Teams which have decided to work towards patient friendly accreditation can claim the status of ‘working towards patient friendly assessment' when they can demonstrate that they meet the following criteria.

The health care team should

• be able to describe what it means by patient and public involvement
• share clinical letters and reports with patients
• have begun to develop policies and procedures to encourage the use of formal and informal feedback from patients, public and staff to improve services
• recognise the contribution made by members of the public and community groups
• give an example of what the team is doing to recognise that the patient is on a journey of which the team is only part
• strive to provide the best possible experience for patients within its care.