If the answer to this question is ‘…because we ought to involve people with diabetes’, then you may have additional thinking to do.
The purpose of user involvement must be clear from the beginning and it needs to be understood by all stakeholders in the process. It is also important that the links to core business are made explicit. If user involvement can be integrated into major ongoing projects, for example service redesign, then it is easier to justify the investment, to find the resources to support it and to understand how it will bring value. A general aim of wanting to have better or greater user involvement in services does not provide a clear enough purpose or direction for the work and can result in frustration for all concerned.
That’s what needs to be clear from the outset of any involvement - what are we doing – why are we doing it – and how are we going to do it? It is important that those points are laid out and agreed from the outset.
Adrian Mayers, NHS Hammersmith & Fulham Head of Long Term Conditions Commissioning
Involvement always has the greatest impact when it is clear that people will be able to influence something specific, eg a service redesign process, a discussion about refinements to an existing service or the development of a new patient pathway.
By engaging colleagues in your organisation in a discussion about user involvement objectives, you can also recruit them to help you manage the activity, communicate it to others or deal with barriers later. It can also help you get support from key senior staff.
Christine Mead (NHS Hammersmith and Fulham Senior Public Health Manager) explains why service user involvement is important in NHS Hammersmith and Fulham.