Person-centred care: guidance for non-executive directors

Our Voice

Which of the five 'Must Do with Me' principles does this relate to?

Our Voice is based on a vision that people who use health and care services, carers and the public will be able to engage purposefully at every level in health and social care to continuously improve and transform services. People will be provided with feedback on the impact of their engagement, or a demonstration of how their views have been considered.

Our Voice is being developed in a partnership involving the Scottish Health Council, Healthcare Improvement Scotland public partners, COSLA, the Scottish Government, The ALLIANCE and other third sector partners.

It is designed to create a voice with a purpose that is representative and inclusive, informed, and focused on quality improvement. The framework builds on policy developments and partnership working over the last five years, involving national and local government, the NHS, communities and the third sector, which has driven change towards involving people in the design and delivery of health and care services, and the use of feedback to drive improvement.

Our Voice will operate at individual, local and national level to support improvement and empower people to be equal partners in their care and will include:

• At national level, a citizen voice hub will gather intelligence on issues of concern and involving as wide a range of people as possible in improving services. Citizens' panels and new models of deliberative engagement will create opportunities for people to engage in national policy debate.
• At local level, a peer network is being developed to support people to engage purposefully in local planning processes. Guidance, tools and techniques will build people's capacity to get involved in, and to lead, local conversations. Particular support will be given to those whose voices are not always heard, and to develop local networks of people who are willing to get involved.
• At individual level people will be empowered and supported to feed back about the care and services they receive, and this feedback will be used to drive and inform continuous improvement to services.

Work is now underway, with partners, to develop the infrastructure that will support the new framework. A leadership coalition is being developed to guide this work.