Patient and Public Involvement
Patient and Public Involvement Strategy
Although this is not required to be reported on with our Quality Account, we feel that it is really important to tell people how we have engaged with our patients and their representatives.
During the last year Patient and Public Involvement has been focused on achieving the priorities set within the coproduction of the Patient and Public Involvement strategy. This has been the first entirely co-produced strategy by the trust. It went beyond consulting with our patients, being led by them, their views and their needs.
This piece of coproduction has led to other coproduced projects, including service improvements and patient participated training for call handlers when receiving a call from a patient with mental illness.
The relaxation of some COVID measures over the last year has meant that the teams have been able to engage broadly with the public at events, schools and within community settings. We would not be able to achieve this far-reaching engagement without the support of our wonderful volunteers.
Community Engagement Group (CEG)
EEAST Community Engagement Group extends the reach of the patient and public involvement team. Working with this group of volunteers enables us to link in with representatives of communities and those with an interest in the service from across the region. Members regularly share their views on the service as patient representatives, suggesting ways the service could be improved for patients and the public. The development of the PPI strategy has given the CEG an opportunity to develop the ways in which members engage with the Trust and their communities. The group have set an ambitious workplan focussing on portfolio areas of special interest to best utilise the expertise of our volunteers and ensure the group are best placed to support the delivery of the strategy.
Engagement Activities
Face-to-face engagement events provide an opportunity to speak with the public about the service and the gain their feedback. This gives us an opportunity to hear from people who may not usually have contacted EEAST. Most engagement this year has been virtual with opportunities for face-to-face engagement remaining low. As a Trust we are mindful of the current covid situation, we understand the importance of physical presence at events with our communities.
Engagement with schools and community groups has been challenged during the pandemic. These visits give EEAST the opportunity to talk to children about the correct use of the service, offer some first aid and CPR training and show children the equipment we use.
EEAST staff have taken part in over 400 engagement activities with patients, representative groups, and the communities we serve.
Patient and Family Stories
Our discovery interviews with patients supplement how we learn from patient experiences as a Trust. These interviews give patients the opportunity to share their story in their own words on video. These are shown at the Trust public board meetings and discussed by the Board. Discovery interviews are also used for training, handling complaints, serious incidents, and as part of the staff induction programme. Patient stories are a powerful learning tool for hearing the patient voice directly from them. This year we have completed 19 discovery interviews, these have been completed in a mix of face to face, virtual and with translation services.
The team have been developing ways to share interviews with staff including the use of social media, podcasts and the Trust Need to Know articles.
Examples of this can be viewed using the links below:
Patient with hearing loss explaining the challenges when using an emergency service.
Patient experiencing a delay whilst suffering from a heart attack.
Links with HealthWatch and Patient Representative Groups
The PPI team and our Community Engagement Group volunteers regularly attend Healthwatch meetings and other meetings of patient representative groups including the citizen’s senate and patient participation groups. We have continued to expand our representation with other organisations and specialist groups across the region over the last year which has extended the reach of the Trust and patient and public involvement to engage widely.
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