Examples

Any member of the team would be able to say how they involve patients as they go about their work

A nurse describes her experience

"Patient involvement was a new idea to some people. Discussing the topic made us think about patient involvement, not as an abstract idea but in reality, what we are doing now, and then thinking about small changes we could make and having the opportunity between sessions to try things out and discuss how we got on at the next session – this made it seem do-able."

It has given me the confidence to be more challenging. I now feel able to tackle inflexible ways of doing things; to say this is what we should be doing, because it is best practice.”

Discussing patient involvement also helped us get to know each other better, and that has been extremely valuable. "

A radiographer describes how her team benefited from being more patient-focused

“We've looked at what we can do differently and feel we can now influence things.”

“We arrange for nurses in other departments to come and visit the ultra-sound rooms and see what we're doing. Although they work in the same hospital some nurses haven't even been in the rooms before.”

“It has made us communicate more and we're in agreement about what we want to achieve. We have lots of ideas for change and if the department is ever renovated we'll know exactly what we want!”

“I now feel more enthusiastic and more empowered. The great thing is it can empower all staff- support as well as clinical.”

A nurse on a thoracic ward describes what she means by patient-focused care

“When I came to this unit I wanted to introduce the patient-focussed whole-person philosophy I learned in Oncology. People here hadn't recognised the need, but when I discussed it with them, the team were very receptive. It has made other people aware of who I am and what I do. It has been a great catalyst for networking. Most patients come to the unit for an intervention: we have helped them to expand their view of the role of the hospital.”

See also http://www.4ps.com/pfa2/evidence/examples/whyinvolveexamples.htm

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