A new relationship with the public

A new relationship with the public

Why is this important?

Health and care services in Lincolnshire are under increasing pressure and people don’t always receive quality care. Conversely, staff can’t always deliver the level of care they want to and as a result, morale can be low. We need to tackle this together and develop a new relationship and a new way of working between the local NHS and the people of Lincolnshire.

The care we provide must have the needs of people at its heart, and it must be provided with kindness and compassion. We want to shift the conversation between healthcare professionals and people receiving care to one which focuses on people’s strengths and what matters to them. This will give patients more choice and control and enable them to live their best and healthiest life.

We want to value and respect people’s knowledge and expertise and enable families and carers to better understand how they can support and contribute in a culture of openness and honesty, humility and understanding.

This is what we’ll do to build this new relationship:

  • 1. Create a shared agreement

    Together we will:

    • Build a shared view and agreement with the public about what the best wellbeing, care and health for Lincolnshire looks like, including sharing the impact of not adopting new ways of doing things, so people are able to take educated and informed decisions in their daily lives.

    • Learn how staff across the NHS and its partners can confidently adopt new ways of working in their daily work so that strengths and weaknesses can be quickly identified and improvements made where necessary.

    • Demonstrate the impact this new relationship could have on staff and people by highlighting where it is working well so we can build on strengths.
  • 2. Support shared decision making

    Together we will:

    • Help people to make informed decisions about the care or treatment they receive.

    • Deliver care with the focus on what matters most to the person, and their family and carers, at the centre of it.

    • Ask ‘What matters to you?’ on a routine basis and learn from work already being done in some services and communities.

    • Help Lincolnshire people to feel confident about personalised care and shared decision making which focuses on people’s needs, and make shared decision making a priority across the NHS, Lincolnshire County Council and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in Lincolnshire.
  • 3. Develop and design services together

    Together we will:

    • Build stronger relationships with the public, volunteers and community groups and work
      alongside them to improve health and care services.

    • Include all sectors of society including hard-to-reach groups and create safe and inclusive spaces to give everyone the confidence to contribute to discussions.

    • Use our new relationship and way of working with the public as a framework for developing and designing services together, throughout our engagement and co-production approaches.

    • Equip staff with the skills needed to enable collaborative working, and use our shared agreement to give people the freedom to coproduce something fundamentally different.
  • 4. Work with people and their families to manage their own health and wellbeing

    Together we will:

    • Better understand how well patients can manage their own health, and support them to be more independent and make positive changes to their lifestyle.

    • Introduce health and wellbeing coaches who can work with individuals to better manage their own care and achieve their health and wellbeing goals.

    • Use care coordinators who will work with people and their carers to identify what is important to them and develop a single personalised care and support plan.

    • Create groups of people with similar needs who can support each other and understand their recovery or look after themselves better.

How will this benefit people and the community?

People will have a say on healthcare in Lincolnshire and how it is delivered giving them greater control over their own health and wellbeing. They will be better supported to understand the options available and make informed decisions about their treatment and lifestyle choices. People will be connected to others with similar experiences as part of vibrant and thriving local communities. They will receive more personalised care from staff who have the time to really listen to them, their families and their carers.

How will this benefit clinicians and professionals working in the NHS in Lincolnshire?

Clinicians and professionals will have time to really understand and listen to what matters to people and their families or carers, and they will be able to adopt a person-centred, collaborative approach with people. They will develop new networks, discover different community resources, and embrace learning and development opportunities that support new ways of working to put the person first. They will feel safe, valued, supported and empowered by their organisation. The result will be less duplication of tasks, fewer health inequalities and unnecessary contact with health and care services for people.

How will this benefit staff working in the NHS in Lincolnshire?

Staff will have time to really understand and listen to what matters to people and their families or carers, and they will feel that their workplace is committed to making personalised care a reality. New networks and new partnerships will enable staff to adopt a flexible whole person approach that works across traditional boundaries. They will feel motivated, valued and understood in their job.