Views of children, young people and families: the 15 steps challenge

There is a growing emphasis on involving service users in improving service delivery, accelerated by the inquiry into care failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. The 15 Steps Challenge was originally developed by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement as a tool to help healthcare professionals, service users and others to work together to improve the patient experience. The 15 Steps Challenge involves a ward 'walkaround' to see the ward through the eyes of a child or young person and a parent or carer. This article explores the emphasis that is placed on user involvement in the context of children's nursing, and shares the experience of planning and evaluating the introduction of the 15 Steps Challenge in an acute children's ward in a busy district general hospital.