East Sussex Community Voice wins award for its work on the Public Reference Forum engaging with local people
East Sussex Community Voice (ESCV) is delighted to announce that it has won the NHS South East Clinical Networks, Lay Engagement Award in the category for original, innovative or creative engagement with the public, at the Kent Surrey Sussex leadership and innovation awards 2017.
The award was made on Wednesday 1st March at the American Express Community Stadium where ESCV beat other shortlisted finalists for this award.
The East Sussex Better Together (ESBT) programme commissioned East Sussex Community Voice (ESCV) to undertake the Public Reference Forum (PRF) to increase ways for local people to inform the development of local services by joining together with clinicians and professionals in co-designing health and social care services. The PRF project worker Frances O’Donnell, actively seeks out people as they go about their day to day business across the ESBT area in East Sussex wherever she feels it will be most effective. The diversity of locations means that she talks, face- to-face with people in a friendly and practical way, gaining more insight into people’s experiences and understanding what is important to them.
Frances engages with a variety of audiences amongst the public including volunteers, carers, health and social care staff, community and voluntary groups and people who use health and social care services.
The PRF has been able to provide a much richer picture of what really matters to local people and the outcomes are reported to the commissioners, ESBT – that information crucially informs the future development of local health and social care services.
