Patient & Public Involvement

What is Patient & Public Involvement?

The Government is committed to building a health service which is responsive and sensitive to the needs of patients and the public.

‘Patient and Public Involvement in the new NHS’ was launched in September 1999 to guide health organisations in involving patients, users, carers and the public in health and health services.

The West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust is committed to the above principle and our aims are to:

·       provide better patient information

·       listen to patients and be responsive to their issues and concerns

·       provide advice and support to patients, relatives and carers where necessary

·       build on existing practices to achieve all of the above.

Who are we looking for?

To help us to achieve these aims we need your support.  We are looking for volunteers from patients, relatives and carers, who have used our services, or members of the public who are interested in being more involved in our hospital.

What would I be doing?

There are three ways you can help us:

1. By becoming a user representative on a committee

This involves being a ‘lay’ member of a group in the hospital. You could be contributing to discussions on how we can improve our current services or helping develop new service developments for the future.

We will arrange for you to talk through the relevant issues with the project lead or chair of the group before you attend for the first time.

2. By approving new patient literature

We have developed a review programme to update patient information leaflets and are looking for individuals who are willing to review the literature and comment upon them. You can volunteer to read leaflets from any of our departments, or just review leaflets in which you may have an on-going interest or considerable knowledge of (e.g. diabetes or heart disease).  We have developed a review programme to update patient information leaflets and are looking for individuals who are willing to review the literature and comment upon them. You can volunteer to read leaflets from any of our departments, or just review leaflets in which you may have an on-going interest or considerable knowledge of (e.g. diabetes or heart disease).

3. By helping us design patient satisfaction surveys

One of the ways we measure the success of our services is by using satisfaction surveys. Several of these are undertaken each year, and we are interested recruiting people to help with the design of the questions.

What is the time commitment?

If you become a user representative on a group, or help us to design a satisfaction survey, you will usually be asked to attend one meeting a month, during normal working hours (9.00am – 5.30pm).  Meetings last for between one and two hours.

If you become involved in reviewing patient literature, we will send leaflets to you at your home to review. It is unlikely we will ask to you attend any meetings.

Are there any costs involved?

As we mentioned previously, we are looking for volunteers. However, we are happy to reimburse any reasonable travel costs to and from the hospital for meetings.

If any documents are sent to you and need to be returned by post, we will provide a pre-paid envelope for you which does not require any stamps.

What is really important to us is your time and contribution to our services, which is very precious to us.

What do I do if I am still interested?

Contact the PALS Office in main reception or call us on 01284 712555 and we will take your details.