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Brief report on user involvement at St Christopher's Hospice
Frances Kraus1, Jean Levy, David Oliviere
1St Christopher's Hospice, London, UK.
Palliative Medicine
|June 26, 2003
Summary
St Christopher's Hospice established a patient and carer forum to improve services. This initiative, focusing on person-centred care, faced organizational challenges but received enthusiastic support.
Area of Science:
- Palliative Care
- Healthcare Management
- Patient Engagement
Background:
- Clinical Governance requires integrating patient and carer feedback into hospice services.
- St Christopher's Hospice aimed to enhance service planning and delivery through user involvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the establishment of a user forum at a voluntary hospice.
- To identify challenges in developing a person-centred user involvement scheme.
Main Methods:
- Established a user forum for patients and carers.
- Discussed organizational aspects: invitations, facilitation, venue, and scheduling.
- Focused on a voluntary hospice setting.
Main Results:
- Organizational issues such as invitations, facilitation, venue, and timetable required agreement.
- The forum has been enthusiastically embraced by staff, patients, and carers.
- Evaluation of the forum's usefulness is ongoing.
Conclusions:
- Developing a person-centred user involvement scheme presents challenges.
- Successful implementation requires addressing practical organizational considerations.
- Positive initial reception suggests potential for improved patient-centred care in hospices.