Working with patients: developing a service user group in one A&E department

Recognition, by personnel in one emergency department, that the modern emergency service has to be responsive and sensitive to the needs of patients in the local community, led to a project aimed at setting up a service user council. The purpose of the council was to provide opportunities for both staff and service users to play an active part in service development and evaluation. It was anticipated that such an initiative would 1) promote the development of a patient-centred service; 2) recognize the value of multidisciplinary work in relation to patient care and 3) identify areas of priority for service development. In addition to this, it was anticipated that issues associated with patients' expectations of the service, as well as the ways in which the service was accessed could also be addressed.