Today we officially launch our mental health platform. Of course, people have been sharing stories about mental health services for a long time following our pilot in the 5 Boroughs Partnership back in 2007.

We're hoping lots of people hear about what we're doing and share their story. Jason, who's just joined the Patient Opinion team, is an ex service user and volunteer at primary care addiction services in Sheffield and has an inspiring story to tell about how the independence and honesty of Patient Opinion was crucial in bringing about change in addiction services. Even we're impressed listening to him! We captured him on video and the Society Guardian went one better and put his face on page 3 yesterday. E-health insider ran a story this morning and we know many regional and local papers and radio stations are picking up on the launch today. Phil Hope, Care Services Minister offered his support saying "This partnership means every single Trust in the country can see what they are doing well and what needs to be improved, helping to drive up quality."

Through the course of this year, we've been travelling the length and breadth of England talking to staff and users about what this will mean, how we're doing everything we can to keep the system safe (on both sides) and how the system will lead to real service improvement. It was important to us that we equipped staff with the understanding and skill to communicate directly and honestly with service users, their families and carers through the website . Much more importantly, we wanted to be sure that they knew how to take the comments, suggestions and concerns they would hear and do something meaningful with them. After all, that's what we're all about - making people's experiences count. According to Maria, Head of Service at the 5 Boroughs Partnership during our pilot, the stories she received through Patient Opinion 'made issues real' and gave her the opportunity to 'facilitate some real reflection among staff'. And we have lots of examples, across mental health and acute care, where trusts have demonstrated through their responses on the site that they're truly listening and taking value from peoples stories.

From past experience we know just how honest, passionate and thoughtful people can be on Patient Opinion. We also know that sharing their stories on the site can lead to real improvements in services. What we don't know is what you think of your local mental health services so please share your story and make a difference.

According to the folks from Dr Foster the PPI industry – i.e. everyone in the NHS involved in PALS, complaints and 'engaging' the public - employs a cool 34,000 people in England and costs upwards of £600 million per year. Which makes you wonder. Especially as the government seems to ramp up the importance of engagement with one hand whilst disrupting it with multiple reorganisations with the other.

And  that word 'engagement' always strikes a strange note. Do they mean as in marriage? Or  gears? Or perhaps armies in battles?

In the last 2 weeks I’ve spent 3 different days discussing all this (which has been about 2 days 6 hours too much)  but the messages have been clear:  the discussion within the NHS has little new in it. It is all talk of systems, and processes and listening and diversity of strategies. Which is all good (if old) stuff.

But what is striking is how much the NHS exists in its own self referential box. Discussion of the world of voice outside the NHS (blogs, Youtube, Facebook etc) was conspicuous by its almost complete absence.  The fact that Twitter may be toppling the Iranian government sparks wonder at the power of these new fangled gizmos to do strange things to strange people in strange lands, but not the first hint of an idea that it won’t be long before the NHS gets subject to similar firestorms.

From a purely selfish point of view this is not all bad as it leaves Patient Opinion free to beaver away at getting ‘voice outside the NHS box’ working without anyone thinking that it is too important. From another perspective it’s fairly depressing – it's as though, at the time of Caxton and the invention of the printing press, everyone was busy saying ‘Books to engage the masses? Ah, no thanks, I’m a parchment person myself. Can’t beat a good quill and a tame scribe to get the message out, and the peasants just can't seem to get enough of those illuminated surveys we’re so good at’.

Today saw the publication of Health Minister Lord Darzi’s report High Quality Care for All, containing “ambitious plans" to raise the quality of healthcare for patients right across the NHS.

According to the NHS site Our NHS, Our Future, “High Quality Care For All sets a new foundation for a health service that empowers staff and gives patients choice. It ensures that health care will be personalised and fair, include the most effective treatments within a safe system, and help patients to stay healthy.”

So far, responses to the report have varied.  In response to the recommendation that hospitals are to be fined or rewarded with financial bonuses of up to 5% of a hospital’s budget based on what patients think of the quality of their care, a post by Tom Reynolds on the very enlightening blog Random Acts of Reality notes that "Giving patients choice is a fine idea in principle, but for many of the patients that I deal with they just don't have the knowledge to make an informed choice on their treatment.”

Careworld.net, a blog aiming to “highlight the inadequacies, the poor decision making, the hypocrisy and their consequences”, points out that the reports is “silent on the issue of the NHS top down highly bureaucratic structure…” noting that  “this is an important opportunity missed.”

The Jobbing Doctor, whilst acknowledging that dissection of the review over 2-3 weeks is in order, describes it as “a sagging souffle” and “a hugely disappointing review.”  In my considered opinion, whatever the responses to the review, it at least has identified that staff must be empowered to make real changes, and so effectively address ever increasing expectations from a public who are constantly being told that the NHS is to be led by them.

The challenge now is to turn Lord Darzi's vision into reality, in a notoriously slow moving and heavily bureaucratic NHS.  Practically speaking, Patient Opinion aligns well with Darzi's key recommendations, providing support to staff by demonstrating exactly what it is patients want and need, based on their experiences, suggestions and comments and providing support to patients by helping them make informed choices about their care.

As it’s been a great week for recognition (we’re finalists in the UK Catalysts awards and the New Statesman New Media awards), maybe we can forgive Lord Darzi for choosing to mention NHS Choices but forgetting to mention Patient Opinion in his plans for a high quality NHS.

We've been itching to link to Tom Watson's recent post about NHS Choices, and now we have our blog set up, we can, and just did.

Don't get me wrong - Tom Watson seems to be a thoroughly excellent chap. I don't know him personally, but if I met him I would buy him a drink.

I suppose I was just disappointed that he blogged about patient feedback via NHS Choices, and somehow forgot to mention that Patient Opinion was delivering the goods before NHS Choices was even a twinkle in the eye.

As quite a lot of people pointed out.