Several national organisations are collaborating to change the way services work by listening
to and involving people, patients, carers and communities.
Okay, so let’s talk about involvement.
Any type of involvement is great, whether through a local Patient Participation Group
(PPG) or more informal ways, such as in parents and toddler groups, in faith groups, in local
youth groups and through volunteering.
Getting involved allows people to share what matters to them which can help to shape how
services are delivered.
If you’re a patient, carer, community member, provider or commissioner this video describes
ten things which will support greater involvement and encourage more people to get involved.
Ten things to consider.
One: involvement should be personalised.
Tailor involvement to what works best for the individual.
Some people may only want to get involved by giving feedback on surveys, while others
may wish to join an advisory group, or help to design a programme.
Two: involvement should be inclusive in membership and engagement approaches.
It’s important to engage with, reach out to and include the widest group of people
and diverse communities possible, so that you can identify everyone’s unique needs
when it comes to healthcare.
Working with trusted partners in the local community who know the community well can
be a great place to start.
Three: involvement should be committed to addressing equity and diversity.
It is critical to involve diverse people and communities, especially for communities who
have traditionally faced roadblocks in getting the care they need.
This way, we can learn from their experiences and make relevant improvements.
Four: involvement should be flexible.
Partnerships and collaborations should have a flexible environment so that new and innovative
ideas can flourish.
Five: involvement should be supported by infrastructure.
Involvement activities should be supported with training, access to information, and
other resources to maximise their effectiveness.
Six: involvement should be people and community-driven.
It is important to listen to the community so that whatever is developed genuinely reflects
their needs and is guided by them.
Seven: involvement should be prioritised and valued.
The commitment to involving people, carers and communities should be at the heart of
each organisation.
For example, in its mission statement, the work it does, and the staff it hires.
Eight: involvement should be strength-based, tapping into the existing skills, talents
and resources in the local community is key.
You could do this by utilising people in the local community, such as the stay-at-home
dad who organises a play group or hosting an event in the local school, library or social
club.
Nine: for involvement to work well, everyone’s voice must be heard – not just primary care,
but also the social sector, local government, the voluntary sector, and of course patients,
carers and the local community.
An important stakeholder who can help to connect all of the various stakeholders is called
Primary Care Networks.
The role of Primary Care Networks is to facilitate more joined up care in a local area between
GP practices, pharmacies, hospitals and community, mental health, social care and voluntary services.
Ten: involvement should be results oriented.
When people get involved, they like to know that it made a difference and changed things
for the better – so, when engagement works well, make sure to record, celebrate and share
those success stories so that others can learn from them too.
We hope these ten tips have been helpful.
We now invite you to celebrate and share your examples of how the energetic and enthusiastic
involvement of people, patients, carers and communities has been supporting health and
wellbeing.
To find out more, see what you can do locally, and to share your great examples of involvement,
please visit the NHS Futures link below.