Stories that change care - 20 years of Care Opinion - Autumn Conference 2025

In September 2025, Care Opinion celebrated its 20th anniversary! Our Autumn conference, held online on 23rd of October, went down a storm, with almost 200 people in attendance and over 400 registered-we were blown away by your interest and enthusiasm for sharing this really special morning with us. Our conference provided the space for us all to reflect on the impact we have made together, recognise and champion the vital roles of health and care staff and to look ahead together so that learning from authors continues and strengthens.

Our wonderful host, Tracy Molloy, opened the conference with her breezy welcome and lovely smile. This was followed by 5 different sessions, covering a range of topics and involving different people from across the Care Opinion community.

13 years of Care Opinion Australia: The journey so far

'When staff are mentioned positively, it really gives us a boost. We love to see it so much so that we created the CO Hero tag' -Sarah Higgins 

We were thrilled to welcome our colleagues from Care Opinion Australia to this year’s conference! For more than 13 years, they’ve been building a powerful culture of listening across health and care – gathering stories, strengthening partnerships, and creating change. In this session, hosted by CEO of Care Opinion, Fraser Gilmore, our guests began sharing their journey by 'acknowledging the traditional owners' of Australia. They reflected on the journey so far: the milestones, the challenges, and the impact of story-based feedback across the Australian health system. It was an opportunity to celebrate achievements, share learning, and look ahead together at what the next chapter of this journey might hold.

With:

• Ellen Margaret, Moderation and Reporting Officer, Care Opinion Australia
• Sarah Higgins, Projects & Administration Officer, Care Opinion Australia

Presentation

How Care Opinion works on the other side of the world .pdf

The story behind the story: A Care Opinion author reflection

Back by popular demand, this session, hosted by Tracy Molloy, Subscriber Services Manager at Care Opinion, offered a unique chance to hear directly from an author about their experience sharing a story on Care Opinion.

This session featured story author, Gordon, who reflected in a recorded interview on what prompted him to write about the care he received following a stroke, how it felt to share his story publicly, and the impact of receiving a response from staff.

‘I remember my wife being a constant presence and feeling safe and secure even when she wasn’t around’ - Gordon

While we often hear how staff feel when reading stories on Care Opinion, this session provided a rare opportunity to understand what the process means to the people who write and share them—and the difference it can make for them and their families.

Resources

Read Gordon's story on Care Opinion here: My Stroke Journey | Care Opinion

A Blog about Gordon's Experience: An author's Stroke Journey | Care Opinion

Research Chat 26:  Understanding defensiveness: learning from responses to stories on Care Opinion

‘For patient voice to have any impact there has to be listening’ - Professor Alex Gillespie

How and why does an organisation become defensive? In this session, Dr James Munro, Director of Research and Development at Care Opinion, was joined by professors Alex Gillespie and Tom Reader of London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), to discover what we can learn from responses to stories posted on Care Opinion.

With:

• Prof Alex Gillespie, Professor of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE
• Dr Tom Reader is an Associate Professor of Organisational Psychology at LSE

Resources

The complaint handler’s bind: How organisational constraints lead to defensive responses to criticism (Gillespie and Reader, 2025)

Online patient feedback as a safety valve: An automated language analysis of unnoticed and unresolved safety incidents (Gillespie and Reader, 2022)

Exploring the sociocultural contexts in which healthcare staff respond to and use online patient feedback in practice: In-depth case studies of three NHS Trusts (Ramsey et al, 2022)

All Care Opinion Research Chats: Watch any of our past research chats | Care Opinion

Subscriber Support: Reflections on inspiring change

'Patient stories are the DNA of healthcare' -Linda Craig 

Our special 20th anniversary subscriber support session showcased some of our incredible subscription leads and was hosted by our Charlotte Borthwick and Emma Noonan, from the Support Team at Care Opinion. Subscriber presentations touched on their individual journeys, highlighting what has helped shape their growth, inspired change & what advice they would give to those starting out.

With:

• Linda Craig, Regional Lead for Experience and Involvement, Public Health Agency (PHA)
• Mariska Vernon-Stroud, Patient Experience Team Leader- Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian
• Lisa Townsend, Patient Experience Feedback Lead for Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust

Presentations

20251022_CO_NorthernIreland.pptx

NHS Lothian journey with Care Opinion- autumn conference 2025.pdf

RDUH presentation for CO conference Oct 2025 .pdf

Star Responder Awards Ceremony

At every conference, we announce winners in subscriptions who have been nominated by their colleagues, for outstanding responses to stories on Care Opinion. Our 3 winners received Care Opinion Star Badges and recognition in the award ceremony, for their dedication and thoughtfulness when responding. Hosted by Liz Bassett and Lisa Dendy from the Support Team at Care Opinion.

Presentation

Star Responder Awards Presentation -Autumn Conference 2025.pdf

Find out more and nominate a colleague who you think deserves a Star Responder award here: https://www.careopinion.org.uk/info/star-responder

Thank you to all who attended our Autumn Conference this year, it really was a special event for all of us. 

We’d also love to hear your thoughts about the day. Your feedback helps us learn, grow, and make each event even better. If you have a moment, please complete our short survey: https://www.surveylegend.com/s/64aa