Patient and User Involvement
Improving service delivery and changes to models of service need to be undertaken in partnership with patients, carers and other appropriate stakeholders. This is core to NHSS policy and is the starting point for service modernisation and service redesign.
NHS Boards have statutory duties to meet health and social care needs of the people in their areas. Their aim is to provide the best service they can for the greatest number of people within the resources available to them. CHPs already have local partnership fora that involve and engage local communities in developing solutions for local health, education and social care services. These partnerships have a role to play in informing and planning local developments for wheelchair and seating services and in informing local disability strategies, making these services visible to people who use them.
Each NHS Board has a duty to engage with and ensure patient and user involvement in the planning and development of health services, wheelchair users and their carers need to feature within these structures and processes to inform planning, development and provision of wheelchair services to meet the needs of local users within Board areas. Wheelchair user groups in each NHS Board will help to inform the planning, commissioning and delivery of wheelchair and seating services based on the needs of their local populations.
National Procurement agree NHS supply contracts in collaboration with WSS providers, and this determines the variety and range of wheelchair and seating products available for NHS issue. There is potential for local wheelchair user groups to provide a network of advice for National Services Scotland ( NSS) National Procurement. This will assist in the process of providing feedback to manufacturers and inform the range of products available.
This does not preclude patients and service users from exercising personal choice and in seeking equipment to purchase independent of the NHS or statutory services if they wish to do so.
Action | Who | By When |
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Each NHS Board must establish a wheelchair user and carer group as part of their PFPI structures and processes | NHSPFPI Leads; wheelchair users and their carers | June 2009 |
National Procurement as part of NSS will include wheelchair users views and feedback to inform product selection in accordance with PFPI | NHS, NSS, National Procurement | September 2009 |
Each CHP will ensure that wheelchair users and their carers are appropriately represented in their local partnership forum to inform local service planning and development | CHPs | June 2009 |