Whilst most practitioners, managers and clinicians might accept that the experiences of patients is an important aspect of patient safety improvement, the practices associated with this work are still relatively new and underdeveloped.
Engaging patients, relatives and carers in ways that use their knowledge and experience to directly influence and build the safety culture is a key frontier in transformational improvement.
This is without doubt difficult and challenging work. Regrettably, we still work in a system where individual blame and recrimination are the norm.
Openness, honesty and a willingness to learn from error all form part of the processes of “truth and reconciliation” that we all should expect and that patients and carers deserve. It is challenging but vital work.
In this context working with PATIENTSTORIES needs to be thoughtfully and carefully approached and it is with this in mind that we have developed a range of support processes and materials.
What we can offer:
- Access to a growing library of films and associated resources (on-line and in DVD format) that offer purposeful PATIENTSTORIES with messages that can be discussed, debated and generalised
- Workshops that explore the power of PATIENTSTORIES and how and when they can be used to influence the climate of opinion (internally and externally) around safety improvements
- Consultancy support to help organisations integrate PATIENTSTORIES into their overall strategies for patient safety improvement
- Production advice and support to help organisations develop their own PATIENTSTORIES for local use.