Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. Voices Scotland.
We all want health and social care services
that are there when we need them
and which provide the best care and support
They can seem like massive, complicated machines
and we may feel that there is nothing
we can do as members of the public
to influence them
However there has never been
a more important time to have your say
as services face many challenges
They must be designed
around the people who use them.
You must be central in it's decisions
as you are the one
living with the long term condition.
This desire to have strong public involvement
in our services, is something
the Scottish Government fully supports.
A major emphasis in services and policy
is about seeing the patient at the centre of services.
Various policies outline the right
for the public to be fully involved as partners
but also about
the value of that involvement to all partners.
Voices Scotland offers free training
and support, to ensure that people feel knowledgeable
and confident partners in discussions and debates.
Over the years we have developed an excellent reputation.
Voices Scotland is described by the Chief Medical Officer
as the Gold Standard in Patient and Carer Involvement.
The workshop is delivered in small groups
using methods that encourage discussion and debate
The aim is to make the session useful
whilst still being enjoyable.
We want to be as accessible as possible to everyone.
We have therefore devised sessions that are suitable
for people who may have some
communication difficulties such as after a stroke.
A key aspect of the workshop is that we always
deliver it in a way to suit the local needs.
Let's hear now from Richard who has been supported
by the Voices Scotland programme.
Some time ago I was invited onto a course
called Chest Voices.
It was organised by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
and basically I learned from it how the NHS is structured
in Lothian and Scotland in general.
and what the tiers of management are
so that if I had any concerns, positive or negative,
I was taught to construct those in a way that
could give positive or negative criticism.
I have been involved in a number of things
over the past few years
The main thing has been helping with the support group
for Bronchiectasis
but I have attended a number of courses
that Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland have set up,
I have been on a number of focus groups,
for example, I am involved with the group on
Edinburgh University nursing students' curriculum
and Queen Margaret University students' curriculum
on The Patient's Charter
was involved there and gave
quite a bit of feedback on the development of that,
and most recently I was on a focus group
with ...
the advanced stages of lung and heart conditions.
What you have just heard from Richard
demonstrates the variety of ways
you can get involved.
and, how Voices training helped him
more effective in this involvement.
One of the other courses Richard has attended,
was a COSMIC workshop
- Champions of Self Management in Care.
With Scotland's population living longer
but with more health problems,
there is a recognised need for promoting partnership
at a clinical level through Self Management.
This helps people take control
over their own lives and conditions.
Services want to be able to support people
with long term conditions, efficiently and effectively
to maximise their health, but also to reduce
reliance on health and social care services.
A COSMIC workshop aims to support
and promote this agenda.
The session includes -
helping you understand the broad range of
what constitutes Self Management
- the role of the Champion
- the various models of Self Management
- the range of support available
to help people Self Manage.
It will also give you the skills and confidence
to make your voice heard
and feel able to raise awareness of how
encouraging people to manage their own condition
can benefit Scotland's people and services.
The COSMIC workshop resources are available free
to other organisations to adapt to their own needs.
They are available to download
from the cosmic resources website.
The Scottish Health Council have endorsed
the COSMIC resources as useful for anyone
interested in involving patients or the public.
It is a practical, participative training
that uses plain English and makes learning fun.
For more information on coming to an event in your area
or hosting a Voices Scotland workshop
don't hesitate to contact us.
Still images provided courtesy of NHS Scotland Photo Library. Crown Copyright 2009
Supported by Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. People at the centre.
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. Voices Scotland.
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. We are Scotland's Health charity.
chss.org.uk. Research - Advice - Support - Action