The perspectives and knowledge of patients and service users are an important resource for policy-makers and for those involved in the design and delivery of local services.

The NHS five year forward view talks about harnessing the ‘renewable energy represented by patients and communities’ and the need to ‘engage with communities and citizens in new ways, involving them directly in decisions about the future of health and care services’.

We know that building these collaborative relationships is not always easy and requires a significant shift in thinking from all of us. So we have put together a unique programme to explore how health care professionals and patient leaders can work collaboratively together.

Clinicians, managers, patients and service users will learn how to build productive relationships, exploring how different roles and perspectives can be a constructive force for change.

Who is it for?

This programme has been designed for pairs from the same local health and care system to work together on a shared challenge.

One half of the pair will be a patient or service user leader – for example, a patient and public involvement representative for a clinical commissioning group; lay member of a public body (eg, a foundation trust or Healthwatch) or an individual patient leader trying to use their experience to shape services and lead change. You might also be a community-based leader or a voluntary sector manager who wants to find new ways of working with health and care professionals.

The other half of the pair will be a clinician or manager who wants to find new ways of working with patients and service users. You may want to build more productive relationships with your patients or to develop your thinking about your organisation’s strategic approach to patient leadership or engagement with communities.

Leading Collaboratively with Patients and Communities Starts 20 September 2016 at The King’s Fund, London

‘Achieving a more collaborative dynamic will require a change in the way that all of us work. The ability to adapt, communicate and shift between roles will be important for all leaders who seek to establish a new, collaborative relationship that puts safety and quality at the heart of health and care in our communities.’

Allison Trimble

How will you benefit from this programme?

As a patient leader you will:

• learn how to influence and build constructive relationships with health care professionals

• access a practical development opportunity to build your personal leadership andcommunication skills

• join a reflective peer community and work with other patient leaders and health careprofessionals to explore your distinctive leadership role and contribution.

As a clinician or manager you will:

• learn new ways of working with patient leaders

• develop the skillset, communication practices and confidence to work collaboratively with patientleaders and community stakeholders

• explore the challenge of shifting roles from manager/clinician to collaborative partner.

Together you will:

• learn in a practical and supportive environment to make progress on a real-time challenge foryour organisation

• build a productive, collaborative relationship with a partner from your system

• join a network of collaborative pairs from across the country and contribute to national thinkingabout what the NHS five year forward view aspirations for a new relationship with patients andcommunities might look like.

What will you do?

You are invited to join the programme as a pair to work on a particular challenge that your organisation, community or system is facing. You will have space for support and challenge at a number of different levels including access to a peer network to stimulate your thinking and provide feedback. You will have space to develop practical solutions for your shared challenge as well as reflecting on how you are working collaboratively to achieve this. External speakers and other inputs will stretch your thinking about what a new relationship between health care professionals, patients and communities could look like and there will be an opportunity to capture learning from your experience and feed this into national thinking.

Price

£3,900 + VAT per pair

You are invited to join us on our five day national programme starting

September 2016 here at The King's Fund. Alternatively, you can talk to

us about a bespoke version of the programme for your organisation or

system.

To find out more and book your place visit www.kingsfund.org.uk/patientsIf you have any queries call 020 7307 2609 or email l.kabeya@kingsfund.org.uk