Patient & Public Participation

Scottish Health Council, Participation Standard:

NHS Boards need to ensure that people have a say in decisions about their care and in the development of local health services. The Participation Standard is a way of measuring how well NHS Boards do this. It is one of the commitments set out in the Scottish Government's Better Health, Better Care: Action Plan to develop a "mutual NHS" where health services meet the needs and preferences of individuals.

The Participation Standard measures three things:

1. How well NHS Boards focus on the patient – people should be involved in discussions about their own treatment and care; information about treatments and local health services should be available and easily accessible; people should be treated with dignity and respect; carers should be supported; and people should be encouraged and helped to give feedback or make complaints about services.
2. How well NHS Boards involve the public – people should be well informed about local healthcare services; supported to get involved in making decisions about changes to services; and told how their views have been taken into account.
3. How NHS Boards take responsibility for ensuring they involve the public – NHS Boards should make sure their decisions take account of the views of the public; and should encourage their own members of staff to involve the public in their work.

http://scottishhealthcouncil.org/patient__public_participation/participation_standard/participation_standard.aspx