Merton CCG Board 13.06 12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 01 of 03 Report to the Merton Clinical Commissioning Group Board Date of Meeting: Wednesday 13 th June 2012 Agenda No: 3.3 ATTACHMENT 03 Title of Document: Communication and Engagement Strategy: 2012/13 Report Author: Sima Haririan, General Manager Contact details: Sima.haririan@swlondon.nhs.uk Purpose of Report: For Approval Lead Director: N/A Executive Summary: The strategy provides a framework to enable Merton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to communicate in a consistent and effective manner with all stakeholders. Key sections for particular note (paragraph/page), areas of concern etc: To note the progress against the implementation plan Recommendation(s): The Merton Clinical Commissioning Group Board is requested to review and approve the strategy and implementation plan. Committees which have previously discussed/agreed the report: Interim Merton Executive Committee Merton CCG Steering Group Other Implications: (including patient and public involvement/legal/governance/ Risk/ Diversity/ Staffing) The strategy will ensure robust communication and engagement with communities within Merton and all stakeholders Page 1 of 1
Merton Clinical Commissioning Group Communication and Engagement Strategy Author: Sima Haririan May 2012 Page 1 of 11
1. Introduction The purpose of Merton Clinical Commissioning Group Communication and Engagement Strategy is to establish a framework to enable Merton CCG to communicate in a consistent and more effective manner with all of our stakeholders, including: Patients, carers and the public Teams and individuals within local NHS organisations NHS organisations Non-NHS organisations/voluntary sector Media This document forms part of Merton CCG s commitment to create a positive culture of respect for all individuals, including staff, patients, their families and carers as well as community partners. The intention is, as required by the Equality Act 2010, to identify, remove or minimise discriminatory practice in the nine named protected characteristics of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnership. It is also intended to use the Human Rights Act 1998 to promote positive practice and value the diversity of all individuals and communities. Our strategy aims to identify the key audiences and the principal vehicles for delivering communications. The strategy is based upon best practice and builds on the work of the previous Practice Based Commissioning (PbC) groups, NHS Sutton and Merton and individual work by practices, including Equality and Diversity initiatives in Merton. 2. Background The Health White Paper Liberating the NHS Equity and Excellence has mandated GPs to take the lead in commissioning healthcare services for their patient population in order to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities. Merton CCG is comprised of 26 practices with a combined registered list of 211,086 patients. Some patients live in other London boroughs, principally Sutton, Lambeth, Kingston and Croydon, and are registered with Merton CCG border practices within Merton. By 2013, Merton CCG will commission services ensuring the delivery of personalised health and social care services that reflect the diversity of individuals needs across the boroughs of Sutton and Merton. We are striving to improve our patients experience and health outcomes in a financially and clinically sustainable way by putting patients at the heart of everything we do. Effective communication is therefore an intrinsic part of the Merton CCG s plan in supporting the delivery of its objectives. 3. Our Vision Merton CCG will improve the health outcomes for the population of Merton by commissioning services tailored to the needs of individual patients whilst addressing the diverse health needs of the population. Page 2 of 11
The CCG will improve patient experiences and health outcomes in a financially and clinically sustainable way by: Achieving better value by ensuring the population of Merton are able to access the care they need from the right care professionals in the right setting, at the right time Using an understanding of patient needs to shape services and their experiences to drive performance improvement Developing integrated primary, secondary, community, mental health and social care through sustainable partnerships Making better healthcare closer to home real for delivering local population health outcomes Agreeing, communicating and implementing an achievable vision for patient-centred healthcare services across Merton Acting as a clinically-led and managerially efficient membership organisation We will use a blend of clinical and managerial skills to ensure that we commission in a way that is better and different from previous commissioning by: using commissioning strategies which are evidence based; capturing ideas for population health improvement, blending these with local and national priorities and developing an annual Business Plan that has broad consensus; making holistic commissioning decisions alongside our partners reflecting the challenge of co-morbidities and promoting integrated responses to patient needs; converting good ideas into reality in a timely way; achieving a better balance of care in the health system so we can justify where we spend our resources on health services for population health improvement; ensuring the population have confidence in our commissioning decisions by striving for consensus for clinical change and working with the Merton Health and Well Being Board being open and transparent in how we work. 4. Objectives The objectives of the Communication and Engagement Strategy are to: 1. Build strong clinical engagement from constituent practices and wider local professional groups to gather clinical insights to have a tangible impact and add value to the commissioning process 2. Meaningfully engage with patients, public, carers and their communities to ensure their systematic involvement in the commissioning, planning, designing, improvement and monitoring of health services for local people for example by involving patients in pathway redesign work 3. Ensure open and transparent governance and leadership in our CCG through a lay member on Merton CCG board Page 3 of 11
4. Build public and stakeholder confidence in our CCG and its leadership by making better use of engagement, consultation and patient experience data to improve health services and the patients experience of health services 5. Promote and advance equality through our work on the Health Diversity project, and building on this to provide assurance and evidence for the Equality Delivery System for protected and seldom heard groups and to meet requirements under the Equality Act 2010. The Communications and Engagement Strategy is fundamental in planning how we will communicate with our staff, NHS and local authorities, local providers, voluntary organisations, service users and the public. 5. General Guiding Principles Principles guiding all aspects of our communications and engagement carried out by Merton CCG include: Acting in an open and transparent manner Providing meaningful and timely communication and engagement Working in partnership with all our local stakeholders Communicating in a clear, concise, accessible and inclusive manner Promoting high quality communications and engagement with all stakeholders Ensuring good communication and engagement is part of our normal working Promote a culture of equality across the organisation 6. Our approach Communication and engagement approaches need to be adapted to meet the needs of the recipients and the particular circumstances with a view to target communications and engagement to specific groups within the population using best practice methods. All individuals within Merton CCG particularly the Executive Members have a responsibility for the successful implementation of this strategy and the promotion of good communications and engagement to achieve our vision. This is facilitated by identifying relationship managers for each stakeholder group and the stakeholders' preferred method of engagement. 7. Stakeholder analysis Table 1 is a high level illustration of all of the groups we plan to communicate and engage with, in the work of Merton CCG. Table1- Stakeholder Groups Stakeholder Groups Patients and the Public: Patients and service users General members of the public Voluntary sector organisations Community organisations Faith organisations Means of Communication Patient participation groups at practice and borough level CCG Practices web pages and newsletters London Borough of Merton networks i.e. My Page 4 of 11
BME communities Carers Children and young people Older people People with disabilities Users of mental health services Seldom heard voices/groups Merton Magazines, events web page, Twitter and Facebook Merton Voluntary Community Services networks i.e. e-bulletin and website Local newsletters and newspapers i.e. children s centres, tenants and residents associations, local schools and colleges, places of worship, libraries through Health Diversity Programme Hospitals leagues of friends Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) Attending local events Presenting at community meetings CCG Website Get Involved Pages Health Diversity Team networks and events LINk Merton Merton Health and Wellbeing Board HealthWatch Local media Information to and engagement of GP practices Social media Engaging local leaders CCG Staff Individual GPs and practice staff Sutton and Merton Borough team Sutton and Merton Community Services Practice Managers meetings Locality meetings Merton CCG governing body- notes of meetings and key action Members events Practice visits Intranet communication and formal correspondence Page 5 of 11
Health & Social Care Partners Doctors Nurses therapists Dentists Pharmacists Opticians Local professional bodies Social Services Epsom and St Helier Trust The Royal Marsden St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust London Ambulance Service Other NHS & private provider organisations Neighbouring CCGs NHS South West London NHS London Department of Health & Secretary of State Merton CCG website SW London website Existing professional meetings and networks Merton Health and Well Being Board Health Diversity Programme Transition Board Existing networks in London NHS Alerts Presentations at joint meetings Local MPs Engage: MP for Mitcham and Morden MP for Wimbledon Inform: MP for Carshalton and Wallington MP for Sutton and Cheam Local Authorities Leaders of the Council Councillor, Leader of Merton Council Executive Officers CEO Merton Council Councillors Councillors (Merton ) Overview and Scrutiny Panel Merton Cabinet Portfolio Holders Councillor (Merton) Inform: Councillor, Leader of Sutton Council CEO Sutton Council Page 6 of 11
Sutton Councillors Sutton Overview and Scrutiny Panel Sutton Cabinet Portfolio Holders Influencers Local and national media Merton Health OSC Merton Shadow Health and Well-being Board Unions HealthWatch/Local Involvement Networks (LINks) Press releases and briefings Presentations at key meetings Regular written briefings and presentation NHS South West London communications team We will undertake an analysis of the core stakeholder groups we plan to engage with, looking at the following: Our current involvement Relationship managers for that group The stakeholder group s preferred method of engagement The organiser responsible for making sure communications and engagement with the group is timely and relevant When tailoring our communications and engagement activity for our key stakeholders, we will think about: Their barriers to engagement What is in it for them? What do we want them to do? Communication and engagement effort will then be appropriately focussed. 8. Public and patient engagement There is a legal duty to engage with patients and to report on that engagement. Section 242 of the NHS Act 2006 places a statutory duty on NHS organisations to involve and consult patients and the public in the planning of service provision, the development of proposals for change and decision about how services operate. The Act also places statutory duty on NHS organisations to report on consultations and the influence on commissioning decisions. Public and patient engagement (PPE) can be considered on a spectrum ranging from informing to collaboration and empowerment. Effective public engagement and consultation, along with media relations and political stakeholder management, will all contribute to overall reputation management for GP commissioning consortia. Page 7 of 11
Merton CCG is committed to ensuring that services are developed with patients at the heart of everything it does. This will be achieved by ensuring that patients, members of the public and carers will have a real say in the commissioning, designing, planning, improvement, monitoring delivery and reviewing of services. Our vision is to imbed the culture of patient and public engagement, develop the tools and systems to support staff to undertake high quality patient and public engagement that will impact on the quality of services, improve patients, members of the public and carers experience of services and therefore improve their quality of life. We will work to develop a local approach to PPE that may include the following areas: Plans for involvement of patients in their own treatment and care Merton CCG will have a structure for systematic involvement of patients and carers with input from nominated representatives from Patient Participation Groups (PPG) at each practice. The structure will ensure that, in all aspects of the CCG s business, the public voice of the local population is heard and that opportunities are created and protected for patient and public empowerment in the work of the CCG. Examples of this type of involvement work include the Met Office alerts programme to help COPD patients manage their condition; the Expert Patients Programme a self management course for people living with long term conditions; social marketing to encourage appropriate use of services, Health Diversity work to sign post members of new communities not familiar with NHS system and how to use services appropriately. Involvement of patients in decision-making and governance. To ensure accountability and transparency and to meet legal duties to involve patients and the public in planning and developing health services, Merton CCG will have a lay representative on its Board ensuring one of whom will have a role in patient and public involvement in the decision making processes of the organisation. Plans for patient involvement in redesigning care pathways, We will ensure systematic involvement of patients and carers in commissioning of new or redesigned services. Local examples include hip and knee pathway work, the development of local dementia strategies. Approaches to using patient experience data to improve quality of primary care and all commissioned services Wide range of data is available including complaints, PALS, patient surveys, LINk Merton, feedback from local and national engagement projects, online sources such as Patient Opinion and Healthtalkonline will be used to inform commissioning decisions. Page 8 of 11
Engagement of Patients and the Public Wider Health System Local Authority MCCG Board Localities Local health providers Health and Well Being Board Healthwatch Public engagement Practices Patients Self-management; Shared decision-making Practice Participation Groups: Supporting service improvement Focus on patient experiences Virtual Patient Forum Supporting service improvement across practices Two lay members, one representing patients Director of Public Health, population health Voluntary Sector Local partnerships 2 9. Mechanisms for communication and engagement Practice Engagement Events for all member practices and practice staff will be organised to inform the workforce about plans and priorities as appropriate. These events will offer an opportunity for Merton CCG to receive feedback on plans and for members to influence priorities. The events will also establish a more inclusive programme for involving a wider audience in our work. While all clinicians will be involved in commissioning as they make treatment decisions, active participation in CCG business will vary as will the engagement and communication strategy will need to be different at different levels of involvement. These include: CCG member practices implementation of CCG policies budget management and informing CCG of local intelligence about services and patient experience Service redesign involvement in service improvement and redesign as providers, often as practice leads working with groups of local patients or as clinical leads for priority work streams. Merton CCG Board clinical Leadership team and actively involved in commissioning decisions and engaging external stakeholders. Corporate Identity Relationships will be established to promote a positive image of Merton CCG. Merton CCG will link with all stakeholders as set out in the Stakeholder Analysis section. Merton CCG will use the NHS lozenge as its logo and it will adhere to the national guidelines on NHS identity for clinical commissioning groups. We will link the visual identity with our agreed vision and values, and develop an organisational culture that is consistent with both. Page 9 of 11
Media To protect the reputation of Merton CCG, it is vital that all member practices deal consistently with the media. To this end we will agree a media policy that all members will sign up to. The policy will reflect that it is important for all media enquiries to be directed to the communications team at NHS SW London via the media@swlondon.nhs.uk email address or on 020 3458 5715. The communications team are also able to offer advice and help with any media issues. Practices are strongly urged to ask for support if approached directly by the media. To support the Board, media training will be provided. Regular media updates will also be circulated to the CCG Board to enable them to monitor their public reputation. Website & Electronic Communication A survey of preferred method of engagement and communication will be carried out for all stakeholders including all practice staff. This will determine the best and the most suitable communication method for individual practices and stakeholders. Merton CCG will develop a website as a communication vehicle for staff, other organisations, patients, carers and the public. Initially the Merton CCG website will be developed, hosted and supported by the NHS SWL communications team. We will develop the use of social media as a communication tool for information sharing and collating feedback and comments from service users and other stakeholders. We will also consider e-consultation options to support robust patient involvement. Internally we will establish an intranet for Merton CCG staff to make sure that we can engage and communicate effectively with member practices. Freedom of Information Requests All communications will be accurately recorded and disseminated appropriately and available for public scrutiny under The Freedom of Information Act. Minutes of meetings and information on decision making will be posted on the website for easy access and effective communication. We will make sure that all of our publications provide clear and understandable information for all audiences. Information will be made available on request in the most commonly spoken languages within Merton within a reasonable timeframe. Full compliance of any requests under Freedom of Information Act will be monitored on a regular basis. Exhibitions, Workshops, Conferences and Road Shows Road shows, events, exhibitions and workshops will be organised to inform the workforce, patients and external stakeholders about plans and priorities as appropriate. These events will offer an opportunity for Merton CCG to receive feedback on plans and priorities and to have a more inclusive programme for involving a wider audience in our work. Page 10 of 11
10. Implementation The implementation of this strategy will be led by Merton CCG Board. Merton CCG Board members will ensure that communication with all stakeholders is considered as part of planning, decision making and evaluation of the work of the organisation. For each of our Communications and Engagement Objectives, there are a number of actions to undertake. Table 2 is a brief description of communication and engagement actions we plan to undertake over the next year. 11. Evaluation Success will be determined by feedback from patients, organisations and staff groups. These will include a 360 degree stakeholder survey. This strategy will be reviewed in December 2012. A regular report for the CCG Board will help the organisation to monitor and evaluate communications and engagement activities. 12. Conclusion Communications will have a significant and increasingly important role within the future of Merton CCG and will be central to continued development and success. This strategy aims to set out the priorities and principles for communication to ensure a consistent and effective approach is implemented across Merton CCG and the wider community. 13. Improving our approach This Communications and Engagement Strategy is a working document and we are committed to being responsive and flexible as we develop the work. During the first phase of development of Merton CCG, we will put in place the building blocks for effective engagement and communication. If you would like to send us any queries, comments or suggestions about the strategy then please contact us via e mail at nhsswl.mertonccg@nhs.net. Page 11 of 11
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Implementation Plan Merton CCG- Communication and Engagement Strategy Page 1 of 8
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Table 2- Implementation plan Objective Key activities dates Status Action Build Strong Clinical engagement Member practices Nominated practice lead for all 26 practices Dedicated time for practices to assess and identify solutions to influencing commissioning decisions All member practice events on a regular basis to address CCG business and clinical quality improvements Regular communication from CCG leadership Intranet and web enabled internal discussion forums e.g. NHS Networks and WebEx May 2012 June 2012 Jan 2012 and ongoing June 2012 June 2012 Role outline to be finalised First monthly newsletter issued in May Test run of intranet completed Board meetings in publicboard papers, key actions and notes of board meetings e.g. Merton CC(d)C Provision of workshops/training on patient and public engagement June 2012 September 2012 Red First board meeting in public on 13 th June advertised Wider Local Professional Groups Participation at joint meetings between providers and CCG July 2012 Some clinical Page 2 of 8
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Objective Key activities dates Status Action to influence quality of services and to improve commissioning e.g. CQRG, Service networks representation on provider networks- Others to be identified Named clinical links to wider professional group July 2012 To identify clinical leads for each provider Meaningfully engagement with patients, carers and their communities to ensure their systematic involvement in the commissioning of health services To conduct a 360 stakeholder mapping and analysis Set up Practice Participation Groups Work with LINks/HealthWatch to agree engagement priorities for next year Map patient, carer and community groups, including seldom-heard and disadvantaged groups prioritise (work with public health and local authority) Named clinical and managerial links with/ for these priority groups Agree key quarterly update messages and questions for feedback for relationship ongoing December 2012 September 2012 September 2012 September 2012 Some practices need to set up PPG Developing a draft HWBB strategy with LINkS involvement. To extend Health Diversity Program to rest of Merton Identified as SH & GH To continue newsletter and intranet, through Page 3 of 8
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Objective Key activities dates Status Action Ensure open and transparent governance and leadership in our CCG managers, and to include in Community/Stakeholder CCG E-Bulletin (including a You said, we did section) Develop formal systems for capturing patient feedback and logging engagement activity databases etc. Schedule time in CCG Board meetings to consider collated report. Consider having CCG Board lay and clinical member with role as Engagement Champion to ensure patient voice is heard. Web-enabled engagement consider online patient surveys, forums and tweetchats. Map existing online community forums and influencers in the area. Ensure patient feedback is day to day business of Merton CCG Agree principles of openness and transparency as part of vision and values. Culture is developed from behaviour of Board members. September 2012 September 2012 June 2012 Red Red MVCS Started HR process to appoint second lay member for Merton CCG Board To progress the website creation. To link with LBM website Page 4 of 8
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Objective Key activities dates Status Action Lay membership on CCG Board. All papers for CCG Board meetings published and available on the web. Meetings advertised and public invited to observe. Systems in place to manage external communications, briefings, FOI from media, stakeholders, DH etc. through NHS Sutton and Merton team Clear CCG admin function to prioritize, escalate respond to correspondence coming into CCG. Political correspondence to be run past communication team for advice first. Media policy agreed by CCG Board and distributed to members to ensure open but consistent dealings with the media. April 2012 June/July 2012 July 2012 June 2012 To appoint second lay member To publish on South West London until Merton CCG website live Build public and stakeholder confidence in our CCG and its leadership Demonstrate patient and public involvement in major decisions making Develop formal systems for capturing feedback and June 2012 To formalise the evidence from Page 5 of 8
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Objective Key activities dates Status Action Promote and advance equality within the work of logging engagement activity Visible Leadership through allocated CCG Board members as relationship managers for key stakeholders in the local community to build confidence and listen to feedback.. Continuity of individuals to build stronger relationships with key groups such as Merton Health & Wellbeing Board and Oversight and Scrutiny Develop and maintain an accessible website for the CCG Work collaboratively with London Borough of Merton Engagement team Stakeholder E-Bulletin to inform on the work of Merton CCG and build confidence. Agree key quarterly update messages and questions for feedback. Continue our exemplar work on the Health Diversity Programme June 2012 April 2012 September 2012 June 2012 Red engagement activity To formalise a programme to ensure coverage of key stakeholders Consistent attendance at HWBB events June 2012 First Merton CCG newsletter distributed in May September 2012 Red To collate PALS and other feedback and incorporate in Newsletter To action equality objectives and focus on CCG s outcomes Page 6 of 8
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Objective Key activities dates Status Action Merton CCG Provide assurance and evidence for the Equality Delivery System for protected groups and to meet requirements under the Equality Act 2010 Work with partners to prioritise engagement with seldom heard voices through stakeholder mapping Use findings of Health Diversity Program to inform and influence all activity of Merton CCG Share lessons learned widely with practices to improve policy and practice, and build into developments around broader commissioning strategy. Share good news stories through all media channels to ensure seldom heard individuals, groups and communities are aware of the positive work being undertaken. Stakeholder E-Bulletin include examples of work September 2012 Published equality grading and objectives in May To formalise Board PPG and lay member into feedback work Page 7 of 8
Sima Haririan- May 2012 Merton CCG Board 13.06.12 Pt1 : 3.3 : Att 03 : 03 of 03 Objective Key activities dates Status Action which highlight better health outcomes, improved patient access and experience, and reducing health inequalities. Use the vision and values to develop an open and transparent culture which supports equality, and challenges behaviours which fall outside of those values Member Practice events held in January and March to outline vision and values of Merton CCG Page 8 of 8