NHS Centre for Involvement: Newsletter April Issue no 8

Newsletter from the NHS Centre for Involvement - Issue 8

NHS Centre for Involvement Newsletter

Issue 8, April 2008

Welcome to the latest email newsletter from the NHS Centre for Involvement www.nhscentreforinvolvement.nhs.uk.
Please forward this bulletin to members of your team and people who you think may benefit from receiving this newsletter. You may wish to print and display it on notice boards or have it published on your internal intranet sites.  To download a PDF version please click here.

If you would like to contribute to future newsletters or give us any feedback, please fill out a contact form on our website.

In the newsletter this issue:

Government news and policy

Local Involvement Networks

LINks Project Manager, Tim Gilling

The Department of Health has asked the NHS Centre for Involvement to be the lead agency to support the establishment and development of LINks. I'm the Project Manager for our LINk support programme and we've been busy since the start of the year on a programme of work that covers published guides, a promotional programme for Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations and an online resource called the LINks Exchange.

There are already 11 guides on our website and we have more in the pipeline, specifically one which covers governance, a hot topic for everyone at the moment. We have a fieldworker who is able to talk to VCS organisations about what LNks mean for them and how they can get involved with the LINks in their areas. The LINks Exchange will soon be available for all LINk Host organisations and will eventually be open for everyone to use. We have also created a list of all Local Authority LINk Leads who are able to answer questions how LINks are developing on the ground. This is an excellent way for you to find out what is happening in your area.

For more information about the Centre’s involvement in the implementation of LINks visit www.nhscentreforinvolvement.nhs.uk/LINks/.

LINks Bulletin - Issue 11

Click here for the latest LINks bulletin – March 2008 – issued by the NHS Centre for Involvement in partnership with the Department of Health.  The bulletin for April 2008 will be available soon.

LINks Guide documents to help you 'get going'>

There are four new additions to this series of guides:
• Guide No. 8 – Making people aware of LINks
• Guide No. 9 – Getting going – the first ten things that LINks should do
• Guide No. 10 – Setting a work programme
• Guide No. 11 – Transparency and Accountability

If you have questions about any of the documents please contact us on info@links.nhs.uk.

To download these documents, visit www.nhscentreforinvolvement.nhs.uk/LINksguides/.

Report of the National Patient Choice Survey

This report gives the final results of around 78,000 responses to the tenth national patient choice survey commissioned to assess the implementation of choice at Primary Care Trust level.  The series of surveys monitors patient awareness of choice and recall of having been offered a choice of hospital for their first outpatient appointment.

For a summary of the results and to download the full report click here.

Choice at referral: guidance and supporting information for 2008/9

Guidance released by the Department of Health in March will help give patients much greater choice of where they wish to be treated.  Best practice guidance and information for referrers, providers and commissioners on how the roll-out of free choice in elective care in 2008/9 will operate.

For more information click here.

Giving more people a say in local spending – Participatory Budgeting: A Draft National Strategy

A draft national strategy on participatory budgeting has been launched by the department of Communities and Local Governement for consultation. The consultation closes in June 2008.

For more information click here.

Achieving best outcomes for health and social care

The Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) has launched its high impact changes for health and social care. These are designed to help achieve the seven positive outcomes for people using health and social care service as identified in ‘Our health, our care, our say’.

The report is unique in establishing a collaborative approach between central and local government, the sectors of professional leadership, providers and the regulator. To achieve the transformation required to deliver this agenda will mean working across the boundaries of organisations such as adult social services and health, housing, benefits, leisure and transport. It will also mean working across the sector with partners from independent, voluntary and community organisations.

To download a PDF click here.

National Survey of NHS Staff

The Healthcare Commission conducted this survey to look at the attitudes and experiences of NHS staff both nationally, because of the importance of the NHS, and by individual trust, so that employers can review any issues with their own staff and take action. To enable this, each NHS trust has already been provided with its own detailed report.

This is the fifth annual national survey of NHS staff, which was conducted between October and December 2007. The survey is believed to be the largest annual staff survey in the world. Almost 156,000 employees from all 391 NHS trusts in England (54% of staff) responded to a questionnaire asking about their views and experiences of working for the NHS.

For a summary of the results and to download the full report click here.

Centre for Public Scrutiny Conference

Public Accountability and Empowerment – A New Era for Scrutiny will be the largest conference this year dedicated to issues of scrutiny and public accountability. 

As part of the Centre for Public Scrutiny’s ongoing support for the implementation of LINks in partnership with NHS Centre for Involvement, specific workshops will be run for people interested in LINks.  To further support this audience, the CfPS is providing a free place to one LINks member every time a LINks Host books a place.

The two workshops for people interested in LINks are:
• Building Relationships for Locally Accountable Health and Social Care
• Strategic Commissioning and Holding Commissioners to Account

For more information visit: www.cfps.org.uk/conference; or to download a flyer for this conference click here.

Community Power Pack launched

Involve is proud to announce the launch of the 'Community Power Pack'; a document that Involve has developed for Communities and Local Government (CLG).

The 'Community Power Pack' contains all the information you need to run a participative event on Empowerment. It follows Communities Secretary Hazel Blears’ announcement of a new Empowerment White Paper. It is aimed at groups who wouldn't normally take part to let their views and experiences be known; and as a result the pack has been made as practical and easy to use as possible.

For more information please visit the CLG website. Alternatively please email unlockingTalent@communities.gsi.gov.uk for more information.

Involve will be updating the pack based on user feedback and we welcome any thoughts you might have on it. Please send your practical thoughts and ideas on the pack to edward@involve.org.uk.

What’s going on in the Centre & opportunities for involvement

Evidence for Practice

Evidence Based Digest

The Spring issue of the Evidence Based Digest from the NHS Centre for Involvement (NCI) is now available on our website. In this issue, the “Focus On” article looks at the developing evidence base surrounding the Local Involvement Networks (LINks). It also takes a look at developments in policy and national research which contribute to the evidence base around involvement and engagement, as well as research news from the NCI.

Click here to download a PDF or text version of this issue.

Annual survey on the state of PPI

Last year the NCI undertook the first Annual Survey on the state of PPI in English NHS Trusts. The report from last year is currently being prepared for release following feedback. Planning for this year’s survey is underway. For more information or to get involved please check the NHS Centre for Involvement website which will be updated regularly.

PPI in Commissioning

The Evidence for Practice Team at the NCI have set up a project that critically examines and explores the involvement of patients and the public in the commissioning process at (currently) two Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) across England. The focus of the involvement is determined locally by each PCT, hence reflecting local priorities. The overall aim is to review the cases and draw out core principles to enable the development of a guidance document for PPI in commissioning. The project is in a preliminary stage and we are looking for other case sites. If you are interested in taking part or want more information about the project please contact sandy.herron-marx@warwick.ac.uk.

PCX network

Paul Emmerson - Patient-Citizen Exchange Project Manager Paul Emmerson is leaving the NHS Centre for Involvement to take up a new role at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.  The Centre would like to thank Paul for all his work, creativity and enthusiasm in his work – his contribution to the work of the NCI, and particularly the establishment of the PCX network, has been a great asset to the organisation. We wish Paul very good luck within his new post.

Daisy Hayden has been appointed as the Interim Project Manager for the Patient-Citizen Exchange; she will also be leading work on the LINks Exchange. Daisy was previously a Knowledge Manager at the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, and prior to that ran the Rehabilitation Development Network at the King’s Fund.

PCX live! Events

Three PCX network live! Events were held in April in Leicester, Exeter and Newmarket. They were very well attended, with representatives from the voluntary sector,  former PPI Forums, LINks Host organisations, NHS and Local Authorities. The events focussed on sharing practical advice from the field of Patient and Public Involvement, networking and a strong emphasis on Local Involvement Networks.

There were lively round table discussions at all three events on what were the key elements needed to create a successful Local Involvement Network. More information about the events can be found at www.pcx.nhs.uk.

The PCX team are in the process of planning the next event to be held in the South East region in June.

PCX Network Project

The Evidence for Practice team has recently completed a project assessing the learning needs of patient citizens, using the online Patient-Citizen Exchange Network (PCX network) community as a sample. This project has fed into the development of a ‘Passport to Learning’ document which was piloted at the recent ‘PCX live! Events’.  The pilot 'Passport to Learning' document is available on the PCX network.  We welcome any comments or feedback on this document.

Dates for the diary

A selection of events and training that you may find useful are listed below.  Please note:  the NHS Centre for Involvement has not organised any of the below events and this list is for information.

Comprehensive Engagement Strategies (in association with IDeA)

14 May 2008
15 May 2008
3 June 2008
11 June 2008
18 June 2008
19 June 2008

16 May 2008: Just Managing in Health - What Counts as Success?
22 May 2008:

  Patient Involvement and Empowerment 2008
5 June 2008:

  Evaluating Public Engagement - a joint Involve / Consutlation Institute training course
11 June 2008:  Responding to Consultations
12 June 2008:  Event – Better Networks for Better Health
18 June 2008:  Meeting Diversity in Patient Information
18 June 2008:  Consultation – Before & After

Newsletter Editorial Panel

Our newsletter editorial panel helps the Centre think through the issues that need to be explored in the world of PPI.

The panel now includes:

  • Carol Rawlings, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust;
  • Andrew Langford, Skin Care Campaign;
  • Usha Prema, Kensington and Chelsea Primary Care Trust;
  • Helen Stevens, The Campaign Company;
  • Marilyn Hammick, Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education;
  • David Hart, Help the Hospices and Trinity Service User Groups;
  • Amjad Rahi, LINk steering group member, London Tower Hamlets;
  • Iona Burchell, Expert Patient Programme Facilitator;
  • Luke Albarin, Citizens Advice, Worcester;
  • Mike Llywelyn Cox, Service User Involvement representative; and
  • Brendan McInerney, Barton and Tredworth Community Trust Centre.
©2008 CAIPE - Registered Charity Number 1065062 Site design by Ichameleon powered by Treeline CMS