BUSINESS SERVICES
8.PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT FORUMS
Matter for Consideration
The relationship between the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and Blackpool’s two Patient and Public Involvement Forums.
Information
There is a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum for every NHS Trust and Primary Care Trust (PCT) in England, and they are made up of local volunteers. In Blackpool, there is a Patient and Public Involvement Forum for both the Primary Care Trust, and the Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust.
Patient and Public Involvement Forums play an active role in health-related decision making within their communities, and each PPI Forum is supported by a Forum Support Organisation and a regional centre.
Patient and Public Involvement Forums are an effective method of raising awareness of the needs and views of patients and the public, and placing them at the centre of health services. They have a number of primary roles, which include:
-Obtaining views from local communities about health services and make recommendations and reports;
-Making reports and recommendations on the range and day-to-day delivery of health services;
-Influencing the design of and access to NHS services;
-Providing advice and information to patients and their carers about services
PPI Forums work together to share experiences and to address common issues.
The following quote is taken from Local Authority Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees and Patient and Public Involvement Forums Working Together:
‘Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs) and Patient and Public Involvement Forums (PPIFs) operate mainly at the collective and strategic levels…[and] have a role in identifying locally important issues by reaching out to the public and communities in different ways. They may look at issues ranging from the delivery of health services to the development of services that aim to prevent ill health such as smoking cessation services or initiatives to reduce obesity. Their roles are equally important in delivering the new approach of a “patient and public led NHS” by holding health services to account in the public interest and influencing service development’.
The full document is attached at Paper ‘D’.
The Centre for Public Scrutiny advise that Overview and Scrutiny Committees and Patient and Public Involvement Forums should work together and share information where relevant in order to scrutinise health provision as effectively as possible at the local level.
Substantial Variations
As Members may be aware, each NHS Trust has a duty to consult with the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committees when considering a potentially substantial variation or development to the service it provides.
Overview and Scrutiny Committees are responsible for the ultimate decision of whether or not a variation in service is substantial, but in coming to a decision they need to balance a variety of issues and reflect the views of patients and the local community. Accordingly, Patient and Public Involvement Forums can provide Overview and Scrutiny Committees with valuable evidence and data from local community, and those who use the services liable to be affected.
Although the Centre for Public Scrutiny advises that regulations prohibit Members of Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees from being co-opted onto Patient and Public Involvement Forums, Members may wish to establish informal links with the Forums in order to ensure that an effective working relationship is maintained with the Committee.
Relevant Officer
Mark Lewis, Head of Legal and Democratic Services.
Background Papers
None.
Recommendations
That the Committee nominates:
i.one Member to act as an informal link with Blackpool Primary Care Trust’s Patient and Public Involvement Forum; and
ii.one Member to act as an informal link with Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust’s Patient and Public Involvement Forum.