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W3C-validated transitional XHTML 3.18 Involving people: Making sure IP is available in the right, accessible places
Pilot
sites have made IPs available in a wide range of health and social
care and community settings. They strove to increase
the range of locations through which IPs are offered, realising that
diversifying access points could increase the uptake of IPs by different
user groups. IPs were made available in:
- Primary care – GP practices, healthy living centres, walk-in centres, through NHS Direct help-lines and community pharmacies
- Community and social care – residential care homes, day care centres, youth centres, children's centres, full service schools, community centres, through home visits and libraries
- Acute settings – District general hospitals, in-patient wards, out-patient facilities, hospital pharmacies
- Mental health settings – acute mental health facilities, community mental health facilities, outreach and home visits
- Other – websites, local government community information points and voluntary sector agencies.
In developing IP processes which are based in a range of locations, pilot leads argued that it was important not to concentrate only on medical or social care facilities. Many users and carers do not have regular contact with mainstream health services, and so it is important to make IPs available elsewhere.
'What a good idea. I would not have thought about visiting the library to find out more about a condition or what access was like for the local hospital.'— service user
'I didn’t realize the library had all these facilities to use. "I use it all the time. Why don't doctors send people to the library anyway?'— service user
How to make IPs accessible from a range of locations
- Map out integrated care pathways, which should be available locally for a range of conditions
- Make sure that the care pathways include all of the main points at which users intersect with care providers, even prior to diagnosis and post successful treatment.
- Involve users and professionals in focus groups to test out the pathways for accuracy
- Work with the users and professionals to identify any 'touch points' where the user does, or could potentially, benefit from accessing information. Identifying gaps is critical, as there may be several points in a typical care pathway, such as when a user picks up their medicine at the pharmacy, when users don't currently receive information, but should!
- Map the touch points onto the care pathway.
- Identify which professionals are involved at these points, and what information they already provide, or could provide.
- Review the potential for these professionals to take up IP roles, whether more substantial, such as prescribing, or less intensive, such as simple signposting.
- Consult and engage professionals in taking on IP roles (see sections on stakeholder engagement)
On the next page: accessibility checklist
