STANDARD QUESTIONS FOR ANY NHS PROJECT INVOLVING PATIENTS AND PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVES
“NHS England must make arrangements to secure that individuals to whom the services are being or may be provided and their carers and representatives, if any, are involved (whether by being consulted or being provided with information) in the planning of commissioning arrangements and in the development and consideration of proposals (NHS Health and Care Act section 13Q 2022)”. Optimal performance is achieved by truly engaging in co-production not tokenistic box ticking.
The following questions will help you to guage whether this is taking place:
Have patients and public been invited to participate from the beginning of the project?
How will the necessary expenses and time spent in the role be compensated?
Face-to-Face meetings develop more synergy than webinars so have face-to-face meetings been factored in and scheduled as part of the workplan?
Are the briefing papers be sent to members seven days before the meeting so they can study contents?
Is the text in presentations of sufficient size to be easily read when projected on display screen?
Is full documentation available for the patient in both digital and printed format?
Does all information meet the simplistic requirements of the Write to Me project?
Have all acronyms been expanded?
Is there a glossary of all acronyms been provided in large documents?
Medical Research Trials and Pilots
Has a record of the interview with the Multi-Disciplinary Team or consultant been provided?
Have the patients involved in research program been given a holistic needs assessment?
Has a personal contact (advanced nurse practitioner or similar) been identified to the patient?
Does the programme comply with GDPR requirements on data security?
Have patients in the trial been reassured as to how their personal information will be shared?
Is the research being carried out uniformly across all areas of England?
Does the service protect LGBTQIA+ interests?
Are the needs of the patient with highest indices of social deprivation (homeless, sex workers, travelers, people from minority ethnicities) been addressed?
Paul Osman 9th July 2023