About The Person Council for Patients and Relatives/Carers

The GPCC Person Council for patients and carers consists of a group of persons with many years of personal experiences of Swedish health care, either as patients and/or relatives/carers (or both).

Their collective experience covers a wide spectrum of various health care environments; hospital care, primary care, psychiatric and child health care etc. They have experienced an equally wide variety of specialist care, for example diabetes, cancer, heart conditions and psychiatry.

Aim: to validate and co-create

The aim of this Council is to validate GPCC's activities and research from a patient and/or relative/carer perspective, as well as receive the council members input, and to co-create ideas, content and activities related to person-centred care.

The Person Council normally meets around six times per year, and members participate regularly in various GPCC education, implementation and communication activities.

Involvement and co-creation

Person Council members have for example:

• co-authored the majority of the GPCC text books on person-centred care.
• co-created an information campaign about person-centred care aimed at patient- and relative organisations.
• co-created a course about person-centred care for patient organisations together with the Swedish Disability Rights Federation and GPCC.
• developed scoring sheets and participated in assessment of project applications at GPCC.
• been Mentors on some of the University of Gothenburg/Sahlgrenska Academy courses on person-centred care.
• taken part in implementation work in Swedish health care settings.
• been members of other National and Regional Patient Councils, for example at The Swedish Agency for Health and Care Services Analysis.
• presented at and moderated international and national conferences.
• co-created various communication and public engagement initiatives, such as opinion pieces and seminars during the University of Gothenburg Science Festival, The “Try My Seat” installation during Kvalitetsmässan, the Ubuntu exhibition in a hospital ward and other major conferences.

Read the stories/narratives from some of the present and past Person Council members here.

Members of GPCC Person Council for patients and carers April 2025

Ann-Christina Baar, SPF Seniorerna - The Swedish Association for Senior Citizens

Eskil Degsell, Svenska Hjärntumörföreningen - Swedish Brain Tumor Association

Margareta Haag, Nätverket mot cancer - The Network Against Cancer

Håkan Hedman, Njurförbundet - The Swedish Kidney Association

Axel Jisborg Hultgren, Ung Cancer - Young Cancer

Annika Lindström, Autism Sverige - Autism Sweden

Leif Sundberg, Göteborgs Diabetesförening - Göteborg Diabetes Association

Rolf Åström, Anhörigföreningen i Karlstad och Värmland - Carers in Karlstad and Värmland

Vinh Phillips Ingvason Nguyên, Posithiva gruppen - Sweden’s largest organisation for people living with HIV

Emma Larsen, Balans Stockholm - patient organization for people with Depression, Dysthymia, Fatigue Syndrome and Bipolar Disorder

The Person Council's Management

Chair: Axel Wolf, GPCC Centre Director.

Vice-chair: Annika Lindström.

Planning and follow-up: Jana Bergholtz.

Administrator and secretary: Jeanette Tenggren Durkan.

Person council member narratives

Read some of the narratives of current and former members of the Person Council, which describe their personal journeys through The Swedish health care system, as well as their thoughts on person-centred care. Click here to go to their narratives.