Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of the concept of patient-focused care, and discusses its significance to the provision of nursing care in the UK today. Empowerment, as a component of patient-focused care, is addressed within the article in relation to government-led initiatives designed to afford certain rights to health consumers. It focuses specifically on the roles, responsibilities and concerns of the clinical research nurse in relation to patient-focused care and concludes that true patient-focused care will not happen until physicians, nurses and patients are educated and their attitudes changed.