Patient Involvement

The NHS in Scotland aims to work more in partnership with patients. Learning from patient experiences and from service user engagement initiatives is key to this. Initiatives that ignore inequalities issues are discriminatory. Service user engagement should specifically involve people representing the interests of the protected characteristics.

People’s experience of inequalities relates to why they develop health problems, do not engage with health services and find it difficult to manage their health problems

Service user engagement and patient experience programmes that recognise inequalities issues will:

In the long term, inequalities sensitive programmes will lead to a better understanding of:

NHSGGC Public Involvement Activities

In the NHS in Scotland, the Patient Focus Public Involvement (PFPI) workstream covers engagement with geographical communities and communities of interest.

NHSGGC has the following structures for public involvement:

• Corporate Equalities Health Reference Group and Health Equalities Network
• Public Partnership Forums in CH(C)P areas
• Acute Services Public Focus Public Involvement  Programmes
• Mental Health Services Public Focus Public Involvement  Programmes 

NHSGGC is undertaking some innovative work on public involvement and equalities issues, including:

• A new corporate approach to public involvement, in response to the review of the NHSGGC Equality Scheme. Click here for details.
• Better connection between corporate and service approaches to public involvement, including shared learning on Equality Impact Assessments and equalities awareness for public involvement participants.

Useful Links

Better Access To Health - Involving Disabled People in improving NHS services

Involvement: A Practical Guide, Equality and Human Rights Commission

Glasgow Disability Alliance Toolkit

Goal 2. Engages with those experiencing inequality and discrimination