Integrity, ambiguity or duplicity? NHS consultation with the public.

Recent guidance from the Department of Health and National Health Services (NHS) Executive has stressed the importance of public involvement in the NHS. This paper places this guidance in the historical context of public consultation in the NHS and explores, through a detailed case study, the traditional approach to consultation that the guidance is seeking to change. The paper concludes with some reflections on the challenges that will need to be addressed in order for the guidance to be put into practice.