Quality Checking with the NHS
In January My Life My Choice (MLMC) and Oxfordshire Family Support Network (OxFSN) took part in a pilot NHS Quality Check on the dialysis ward at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The pilot was a chance to test out the draft NHS Quality Checkers toolkits. When finalised, these toolkits will be used across the county by quality checking teams across the country to review the way NHS services are provided to improve health and well-being, and reduce premature mortality.
Paul Scarrott, expert by experience for MLMC said, “We met the matron first and she spoke to us about the unit. We asked her about easy read communication and she showed us some of the things they had done. Then we went onto the ward and spoke to one of the patients about her experience.”
Gail Hanrahan, Programme Manager for OxFSN and family carer, explains that “Family carers and people with learning disabilities working together to do quality checks is really effective. We know this from using this model for the past two years, checking the quality of life of people who use supported living services in the county.
We know that learning disabled people die younger than the rest of the population, and anything we can do to improve health services, by sharing our experiences and knowledge, can only be a good thing. It was great to take part in the pilot and we are looking forward to seeing how this can be developed locally.”
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