By John Norton<\/p>\n
I am delighted to have been appointed one of the first 11 patient, carer and public members (lay partners) of the new Research Partners Group (RPG) of the Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (PSTRC).<\/p>\n
What a mouthful of terms!\u00a0 But, essentially, the RPG is one of the new structures the PSTRC have put in place to help ensure appropriate involvement of patients, carers, and members of the public across its research projects. The RPG will be the first point of call for researchers and will scrutinise the patient and public involvement plans in research projects and act as a link to other lay partners. The \u201cP\u201d is very important, as I strongly believe that patients and the public should be equal \u201cpartners\u201d in research and care.<\/p>\n
How have I got here?\u00a0 Without any previous experience of healthcare except as a patient but with a background of volunteering in caring activities, I was invited four years ago to become a lay partner in an advisory group in North West London (NWL).\u00a0 The group had a co-productive role with a diverse group of professionals, to research and deliver an integrated care toolkit. \u00a0\u201cIntegrated care\u201d or \u201cjoined up care\u201d is a package of care provided for those whose health and social care needs span more than one organisation (e.g. GP surgery, hospital, mental health services and a care home). This comprehensive toolkit shows how the vision of integrated health and social care can be carried into practice in a way that more fully reflects the needs of patients, carers and the public. We must have done something right because, much to our surprise and delight, we won the 2015 London Leadership Academy Patient Champion of the Year Award<\/a>!<\/p>\n Since then I have been working on many groups in NWL to carry that vision into effect and I also became a Patient Safety Champion in a network set up by Imperial College Health Partners.\u00a0\u00a0 This led to me being asked to join the Safety Culture Reference Group set up recently by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.<\/p>\n Following the PSTRC\u2019s inspiring Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Strategy working group at the Helix Centre<\/a> in January, I was asked to become one of three interim Patient and Public Representatives on the PPIE Advisory Board.\u00a0 The professionals on the PPIE Board are enormously well qualified as researchers, clinicians, and PPIE experts, so it is a great privilege to be working so closely with them. This Board will guide and oversee the implementation and further development of the PPIE strategy.<\/p>\n The PPIE Board first met in May.\u00a0 As I have a professional background in law, merchant banking and, in recent years, trusteeships of pension schemes, I don\u2019t find it difficult to work co-productively with health professionals.\u00a0 I am, nevertheless, impressed that highly qualified health professionals are so willing to listen and take note of lay partners.\u00a0 I am not there, in any way, to question their expertise but, in the spirit of a critical friend, to contribute a viewpoint from the needs and desired outcomes of those to whom that expertise is dedicated.<\/p>\n As Lord Darzi<\/a> aptly puts it, we are faced with a \u2018double shot of complexity: increasingly complex care and increasingly complex patient needs\u2019.\u00a0 He sees that this complexity can be met by \u2018focusing on urgent research gaps; by working with our partners\u2019 including \u2018most importantly, by working closely with patients, carers and members of the public\u2019.\u00a0 That is what we are about.<\/p>\n The RPG will be set up in phases. \u00a0Phase one members all have experience of PPIE in research and will be based in London.\u00a0 The members, some of whom I have met in my lay partner work, come from a range of experiences, for instance, with PSTRC, the NWL Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC)<\/a> and with other Imperial organisations, as I do.\u00a0 Some are new to Imperial and patient safety research. We will all get the necessary training and support to be an effective group.\u00a0 Expanding the RPG to members who are not necessarily local or have experience of PPIE in research will be phase two in 2018.<\/p>\n The process to establish the RPG took time and thought.\u00a0 We built on learnings from other groups and co-designed the process to ensure it was transparent and was not too off-putting.\u00a0 We all completed an online application form, were shortlisted by PPIE Board members and then attended a short face-to-face interview.\u00a0 This was conducted most professionally and was enjoyable. I was seen by the PSTRC\u2019s PPIE Manager, Anna Lawrence-Jones<\/a> and Sandra Jayacodi<\/a>, an interim Patient and Public Representative of the PPIE Board.<\/p>\n