title: Communication. Clarity begins at home.
abstract: The NHS's failure to use plain English is a long-standing and widely acknowledged problem. Most people get their information from tabloid newspapers, where sentences have 30 words or fewer. Patients should be involved in the preparation of patient information leaflets. The government's emphasis on involving the public in the NHS, and holding board meetings in public, will be meaningless unless briefing papers can be understood.
authors.affiliation: North West Anglia Health Authority, UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Spiers
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000592:standards*; D011639:Public Opinion; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom; D014956:Writing / Q000592:standards*