Shared decision making at PAHT
What are shared decision making councils? We are introducing shared decision making councils to give you and your colleagues collective ownership to develop and improve practice at PAHT to ensure that our patients receive caring, safe and confident care. The initiative places you at the centre of the decision making process to encourage personal and professional development, whilst focussing on improving patient safety and experiences for our patients and people. The councils will use measurable outcomes to evaluate the impact and benefits for our patients and people, with the support of a facilitator from our leadership council, which is also going to be introduced in the coming months.
“Collective leadership is about everyone taking responsibility not just for their own job or role, but for the success of their team and their organisation as a whole. It is about ensuring that all voices are valued and contribute to the conversations where decisions are made” - Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England
Why are we introducing the councils?
As part of our nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals strategy, we are looking to introduce shared-decision making councils. The councils will help to ensure that agreements are made in an inclusive and collaborative way. You will work together with colleagues to drive forwards quality and service improvements, support innovation and deliver better outcomes that will benefit our patients and people.
About shared decision making
How does shared decision making work?
By removing the hierarchy of decision-making, a group of people can come together to exchange ideas about how to tackle issues and make things better. This is an opportunity to discuss solutions to benefit our patients and people.
What makes this different to other decision making?
The councils will take ownership of the decisions and each person has an equal position to others. The councils will work in partnership and holding themselves and each other to account. By creating a level playing field, there is greater opportunity to introduce quality improvements and innovations.
Your questions answered Is this a new concept? No, this concept has been around for over 30 years and has been used successfully in education and more recently in healthcare. Who can join the councils? The councils will initially be open for registered nurses and health care support workers, who are working at bands two to six. Each council will have six to eight people involved and councils with themed topics will be open to people within a ward, department or service. What shall I do if I want to join, but don't have the time? You will receive protected time to allow you to attend monthly council meetings and to undertake any follow up activities related to improvement projects. Please liaise with your line manager if you are considering applying for the role. Will I recieve any training? Individuals selected to be a council member will receive introductory training to prepare them for the role. Pease also look into personal development training on offer such as leading change or leading pojects workshops. What are the benefits of shared decision making? You will feel empowered to take control and make decisions and have a voice in order to make improvements for our patients and people.
Support available for our councils
1
Each council will have a trained facilitator at their meeting to offer support, guidance and oversight of the improvement work
2
The director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals will chair a leadership council meeting each quarter to discuss the proposed improvement work
3
The leadership council will offer support, guidance and celebrate the improvement initiatives that are introduced
4
The leadership council will include representatives from each of the divisions to ensure that the improvement projects align with strategic and operational objectives
How can I get involved? You can express your interest to join the council by emailing sharon.cullen2@nhs.net, outlining:
1 Why you would like to join the council
2 Why you are suitable for the role
3 How you can help make a difference for our patients and people
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Hamstel Road, Harlow, Essex, CM20 1QX 01279 44 44 55 Keep up to date with our latest news via social media:
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The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust