Part Two: The Classes Of Information That We Hold

9. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND CONSULTATION

Our ethos
Patient and public involvement is the responsibility of every individual working for our
Trust. The communities we serve must be central to all we do as a Trust, not only in terms of the care we provide to members of these communities but also in terms of the contribution we can make to those communities as an employer of local people and consumer of local goods and services.

How we are supporting patient and public involvement
Patient and public involvement (PPI) is the term used by the NHS Plan to refer to what the Trust calls service user, carer and community involvement. To find our more about the patient and public involvement agenda in the NHS, visit the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/involvingpatients. The website of the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) is also worth visiting as well, at www.nimhe.org.uk.

The Accountable Manager in the Trust for patient and public involvement is Barbara Beale, Nursing Director.

Our Statutory Duty
We have a statutory duty to involve service users, carers and the public in the work of the organisation. As stated in Class 6, we will use this Publication Scheme to inform the public of any proposed services changes or variations in accordance with our duties under section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001. The Act can be found at www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2001/20010015.htm.

Supporting patient and public involvement
We provide a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), which would act to promote and facilitate the involvement of the public in our Trust. A leaflet detailing the activities of our PALS is available from Rosemary Thorpe, PALS Co-ordinator, [email protected] or the Publication Scheme Co-ordinator.

Working with other organisations
We also work in partnership with local communities, alongside our colleagues in the NHS, local authorities and other organisations in:

• Mental Health National Service Framework (NSF) local Implementation Teams (see also www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/mentalhealth.htm)
  
• NSF for Older People (see also www.doh.gov.uk/nsf/olderpeopleindex.htm)
  
• Drug Action Teams
  
• Local Strategic Partnerships and many other groups.

In certain circumstances personal and/or confidential material will be exempt from the information we are required to release under this class of information.

Other sections

1. About the Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust
2. Who we are
3. Financial and Funding Information
4. Corporate Information
5. Aims, Targets and Achievements
6. Our Services
7. Reports and Independent Enquiries
8. Policies and Procedures
9. Public Involvement and Consultation
10. Regular Publications and Information for the Public
11. Complaints
12. Human Resources
13. Communications with the Press and Media Releases
14. Environmental Information
15. This Publication Scheme

Return to: The Classes Of Information | Part Three