NHS Highland: We want to hear your feedback on our performance
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Here in NHS Highland, we believe that person-centred care is about ensuring that care is personalised, co-ordinated and supports people to make choices, manage their own health and live independent lives where possible and access the right care and support when required, writes Kate Patience-Quate.
Person-centred care is achievable when health and social care professionals work together with people to tailor services to support what matters most to them and their loved ones.
That’s why we are promoting National Patient Participation Week 2023 as an opportunity to highlight the importance of feedback to our patients and our staff.
From a patient and family perspective, it is so important that we make it easy for people to give feedback on their care experience and seek to understand what matters most to people to improve the way we deliver care. From a staff perspective, patient experience is one of the central pillars of quality in health and social care and it’s equally important to hear what we are doing well as it is to hear what we need to improve.
There are several different ways in which you can share your experience and we are trying to be as flexible and creative as we can to make this easier and more accessible for everyone.
For example, in some of our wards and departments we have feedback trees or post boxes where people can leave a simple message on paper and this has proved to be a really simple but effective means of sharing ideas for improvement or perhaps a message of thanks and appreciation which gives us all a little boost.
In developing our approach and encouraging feedback from a broad range of people across the whole of Highland, we are setting up a panel of patients, carers and service users.Panel members will be asked to answer surveys and occasionally participate in focus groups – participation is optional for each activity.
We welcome everyone and are particularly interested to hear from people who are from a minority group or have a protected characteristic.
To register interest, please email nhsh.engage@nhs.scot with ‘Highland 100 Panel’ in the subject line.
Other ways of sharing your experience of NHS Highland is by using Care Opinion.
This free, independent service lets you share your story online, or you can fill in a written form, or phone. Care Opinion anonymises stories and collate feedback so that we can learn from any overarching issues. The individual teams or staff involved also get to see the feedback so they can hear your thank yous or make improvements: www.careopinion.org.uk
Alternatively, you can also contact us directly, by calling or emailing our feedback team: nhshighland.feedback@nhs.scot, 01463 705997, The Feedback Team, NHS Highland, PO Box 5713, Inverness IV1 9AQ or there is an online form on our website.
We try to resolve any issues as quickly as possible, but if you do need to make a complaint there is an online form and information on the process and your rights on our website.
Patient Advice and Support Service is an independent service, part of the Scottish Citizens Advice Bureau. They provide free, confidential advice and support. Call 0800 917 2127 or go to www.cas.org.uk
So do get in touch this Patient Participation Week, or at any point that you use NHS Highland Services. We look forward to hearing from you!
Kate Patience-Quate is deputy nurse director of NHS Highland.
