Pilot project putting patients at the heart of their healthcare journey

A pilot project aimed at amplifying the voices of patients around their care and treatment options, has begun in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.

Patients attending Causeway Hospital’s preoperative assessment clinic are being invited to take part in a survey, giving them the opportunity to describe their healthcare experience, and how involved they have felt in decisions about their care and treatment options.

The patient-centred approach, also referred to as Shared Decision Making (SDM), aims to give patients more autonomy over their care, encouraging a discussion between them and their clinicians when it comes to their personal healthcare journey.

Northern Trust Medical Director Dr Dave Watkins said:

“It goes without saying that we already adopt a patient-centred approach when it comes to a person’s care and treatment; however, we recognise that there are always ways to improve the two-way discussion between patients and clinicians, and to ensure that patients’ voices and experiences are fully heard within every encounter.

“The experience our patients and service users have is just as important as us providing them with clinical excellence and safe care. This survey will allow us to gather important feedback from patients to inform us of areas for quality improvement, with the ultimate aim of improving the experiences for our patients and service users more widely.”

“It’s really important that patients’ values, goals and beliefs are part of the discussion and decision-making process and as healthcare professionals, we’re committed to that,” Dr Watkins added.

The Northern Trust intends to trial the SDM approach in five different areas, with the first now underway. Medical students are supporting the implementation of the pilot project at Causeway Hospital.

The Trust’s survey is part of the Public Health Agency’s 10,000 Voices initiative, a survey that invites patients and service users to share their healthcare experience, to help inform quality improvements in all aspects of care.

Clinical Director and Consultant Anaesthetist Alexander Davey said:

“This is something clinicians are very passionate about. Decisions around care and treatment options is a very personal experience for our patients; decisions should be made with them, not for them. It can’t be a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

“Importantly, there is evidence to suggest that the outcomes for patients who feel included in the decision-making process around their care, are better than for those who are not engaged in the process, or who don’t feel heard.

“Patients should feel that they are in charge. As clinicians, we are there to support them and ensure they receive the best possible advice and guidance to help them make an informed decision around their options.”

Dr Davey added:

“Navigating healthcare can be very daunting – there is a lot of jargon and complicated language that the vast majority of people will not be familiar with. That in itself can be a barrier, so it’s really important that we do what we can to dismantle some of those barriers and ensure that patients know their voice matters. In fact, it’s the most important voice in the room.”

To find out more about Shared Decision Making, visit www.northerntrust.hscni.net/SDM