At a time of unprecedented demand on health services and with providers under immense pressure to deliver high-quality services 7 days a week, while at the same time finding substantial cost savings, there is a real danger of care standards and safety being compromised and patients being left feeling that the NHS has failed them. In many ways, the increased demand can be celebrated: it is the result of more people living longer with complex multiple illnesses, a deeper understanding of disease processes and extraordinary advances in medicine. Yet despite this progress, people consistently report being less involved in decisions and plans about their care than they want to be. This means there is a missed opportunity to harness the impact they can make for themselves on staying well. In this special edition of Future Hospital Journal we ask ‘what is person-centred care and how can it be embedded at every level of the healthcare system?’ These questions are explored at the levels of the individual consultation, service provision and system design. It is most encouraging to see a movement of people and clinicians wanting to work together to make …