The Lived Experience Network
The Sunderland Showcase 12 07-12-16
Sunderland Showcase Slides - Dr Lesley Scott
Sunderland Staff PCPI Handbook
Tour of the new facilities:
We had a tour of the clinical skills centre – they have an immersive interactive suite which they use for paramedic training which was fantastic. It involved a purpose built room with interactive walls which you could adapt to specific settings (A&E, street, bonfire etc) to help recreate the image / sounds of that particular context. The one of A&E was really impressive as students were doing skills training within a noisy department via the simulated walls. The company is called immersive interactive Website is http://immersive.co.uk/
Afternoon group discussion = what are some of the benefits to patients and carers getting involved?
Group 1:
What are some of the benefits of being a Patient Carer Public Involvement (PCPI) and Patient | Carer Community (PCC) member?
- Its empowering and rewarding
- Helps teach self-management
- Provides opportunities to socialise with different ages and be an active member of society
- Prevents isolation
- Provides opportunities to be heard and listened to
- It's enjoyable and fun
- Helps to build confidence, particularly in challenging health professionals
- Members feel valued and useful
- Impart knowledge, wisdom and years of experience
- Become part of a community and support network
- Make new friends and meet new people
- Welcome students to our University and City
- Improves physical and mental health
- Increases knowledge of their own illnesses, medicine and the hospital system
- Learn new skills and refresh old ones
- There is enough variation and scope in the work that members feel like they can develop, grow and progress
One member said the best thing was getting a cuddle at the end and them saying “I can’t thank you enough” because they thought they came across as an intimidating person.
Group 2:
- What are some of the benefits of being a PCPI member?
- 'I felt more empowered and informed to go back to my GP and talk about my condition'
- Social engagements
- Educating the health professionals
- 'Well if you don't use it you lose it! I had to think more about my lifestyle and how I could keep my mind and body going and not giving up.'
- 'I wanted to know what medication I was taking. So I've learned so much information that I can impart to and from the pharmacy students because it's a two way process.'
- 'I enjoy telling my story so they can see me as a person and not a condition, it helps to build relationships.'
- Better relationship with my Community Pharmacist
Group 3:
For PCPI participants
- Increased confidence in dealing with Health Care professionals
- Empathy for Health care Professionals
- Understanding of pressures on Health Care services
- Better understanding / impact of various conditions, medications, treatments etc.
- Less fearful of treatments and their consequences
- Helpful in an individual's personal journey providing a forum to openly discuss fears, worries, experiences and explore issues from a different perspective
- Provides a useful way of engaging in a social/ pseudo work scenario.
- Provides a raison d’être where there has been a need to give up work through illness
- Less time spent ruminating on the negative aspects of an illness giving a more positive outlook and less need to engage with other Health Care professionals
- Making use of generic skills used in previous employment in exam scenarios, interviewing new applicants to courses, training etc. giving a sense of self-worth utilising valuable skillsets which would otherwise go to waste
- Learn about other cultures from overseas students
- Explore emotional issues in a safe environment
For students
- Engaging with real people with real conditions allows them to develop high level skills in dealing with patients in the real world
- Safe learning environment but with real people/conditions
- Allowed to make mistakes and learn without real world consequences
- Improve and develop communication skills
- Learn to enjoy interacting with people from a wide variety of backgrounds….age, gender, disability, experience etc.
- Long term benefits in success academically and employability
For others
- Improves reputation of the university and complies with current guidance on engaging with patients and carers
- Attracts students and income
- Gives a powerful voice at a national level on how to improve standards in Health Care
- Longevity and success of scheme allows for a model which can be shared as best practice
- Need to explore cost/benefit analysis
- Need to engage with other disciplines
- Need to communicate effectively with various interest groups
- Benefits to PCPI participants could be a justification for use by other agencies to utilise participation by patients as a clinical tool.