Patient Focus and Public Involvement (PFPI)Committee Report to Grampian NHS Board

Committee Meeting on 19 November 2014

Purpose of Report

This report updates the Grampian NHS Board on key issues arising from the Committee meeting on 19 November 2014 which the Committee considers would be of interest to Board members.

Recommendation

The Board is asked to note the following key points:

1Safe Moving and Handling Carers Project

The Committee received a brief summary of the Safe Moving and Handling (Carers) Project Report. This project has been funded through the CarersInformation Strategy for two years. A three tier approach has been utilised to provide:

  • generic information to carers on safe moving and handling
  • a series of workshops across Grampian to provide information on spinal awareness, self-care and self-assessment
  • home based training to increase carers’ awareness of moving and handling risks and how to manage these risks.

An information leaflet/z card had been developed and was available to carers at first point of contact via clinical staff, GP practices, therapists and outpatient clinics

Six workshops had been facilitated, including one aimed at young carers. Links had been made with stakeholder agencies such as VSA and Alzheimer Scotland to provide practical advice and support.

Home based training is to be offered to 66 carers and an evaluation of each visit will be completed. Feedback received hadalready been very supportive

The Committee noted the report and acknowledged the benefits the project was bringing to unpaid carers.

2 PFPI Stakeholder Engagement Framework and Action Plan

The Stakeholder Engagement Framework had been approved at the last PFPI Committee meeting. At that meeting it was agreed that the next steps would be to produce a draft Action Plan to implement the Framework and then put this out for consultation.

The draft Action Plan set out the specific actions to be achieved in each main area of engagement work.

The Action Plan covered the following areas:

  • Person centred care
  • Patient and public information
  • Engagement following care
  • Workforce engagement
  • Engagement in service planning and delivery
  • Advocacy
  • Volunteering
  • Carers
  • People with a protected characteristic
  • Local Authorities, third sector partners and communities

The Committee members fully endorsed the Action Plan and were keen to ensure that the plan was reviewed periodically.

3 Public Involvement Team Staffing

The Committee noted that there had been a number of changes to staffing within the public involvement team, including the manager being on a secondment opportunity and one PFPI Officer post being vacancy and not due to be filled until the early part of 2015. However the Committee was reassured that a positive response had been received to the advertising of the vacant post. The Committee noted that the team capacity would be reduced in the short term and that involvement work was being prioritised accordingly

Christine Lester

PFPI Committee Chair

January 2015

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