The PCT wants to make a difference to the health of its residents by 'working with local partners to promote the health of our communities. We will do this by supporting the development of responsive, learning teams to ensure that high quality, equitable and integrated services are provided from an understanding of the patient's perspective.'

Meaningful patient and public involvement will be integral to the work of the PCT and in developing local services. The PCT develops its priorities by looking to national targets and by listening to what our patients and the public tell us. Putting these together we have agreed the following priorities:

• Continuing to develop services for those with Heart Disease, Mental Health problems, Diabetes, Cancer and for Children and Young People (including teenage pregnancies).
  
  
• Shorter waiting times to see your doctor and more options for care at your surgery
  
  
• Improving access to NHS dentists
  
  
• Linking closely with Social services to provide services together
  
  
• Better management of emergency care and night-time services by providing round the clock nursing at home
  
  
• Helping patients to leave hospital more quickly and preventing unnecessary admissions to hospital
  
  
• Supporting local healthcare staff to develop their skills by giving them training and time out to learn

Our plans for public involvement will incorporate all of the national and local measures already described in this class. We also plan to involve people in the following ways:

Cheltenham and Tewkesbury PCT has a website which gives information about the PCT and the services we commission and provide.

The website has a page called Get Involved. Updates on involvement activity locally and nationally will be published there. Please do take a look or if you do not have access to the internet contact us and we will send information to you by post.

PALS role is to:

• provide information to patients, carers and their families about local health services and put people in contact with local support groups;
  
  
• tell people about the complaints procedure and inform people about independent complaints advocacy support;
  
  
• work with staff to resolve concerns on the spot before they become bigger problems; and
  
  
• act as an early warning system for trusts and Patients' Forums by monitoring trends and highlighting gaps in service and making reports for action to trust management.
  
  

The Expert Patient Programme aims to empower people with a chronic health condition. We know that people often have a wealth of experience and knowledge about living with such health conditions as asthma, diabetes, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Examining this experience and sharing it with others leads people to become more confident in living with their illness and better equipped to use the resources from the healthcare system.

The course consists of six group sessions covering areas including:

• how to deal with frustration, fatigue, pain, isolation and other problems
  
  
• the right exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility and endurance
  
  
• how to manage symptoms
  
  
• communicating effectively with family, friends, health professionals
  
  
• good diet and nutrition
  
  
• how to evaluate new treatments and information

If you would like to join an EPP course, please contact us for more details.

The role of the PCT Patient and Public Involvement Forum is to:

• monitor and review the services commissioned from Trusts by the PCT;
  
  
• promote the involvement of the public in decisions and consultations on matters affecting their health, not just the NHS;
  
  
• provide training and support to empower local communities, and in particular excluded groups, to identify issues affecting their health, and take action to influence change on those issues;
  
  
• provide independent complaints advocacy through the Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service (ICAS);
  
  
• identify trends and concerns resulting from PPI activity and make reports to decision-makers e.g. to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC);
  
  
• Work with the other trust forums in their areas to ensure a strategic and cohesive view is taken and acted upon;
  
  
• provide a one stop shop service by providing advice and information to the public about public involvement and information and support about complaints; and
  
  
• Monitor and review how well the NHS is meeting its duty to involve and consult the public.

We want to listen to the views of our staff as well as our patients and the public. We also want our staff to help us to discuss your experience of receiving healthcare services. To help us to do this we are:

• encouraging community nursing staff to feedback comments they receive from their patients
  
  
• bringing together groups of individuals from our local communities with knowledge and experience of healthcare to give us their perspective on how services should look and to develop and evaluate health improvement schemes which will make a difference to the health and well being of our local population
  
  
• developing training for our staff and the public in how to get fully involved.
  
  
• The PCT has committed itself to adopted the national 'staff involvement toolkit'.

The PCT has approved and adopted a Communications Policy and Public and Patient Involvement Strategy to guide our approach in these areas. We have also developed a 'tool kit' for GP practices and our staff which describes in a clear and concise way who, when, where and why involvement should be done.