Embedding user involvement and consultation in the service development process

Evolving Communities — Tue, 10 May 2022 11:25:52 +0000

Project case study:

User advisory groups

Embedding user involvement and consultation in the service development process

Evolving Communities worked with Dorothy House Hospice Care to create and run a user advisory group. The group aimed to offer an opportunity for service users to express their opinions about the service. We recruited volunteers to the group and promoted a programme of meetings, engagement, consultation and evaluation as part of the project.

Dorothy House Hospice Care

Dorothy House Hospice Care supports people with a life-limiting illness across a large geographical area which includes Bath and north-east Somerset, part of Wiltshire and part of Somerset. Care and support is given at home, in the hospice or at outreach centres. They are committed to consulting with people who use their services about the care they provide.

Our work

Dorothy House wanted to develop an effective process for ensuing user involvement and consultation is integral to the development and improvement of their services. They commissioned Evolving Communities Consultancy to help them to set up and run a User Advisory Group.

The aim of the User Advisory Group is to provide an opportunity for people who have used Dorothy House Hospice Care services to express their open and honest opinions about the service. This includes patients, their family members and unpaid carers, general health and care service users, those interested in end of life care, and those interested in promoting the voice of users more generally.

We recruited volunteer members to the advisory group, supported the group with establishing, administering, and promoting a programme of work including meetings, user engagement and consultation activities, evaluation and reporting. The Advisory Group is now firmly established in the Dorothy House service development process. They work collaboratively with staff and service users, and providing an independent user perspective to influence service development and quality of care.

Working with:

“Thank you so much for all the support, good ideas, feedback and critique that the advisory group have provided over the past three years. I know that your input has significantly improved many of the services and care that we provide to patients and their families and for that I and our Executive Team are extremely appreciative.”

Chief Executive

Dorothy House Hospice Care

Read the reports

A year of supporting patient and carer involvement

Year 1

Amplifying the voice of patients and families

Year 2

Impact Report

Year 3

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Do you need expert help with community engagement, service evaluation or co-production? Find out more about our approach and get in touch with our team today.

Complaints Liaison Group (PALS) for healthcare professionals

Evolving Communities — Mon, 09 May 2022 18:26:11 +0000

Project case study:

User advisory groups

Complaints Liaison Group (PALS) for healthcare professionals

Working with:

Evolving Communities set up and facilitated a PALS complaints liaison group in the South West which provided a non-judgemental space for managers to discuss issues and concerns, and to share good practice.

Background to the work

Through running our local Healthwatch services we know that people often find it difficult to raise a concern or make a complaint about a health or care service. We also know that many service providers are looking at more innovative ways of collecting data from their patients/clients/residents. It would be good to think that good practice was routinely shared across the sector, but this is not always the case.

What did we do?

We set up and facilitated a complaints liaison group in a county in the South West. This brought together Customer Care and Patient Advice and Liaison Managers from local hospital and mental health trusts as well as GP out of hours providers, the CCG, as well as representatives from social care and advocacy providers. This provided a non-judgemental space for Managers to discuss issues and concerns as well as to share good practice. The meetings ran quarterly. At the managers request, we also ran two similar groups for PALS staff who all reported that they had found it helpful and supportive.

Bringing together staff from across the health, care and voluntary sector can be challenging but can bring about improvements in practice and service provision. It can also build up support networks.

We can help you to bring together and engage with key staff in your sector and externally. Contact us to find out more.

Other consultancy projects

Work with us

Do you need expert help with community engagement, service evaluation or co-production? Find out more about our approach and get in touch with our team today.

User advisory groups | Evolving Communities

Embedding user involvement and consultation in the service development process

Project case study:

User advisory groups