Themes:
- Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)
- Partnership working
- Effecting change within the NHS
Background:
South Manchester PPI Forum consisted of 6 volunteers meeting on a monthly basis and these have now merged to become a city-wide PPI Forum in Manchester. Within the forum, a number of sub-groups have been created to deal with specific issues, for example, dental health, older people, sexual health and a GP working group. The Forum is made up of people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including:
- carers
- a magistrate
- students
- a nurse
- patients
- general members of the public who have an interest in health
The forum also represents a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds including White British, Indian, Black Caribbean, Pakistani, Irish and Asian. However, the ethnic and social backgrounds of forum members are not seen as a major issue as the forum takes pride in its role of actively seeking out the views of the local community, users of Primary Care services, and / or hospitals. Volunteers have their transport and meal expenses met, and have access to a wide range of appropriate training courses including:
- Community engagement
- Working as a forum
- Media skills and project management.
The most important fact to note is that the Forum is a statutory body set up by the Government with powers to make a difference and members believe this is the part that can really help make an impact on the patient and public experience of NHS services.
The Governance Role:
The Forum is administrated by the “Black Health Agency” (BHA), a locally rooted social enterprise. BHA was originally set up on a voluntary basis by six community activists who were concerned that the needs of the local Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) community were not being met by statutory or voluntary sector services. Val Bayliss-Brideaux is the member of staff responsible for the co-ordination of the Manchester Primary Care PPI Forums. While BHA plays a governance role, Val sees her own position as being more of a supporting role at a local level, helping forum members achieve their aims.
Patient and Public Involvement:
As part of this supporting role, Val helped the members of the forums in South Manchester to co-ordinate a patient experience survey with users of the Nightingale Centre, a breast clinic sited at Withington Hospital and scheduled for closure. The survey was designed to inform the planners of the new breast centre to be built at Wythenshawe hospital. The Forum volunteers planned and publicised the survey with the help of Val. There was widespread coverage in local and regional media beforehand, and people who had used the services of the Nightingale Centre were invited to share their experiences by filling in the survey. Posters were displayed around the waiting room at the Nightingale centre to highlight the existence of the survey, and a display stand was sited in reception along with copies of the survey for patients to complete.
The responses were gathered and analysed to form the basis of the report “My Breasts, My Care.” Within this, the forum made a list of nine recommendations to the two local NHS Trusts involved in delivering breast services (see Table 1). These recommendations were linked to 7 domains of activity that are part of core standards healthcare organisations treating NHS patients should be achieving. This enabled key issues, as seen by patients, to be presented in a format that facilitates their implementation by the PCT. So, for example, the forum volunteers discovered through the survey that patients would like an area set aside for patients who have received bad news. Additionally the survey found that patients receiving bad news would prefer a separate exit so as to avoid people waiting for an appointment. This was transmitted to the Trust under the heading “To increase active support (training and education) for both staff and users in difficult situations”. Val helped the volunteers link this to the healthcare commission standard c13a – staff treat service users, their relatives and carers with dignity and respect. As part of their response to the recommendations, South Manchester PCT have agreed to equip the new building with 4 rooms dedicated to the provision of counselling services. Additionally separate exits are to be provided from these counselling rooms.
Conclusion:
By working together with support the Forum volunteers were able to combine the forum’s expertise in public consultation with Val’s detailed knowledge of policy. This has resulted in all nine recommendations being accepted by South Manchester PCT and incorporated into the planning of the new Breast Cancer Prevention Centre. The case study demonstrates how volunteers and experts can work together within the forums mechanism to effect change within the NHS.
For further information please contact
Val Bayliss-Brideaux
Manchester Health Watchdog Co-ordinator
Patient and Public Involvement Forums
BHA/PPI Team
2nd Floor, Gaddum House
6 Great Jackson Street
Manchester, M15 4AX
0161 214 3967
val@blackhealthagency.org.uk
www.blackhealthagency.org.uk
