the date of the 2024 UK Election, when citizens have the precious opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote. The first of three reasons that Richard Stevens gives in answering Matthew Limb`s question `Why do you do it?`, is that he`s `always believed in citizens taking control of their circumstances—I believe in democracy.`
I can vouch for Richard`s accomplishments over the last 25 years as revealed in this article, He has contributed in very many ways to the acceptance and actioning of citizen involvement in many areas of healthcare and research. He has done this with humour and a light touch, in a disarming and self-deprecating manner, spurred on like to many (I think of Alessandro Liberati here, especially) by personal experience of serious disease; never flagging, even when undergoing treatment or feeling unwell.
This Q&A account conveys so well just how beneficial the body-blow of a diagnosis of cancer can be when it is confronted cheerfully, philosophically and positively. As he indicates, it can lead to an interesting life, meeting and working with people from far and wide with the common quest of improving what they find. Would that this constructive, optimistic attitude prevailed more generally! Just imagine how much could be achieved if people took personal responsibility for their lives – and were provided with the precious freedoms that we have today, fortunate to live in a democracy, currently taken far too much for granted.
Hazel Thornton
Independent Citizen Advocate for Quality in Research and Healthcare
Competing interests:
No competing interests
05 July 2024
Hazel Thornton
Independent Citizen Advocate for Quality in Research and Healthcare
Rapid Response:
Re: Patient power: How one patient editor influences research
Dear Editor,
The date of this BMJ News item, 4th July, is also the date of the 2024 UK Election, when citizens have the precious opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote. The first of three reasons that Richard Stevens gives in answering Matthew Limb`s question `Why do you do it?`, is that he`s `always believed in citizens taking control of their circumstances—I believe in democracy.`
I can vouch for Richard`s accomplishments over the last 25 years as revealed in this article, He has contributed in very many ways to the acceptance and actioning of citizen involvement in many areas of healthcare and research. He has done this with humour and a light touch, in a disarming and self-deprecating manner, spurred on like to many (I think of Alessandro Liberati here, especially) by personal experience of serious disease; never flagging, even when undergoing treatment or feeling unwell.
This Q&A account conveys so well just how beneficial the body-blow of a diagnosis of cancer can be when it is confronted cheerfully, philosophically and positively. As he indicates, it can lead to an interesting life, meeting and working with people from far and wide with the common quest of improving what they find. Would that this constructive, optimistic attitude prevailed more generally! Just imagine how much could be achieved if people took personal responsibility for their lives – and were provided with the precious freedoms that we have today, fortunate to live in a democracy, currently taken far too much for granted.
Hazel Thornton
Independent Citizen Advocate for Quality in Research and Healthcare
Competing interests: No competing interests