Local people, patients and carers are at the centre of our plans to improve health care in Richmond. To ensure that this happens there are several ways that local people can get involved in our work and wider health and care services.
We have a programme of community outreach – going to local grassroots communities and speaking to people we don’t normally hear from. This work is delivered with local Healthwatch organisations.
We may need to do specific pieces of work to shape local services – and we tailor our approach to the needs of each project. For example, we may run a focus group or hold one to one interviews with people affected by a condition or service. We use Public Health population needs information, service data from providers, and the findings from equality impact assessments to identify who may be affected by the project and therefore who we need to involve. Our engagement plans are regularly reviewed to ensure we are involving the right people.
We have a Community Involvement Group which provides a valuable source of insight and oversight from key voluntary sector and community organisations, Richmond Council and Healthwatch Richmond about our patient and public engagement and equalities work. The Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group (PPESG) ensures that there is effective lay involvement and patient and public engagement across the South West London Health and Care Partnership.
Our approach to engagement provides more information on the different methods we use to make sure that the patient voice is at the centre of our work, how we work with our colleagues in health and care to do this and how we engage with local people in a way that works for them.
Ways to get involved and have your say
- Speak to your GP surgery about joining their patient participation group (PPG)
- Come along and observe one of our meetings in public and ask a question.
- Give your views on local services via our feedback form
- Share your story with us – of living with a health condition and/or your recent experience of local NHS services so we can improve those services
- Join our database to find out about opportunities to get involved in shaping our services
- Join Healthwatch Richmond
- Visit the community involvement pages at Richmond CVS for more information about how you can work with others to help shape local health and care services
View our latest patient and public engagement review which provides an overview of patient and public engagement (PPE) for 2018/2019 and our progress against our PPE forward plan 2019/20.
If you find information on our website hard to find or difficult to understand, please get in touch with us so that we can hear your feedback. We are always happy to provide written information in different formats.
Visit the King’s Fund for more information about how the NHS works.
Patient and public voice in governance
When we make decisions, we want a range of views to be included. This includes having “lay members” on our governing body and sub-committees. Lay members are members of the public who act as an advocate for public interests.
“We are committed as to putting the public and patients at the centre of all we do; guiding our thinking and decision-making as a governing body. I am proud to see our engagement activities develop year on year, as we work with partners to develop and deliver the best possible health services for the local population.” Susan Smith, Lay Member for Public and Patient Involvement (PPI)
Healthwatch Richmond is a member of our governing body, primary care commissioning committee and other committees.
Our PPG network is represented on our primary care commissioning committee.
Across south west London, the patient and public engagement steering group makes sure there is effective lay involvement and public engagement across the South West London Health and Care Partnership.
How we use your feedback
Our latest patient and public engagement review and you said, we did reports show how we use your feedback to shape services and inform our work.