At the heart of everything Care Opinion does is a simple, powerful idea: “By sharing honest experiences of care, we learn to see the world differently. Working together, we can all help make care better.”
This shared purpose has shaped Care Opinion for twenty years. With every story posted, every response shared, and every moment of honesty, a wider conversation about care, improvement, and understanding continues to grow. The platform is built on this belief: listening to people’s experiences is where meaningful change in care begins.
Supporting this purpose is a small team at Care Opinion working behind the scenes each day. We may be small, but we are strong, because we support and listen to each other. This is the foundation of our culture. We pride ourselves on creating an organisation that doesn’t just talk about values but truly lives them.
As part of marking twenty years, we asked our team to reflect on their own experiences of working at Care Opinion: what it feels like, what they value, and what makes this place special to them. Their reflections formed a number of themes that show how our mission lives not only in the stories we receive, but also in the people who help make Care Opinion possible.
Vickie: “I love working for CO because of the kindness, not just to our callers and subscribers but to each other. I go to work each morning with a smile on my face.”
Fraser: “What I enjoy most about working at Care Opinion is the sense of shared purpose that runs through everything we do. Every day, I’m surrounded by people who care deeply about making health and care more human, more compassionate, and more transparent.
Working at CO means being part of a community that believes stories can change things, not in an abstract way, but in the real, everyday experiences of people across the UK and beyond. It’s a privilege to be part of an organisation where kindness, curiosity, and courage show up in such tangible ways.
The thing I value most about our culture is that it’s truly lived. We don’t just talk about listening, humanity, and learning, we practice it with each other. That’s what makes Care Opinion special, and what makes coming to work feel meaningful.”
Lou:“I like the fact that Care Opinion constantly strives to work to its values, not only for those who use the platform but for the staff as well. I feel as if I matter, I am seen as a whole person, not just an employee. It’s the small things that make a difference, the little messages to check in, the celebrations of each other, the birthday day off, fikas and fuddles. It’s nice to work somewhere where people care.”
Emma: "I enjoy the diversity of the work and how no two days look exactly the same. It is a pleasure getting to work with such hardworking frontline staff and equally being able to connect with the authors and their experiences through their stories. Getting to work directly with the future of the NHS in the form of medical students completing their community work placement with us is another very rewarding aspect of my work-seeing their understanding of Care Opinion grow and of how important patient and service user voice is, is especially enjoyable.
I also work here with pride. I know the work we do can be so impactful for individuals-for example, speaking to authors directly on the phone can be quite inspiring and rewarding. Providing a real-time space, where ‘real humans’ can talk to authors and help them to submit their story is something that we often hear is a great experience for them.
I value our willingness. Our willingness to keep relentlessly going and supporting each other with our work and mission. So much is achieved each week, each month, and each year because of our commitment to each other to work as a team.”
Tracy: "The thing I enjoy most about working at CO is the organisational good moral values, this allows me work with flexibility and we also have a shared open staff culture, plus we do know how to have a good fuddle!
Working for an organisation that is value driven is important to me, we might not have company cars or lavish Christmas parties but we all are on the same page and working toward a shared value of making people feel heard. the thing I value the most about Care Opinion’s culture is being able to reach out to anyone in the team for a chat, everyone is so open and supportive.”
Mhairi: “I enjoy the support I receive from my colleagues. There is always someone who will take the time out of their working day to help where they can.
It means respect for me, I am respected as a person, my opinions and contributions are actually respected, it has helped me with my confidence, to work in a more collaborative workplace.
That it’s fun, I have worked on many places where eventually it can feel like I get taken less seriously if I am too jokey and have an air of levity in what I do. Not at Care Opinion, from the Monday morning meeting question to fika’s, it’s a light atmosphere. This fun side to CO culture means I have made genuine friends with my colleagues, video chat with them on weekends, travelled to meet them, plan holidays with them. It’s wonderful! They are wonderful!”
What comes through in everything our team has shared is a sense of how it feels to work here: the kindness, the humour, the support, the feeling of being seen, and the commitment to one another and to our mission. These are the small, everyday things that make Care Opinion what it is. They are the reason our mission has held strong for twenty years, and the reason it continues to feel meaningful today.
