Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s ‘using the patient and public voice strategically to contribute to the quality improvement of trust services’ project was shortlisted in the ‘engaging and championing the public’ category of the Patient Experience Network National Awards 2024 (PENNA24).
Introduction:
Serving one of the largest geographical areas of any NHS Trust in England, Northumbria Healthcare provides a wide range of services to more than half a million people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside. It is one of the few Foundation Trusts in the country to have been twice rated ‘outstanding’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. It is consistently one of the best-performing NHS organisations in the country. More than 12,000 dedicated NHS staff are employed to provide services across health and care sites and the wider community.
Project summary:
Our ambition was to form a patient and people involvement group made up of lay representatives to act as a critical friend, bringing their perspectives through lived experience, and that of the wider population Northumbria serves.
The Patient and People Perspective Group (PPPG), comprising of 7 lay representatives, is a new approach to strategic level involvement within our organisation and has been established for 12 months. They continue to play a crucial role in the ongoing establishment and integration of the group and have been welcomed across our organisation. In addition to monthly meetings, the lay representatives are involved in and provide advice on multiple strands of improvement work ranging from Virtual Wards to Cancer Prehabilitation Services to acting as Patient Safety Partners.
The PPPG is Chaired and Vice-Chaired by the lay representatives. They are in early development of plans to coproduce an annual report detailing their work over the first 12 months and planning an annual Trust-wide event to share the report, further promoting and raising the profile of the PPPG and their role. We have been approached by other NHS Trusts and met with them to share learning to date, as well as sharing governance and recruitment documentation and an invitation to attend PPPG meetings.
Impact and results achieved:
The PPPG will celebrate its first anniversary in July 2024, retaining the original 7 lay representatives recruited to launch the group. The group is Chaired and Vice-Chaired by the lay representatives. The membership has co-designed many group documents and processes, including the Terms of Reference, annual work plan and communications plan. A fair and open process for involving lay representatives in individual projects and initiatives across the Trust has also been established.
As well as being instrumental in the establishment of the group over the last 12 months, the lay representatives have individually or collectively been involved in a range of activities including the following: co-delivered a World Café session with Trust staff to engage with the voluntary and charity sector to inform the development of the Northumbria Patient Charter and Trust strategic priorities for unpaid carers; development of the Northumbria Patient Charter and membership of a working group to support the integration of the charter into business as usual for the Trust and the development of the new Northumbria clinical strategy; and co-delivered workshops at Northumbria events including the Northumbria Clinical Strategy Event in May 2024. We have received positive and encouraging feedback from Trust sub-group members who are working in partnership with the lay representatives on a range of improvement initiatives.
What makes this initiative stand out?
The achievements of the group over the last 12 months make this work feel special. The role of the lay representative as a critical friend and the formation of the Patient & People Perspective Group was a new approach to strategic level involvement in the Trust. The set-up of the group was welcomed and the culture within Northumbria of putting our people at the centre of everything we do, helped us to overcome the early challenges in the set-up phase. Overcoming some of these early challenges was also facilitated by the great Northumbria “people” who are always willing to support new ideas and work out how we get to our ultimate goal!
Contact details
Joanne Mackintosh – [email protected]
