Jo Protheroe and Gill Rowlands say that, to help patients understand diagnoses and treatments, professionals must communicate at a level appropriate for each person Good communication between healthcare professionals and patients is central to therapeutic relationships, and patients need to know how to access, understand and make use of services and information to promote and maintain their health. This article describes how practising effective communication can improve patient care and how nurses, with their central role in patient advocacy, are well placed to become health literacy champions for their patients and the wider NHS.