All of PRSB’s standards are co-designed and co-led by people with lived experience. We set up the People Network to centre these views and strengthen our public engagement to improve our processes and champion better information sharing to improve health and care services.

We held an online workshop with our People Network this month to discuss how we can better consult with service-users and ensure that people’s priorities are heard and addressed. The workshop was led by People Network member and co-lead of PRSB’s shared decision-making project, Lawrence Mudford, and we were pleased to have a mix of experienced members and new faces in attendance.

Lawrence kicked off the workshop with a conversation around consultation formats and asked participants for their views on specific pre-consultation materials as well as the style and organisation of consultations more generally.

While participants welcomed materials such as background briefings and introductory videos to get everyone on an equal footing before a consultation, they emphasised the importance of ensuring these materials were in clear, lay language and as concise as possible. Additionally, members pointed out that PRSB should follow up with the network after the project’s completion to show how their contributions have affected the standard’s development and influenced its implementation. This, they felt, would show the difference their input is making.

On the topic of inclusion and accessibility, members agreed that involving diverse groups of people in PRSB’s work is important but felt there was no easy answer to achieving this. The best option, they thought, was to engage with grassroots organisations to cast the net wider, particularly when trying to reach those who aren’t digitally enabled.

The group then gave their thoughts on a few specific examples of consultations. When discussing surveys, participants felt that making the design as user-friendly as possible is key. Suggestions included, removing automatic web timeouts, stating the length of time needed to complete the survey at the start and making sure we allow for one answer per question and don’t ask three questions in one.

Going forward, the event gives PRSB much to consider. Among our priorities will be organising further work with the Network on the topic of self-management. During the discussion, the topic of self-management of long-term conditions was raised and some participants felt that this was an area of work the PRSB should focus on.

‘Sometimes self-care just trips off the tongue without an acknowledgement of the complexities of it and also how difficult it is’ – Alison Allam, People Network member

The PRSB will look into how our work on standards can support people who continuously self-care by giving them the information they need to do this and how we can consult with the People Network to develop this project. If you would like to learn more about the People Network, please email athena.rees@theprsb.org

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