NHS Kernow is committed to working in partnership with the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We will also work closely with our partners in the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has a very diverse population, and we are particularly keen to make sure that our involvement is inclusive. We will seek out, encourage and welcome participation from people from diverse elements of the population. 

In working with others, we will:

• Involve people as early as possible in the decision making process and before any decisions are made.
• Provide good information about the subject in question in a way that is understandable and easy to get.
• Be open and clear about what is (and isn’t) possible.
• Provide practical support where possible when people are asked to get involved, so that they can take part – for example, sign language interpreters.
• Tell people afterwards how their involvement has made a difference.

NHS Equality Delivery System

The NHS Constitution requires clinical commissioning groups to involve patients and the public in the decision making process and to place the patient at the heart of all that it does. NHS Kernow wants to make sure that the NHS equality delivery system (EDS2) principle of making sure that everyone counts is integral to our engagement and communication work.

NHS Kernow’s Governing Body lay member for patient and public involvement, is also the Governing Body lead for equality and diversity.

We want to make sure that everyone is able to engage in ways which are suitable to their needs. If you have a communication, access, cultural or other need when engaging with us, please tell us so that we can work to meet your needs.

NHS Kernow commenced a programme of dementia improvement in December 2018. Since then we have worked with all GP surgeries in Cornwall and 120 Care Homes to ensure peoples diagnosis of dementia has been recorded correctly.

Dementia

We have a Cornwall Dementia Partnership which brings dementia action alliances together with the police, community safety, housing, social care, hospitals, the Cornwall memory café network, home care providers, residential care providers, the voluntary care sector and others. This partnership focuses on key areas and helped to develop themes for public events held in 2019 and 2020.

NHS Kernow arranged an initial 'living well with dementia' development day on 15 May to work with patients, carers and stakeholders in identifying areas of improvement and areas that were working well in Cornwall. This was followed up with sessions in St Austell, Pool and Liskeard. All of these had been well attended and stakeholders were great in sharing their ideas of what support in the community could look like. 

We are keen to see how we can improve, update and make best use of our Dementia Roadmap website and have therefore been keen to hear what people say would benefit them to see. Email kccg.engagement@nhs.net if you have any comments. 

Where we've been and who we've spoken to

November 2019

Our events officer has increased his attendance at public events during the autumn to support the delivery of the winter campaign, and has attended 30 events since September. This has included student freshers’ fairs, and weekend flu clinics where there is increased footfall in GP surgeries. He has spoken to approx. 1,443 people, and shared information and literature about Choose Well, the Long Term Plan, and the draft mental health strategy. Common themes of discussion include the importance of choosing the right location for the right condition; the superb roles of GPs in Cornwall; the importance of looking after people during the winter; and the lack of clarity among young people about whether they have had their MMR/MenACWY jabs.

The feedback has been shared with relevant GP surgeries, Public Health England, and specific information about care with Nikki Thomas as patient experience lead.

September 2019

The team attended 13 engagement events and PPG meetings from June to August, talking to people about a range of issues, including our Choose Well campaign, sun safety, hydration, mental health, diabetes, and dementia services, and collected comments from people about health services in their community. This is in addition to supporting the children’s commissioning team to arrange its conference in July.

Themes included issues with the availability of GP appointments and recruitment, transport (both public and NHS non-emergency), community hospital and minor injury unit closures. The comments have been shared with locality and quality leads, and the heads of NHS communications teams.

July 2019

The team attended eight engagement events from April to June, and spoke to 268 people about a range of issues, including our Choose Well campaign, diabetes, dementia services, and collected comments from people about health services in their community. This is in addition to supporting the three integrated community services stakeholder workshops, and the dementia conference.

Themes included issues with the availability of GP appointments and recruitment, transport (both public and NHS non-emergency), community hospital and minor injury unit closures and waiting times for an autism diagnosis for children. The comments have been shared with locality and quality leads, and the heads of NHS communications teams.
Building upon May’s video recording training, the events officer recorded people’s thoughts about health and care services to share with both commissioning colleagues, and also online (with the person’s written permission). The team is developing the patient engagement web page and the films will be uploaded to this page during the summer.
The events officer is supporting Marazion PPG to develop a survey about practice services to identify areas of improvement, and has also offered to create a film about the PPG’s work to raise awareness of its work and broaden its membership. A similar film has also been created for Carnon Downs PPG, which will also be published on the revamped web page.