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Phillip Mason & John Evans

Phil Mason and John Evans describe their personal experiences of care following life-changing injuries and a shared campaign for co-produced independent living. Both living in a Nursing Home following their initial recovery, and wanting to live independently, they became change champions to create different options including personal care decision making. Their stories are about patient voice, influence and independence.

The choice to co-produce our freedom

Phillip Mason, MBE

Born in 1940, the son of medical missionaries in the Belgium Congo, came to in England in 1952. Trained as a sports teacher at Loughborough College. Was a gymnast at a time when this was an obscure sport and enjoyed competing in different parts of the country. He was injured while coaching on a national school’s gymnastics course. After treatment, the only choice was to live in a Nursing Home in Hampshire. There he became involved with a group of fellow “inmates” who wanted out. They were determined not to spend their lives in this establishment. Working together, this became possible.

John Evans, OBE

John is a disability rights and equality consultant

John specialises in independent living, personalisation, user empowerment and co-production. John was a Department of Health user-led-organisation specialist and then joined the National Co-Production Advisory Group. John was one of the first people to set up an Independent Living scheme in the UK. John was a director at the European Network on Independent Living and the European Disability Forum. He has advised European Commission on numerous disability projects. John was one of the founders of both the National and the Hampshire Centre for Independent Living. John is an editor of ‘Disability and Society’. John is passionate about co-production and believes this is the way forward for the future.