Patient involvement resource centre opens
A new patient and public involvement resource centre was due to open as The Journal went to press. The centre aims to develop and support NHS staff and organisations in order to involve people in local health services.
Making the announcement last week, health minister Rosie Winterton said: “The
centre will be a one-stop shop for information and advice and will identify
learning opportunities to improve consultation at a national, regional
and local level. The centre will give encouragement to those organisations
which lead the way in patient and public involvement and support and
advice to those who need it.”
The centre will be run by a consortium made up of the University of Warwick,
the Centre for Public Scrutiny and the Long-term Medical Conditions Alliance.
It will support the NHS as a whole, at local provider, regional and national
levels.
Harry Cayton, the Department of Health’s director for patients
and the public, said: “There is much active engagement of service
users and patients already: cancer networks, mental health user groups,
patient surveys and public consultations. The new centre will bring all
this expertise together as a focus for learning and innovation.”
Jonathan Tritter, executive director of the centre, said: “With
the many reforms that are coming on stream, such as patient choice and
practice-based commissioning, it is essential that systems are put in
place to ensure that views and preferences of patients’ and the
public are listened to and incorporated into the planning, design and
delivery of current and future services.”
An announcement from the Department of Health on the future of Patient
and Public Involvement Forums is expected within the next few of weeks.
The Society and PPI A strategy for patient
and public involvement in the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society’s policy and decision-making processes will be put
to the Society’s Council for approval at its meeting next week. A revised
strategy will then go out to pharmacists and other interested parties for consultation
over the summer and the responses will be presented to the Council at its December
meeting. Implementation of the strategy will begin next year. The strategy
aims to make sure that patients and the public are involved in decisions from
the
earliest stages of a process rather than being consulted when work is almost
complete.
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