Public and patient involvement strategy

We recognise that patient and public involvement is about building relationships with people. This takes time, effort and commitment, as does sustaining them. 

The Trust is committed to working in partnership with patients to develop better ways of looking after them.

Our aims are to provide regualry talk and consult the communities we serve and also recognise staff will continuously improve the service we provide.

How can I get involved?

You can get involved by providing feedback, becoming a member or voltuneering your time. For more information on those opportunities see below:

Engagement network

As part of our commitment to work in partnership with our patients and the communities we serve, we have developed an Engagement Network. We know some people find it difficult to provide feedback on our services through our traditional methods of engagement and we hope that this new network will help more people to give us their views.

As part of our commitment to work in partnership with our patients and the communities we serve, we have developed an Engagement Network. We know some people find it difficult to provide feedback on our services through our traditional methods of engagement and we hope that this new network will help more people to give us their views.

The Engagement Network aims to build better links with local communities by connecting with established community groups, support groups, charities or other organisations. These groups can advocate for their members and provide valuable feedback to the Trust to help us to hear the voices of all the people we serve.

If you are a member of a local group who may like to be involved, please contact sth.engagement@nhs.net

Current Engagement Activities

Our next project will be looking at the way we communicate with patients. We want to know:

  • How people want to receive information
  • If we are giving out good quality and easy to understand letters, leaflets, and emails
  • How we can improve our communication with patients with specific needs

We would love to hear your views about this project and what we should focus on. Please email us at sth.engagement@nhs.net if you would like to be involved.

Previous Engagement Activities

We have run five projects through our Engagement Network. We have gathered feedback from a range of local community groups and have been out to visit and speak to groups of people across the city. We also gather feedback through surveys to make sure we hear from as many people as possible.

Patients with Learning Disabilities or Autism

We recently completed a project gathering feedback from people with Learning Disabilities, or Autism, and their carers about experiences of hospital care. A big thank you to all the groups and individuals who gave their feedback! We heard from over 50 people about their experiences of hospital and what was important to them. Click here below to find out about the feedback and the recommendations we are considering as a result.

STH Carer’s Passport

We have just finished gathering feedback about our Carer’s Passport and thanks to all your feedback we have a final copy of the passport which will be launched in April 2024!

Maternity Services

In 2022 we asked patients who had used our maternity services at the Jessop Wing about their experiences and this feedback was used to help create a detailed action plan to make improvements. Click here to find out more.

Accident and Emergency

In 2021/2022 we asked about your experiences in our Accident and Emergency Department at the Northern General Hospital. Click here to find out about the feedback and the recommendations we are considering as a result.

Visiting Hours

In 2019/2020 we asked about your views on our flexible visiting policy for people visiting inpatients who stay at the hospitals. Click here to view what we found out and the recommendations we are considering as a result of the feedback.