What is the challenge your project is going to address and how does it connect to the theme of 'How can we improve across system boundaries?​

We struggle to communicate with our service users while on the waiting list in an equitable manner and reach those with social needs. Many service users have been through these journeys of care and could use their experience to help us understand what they need to wait better, by co-designing immediate quality-assured information. We want to hear their stories to understand how the development of reliable information could help future service users. This information will be used as the first tier of practical advice, potentially offering early intervention available across our services (e.g. primary care, community, public or mental health). Our quality improvement department has tested a successful My Journey project concept in the last last 2-3 years which has delivered repeated information to service users to improve service provision. There has been some service user engagement in this, but the Q project could deliver greater benefits through co-design.

What does your project aim to achieve?

Following the ‘Forgotten’ investigative report by the NI Public Services Ombudsman, it is clear that service users often feel they need to seek out information or feel uninformed about their care, and this has often impacted on their mental health and increased anxiety.  By co-designing accessible and meaningful information with service users and providing this on the NHSCT website, this aims to inform and re-build trust in services.

My Journey can create a collaborative approach that provides early intervention to those waiting to be seen and those who are not supported in the current system, enabling the workforce and overall decision makers to understand the service user journey and their wellbeing at times when services are unable to provide direct care. It aims to provide future service users with a more informed, clearer pathway to their care, while  increasing productivity, reducing waste and enabling healthcare professionals to repeat information less.

How will the project be delivered?

This will be managed by the Quality Improvement department in the Trust, and led temporarily by a Quality Improvement Coordinator with media skills to deliver the project start-up and training. A needs analysis will be conducted to establish the gaps in the healthcare approach for service users and a deep understanding of service user needs. The key stakeholders will provide quality assurance and a project analysis framework which can be delivered to the QI department at the end of the project funding period to deliver on an ongoing basis. Suitability of content & impact of the project will be measured by the QI department as a whole. The partnership will have an emphasis on health equality and will be embedded into an accepting QI department culture. A QI programme and access to ‘co-design’ training will guide and mentor the partnership to create the content. With Encompass, content can be shared widely.

How is your project going to share learning?

The research and information gathering exercises (i.e. focus groups/consultations) and conducting a needs analysis, will be shared to inform Q members, workforce and key decision makers of the gaps within the system boundary between service users and the services. Service users with lived experience will identify ideas by sharing their own journeys with the group, then upon agreement, will develop prototypes and upon project approval publish these as podcasts or videos. These will be made available to service users and the public. There will also be an opportunity for anyone to give feedback on the content, including Q members which will be evaluated and form part of the learning and improvement around the project on an ongoing basis. Q members could have a more direct link to the creators of the project, so that there can be shared learning and discussion about the project as it progresses.