healthtalk.org comes from a unique partnership between a charity called DIPEx and The Health Experiences Research Group or ‘HERG’ at The University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care. The website is managed by the charity and the research that appears on the site is produced by the HERG team.

healthtalk.org was created in 2001 by Oxford GP Dr Ann McPherson CBE and Dr Andrew Herxheimer after their own experiences of illness. Ann had been diagnosed with breast cancer and although she knew about the medical side, couldn’t find anyone to talk to about what it was really like to have the disease. This, and Andrew’s experience of knee replacement surgery, prompted them to come up with the innovative idea of a patient experience website.

A small group of people from various backgrounds formed a steering group and, after many meetings around Ann’s kitchen table, the idea developed into the website that later became healthtalk.org (formerly Healthtalkonline and Youthhealthtalk).

Adopt a day on healthtalk.org for just £5 a month.