Class 4 - How we make decisions

Policy proposals and decisions, decision making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations.

4.1 Board papers - agenda, supporting papers and minutes - including management board minutes and other similar meetings where decisions are made about the provision of services, excluding private material. Information for at least the current and previous three years.

4.2 Public and patient engagement strategy

4.3 Public consultations (eg concerning closures/variations of services) - details of consultation exercises with access to the consultation papers or information about where the papers can be obtained. The results of consultation exercises.

4.4 Internal communications guidance and criteria used for decision making ie process systems and key personnel - where access to internal instructions, manuals and guidelines for dealing with the business of the authority would assist public understanding of the way decisions are made, these should be readily available.

4.1 Board papers

The PCT’s Board Papers can be accessed from this link

4.2 Public and patient engagement strategy

Please see the website section called Be Involved in Your Healthcare

For information about Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment in particular (PNA), please see the link below.

http://www.northeastessex.nhs.uk/Health%20Services/pharmaceuticals-needs-assessment.htm

Patient and Public Engagement Strategy (Adobe Acrobat - 292 Kb)

The purpose of this strategy is to establish and maintain good communications and involvement within the Trust, with its partners and with the people of North East Essex.

Our ethos

Patient and public involvement and consultation is the responsibility of every individual working for NHS North East Essex. The communities that we serve must be central to all our activities, not only in terms of the care we provide, but also in terms of the contribution the organisation can make as an employer of local people and consumer of local goods and services.

Our statutory duty

We have a statutory duty to involve service users, carers and the public in the work of the organisation. As stated in Class 6, we will use this Publication Scheme to inform the public of any proposed service changes or variations in accordance with our duties under section 11 of the Health & Social Care Act 2001. This act can be found at http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts

Patient & Public Involvement

From April 2008, the Government has replaced Patient Forums with Local Involvement Networks (LINks), a network of individuals, groups and communities, who want to work together to improve local health and social care services.

Information about LINks is available on the Department of Health website:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/PatientAndPublicinvolvement/DH_076366

There will be a LINk in every local authority area that has Social Services responsibility. Our LINk covers all of the provinces of Essex County Council (ECC) and Southend on Sea Borough Council (SBC). You are a member of/participant in the Essex & Southend LINk if you are a citizen of those local authorities or a user of health and social care services within those boundaries. In addition to a countrywide LINk, there is a local network in North East Essex.

Influencing NHS North East Essex

NHS North East Essex was established after a public consultation on the future management of primary care services across Essex. Patient and carer views are sought on specific service issues and members of the public can raise issues of concern directly to the Board at their monthly meetings. In this way, we place the people and the communities that we service at the heart of what we do.

If you are interested in being involved, you can contact the Patient & Public Involvement Manager or use the Contact Us section of our website to:

• Report an example of good practice, or to highlight where things could have been done better
• Take part in the user surveys that will be conducted from time to time
• Express an interest in joining the Patient Forum or other patient and public involvement group
• Become a volunteer at a local hospital