Ways to get Involved

Ways to get involved

There are many ways in which you can get involved - click on the links to find out more.

• Health forum Take a Healthy Interest - is the start of a new era for your local NHS. NHS Nottinghamshire County is offering you the chance to have a major say in shaping the services we plan and pay for. We are developing a forum of local people, whom we can consult regularly about health issues that matter to you.
• Patient and Public Involvement - for people who REALLY want to get involved in driving our decision-making. NHS Nottinghamshire County is committed to involving patients and the public in planning, improvement and delivery of local healthcare services and responding to your feedback. The PCTs Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Team support, advise and provide staff with the tools/methods to ensure that PPI becomes everyday practice.
• Patient and Participation Groups - Local GP surgeries and practices are setting up patient participation groups. If you are interested in working with your GP practice to highlight issues that affect patients ask your practice manager to see if they have a group or are setting one up that you can join.
• Expert Patient Programme - The Expert Patient Programme is based on the idea that patients with long term conditions like diabetes or asthma often understand their condition as well as or better than healthcare professionals and therefore can make an important contribution to developing care packages and services.
• Carers - Carer co-ordinators provide information for carers living in Nottinghamshire. They can provide information on carer assessments, benefits that may be available and taking a break.
• PALS - The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is about making sure that as a patient, relative or carer you have someone to turn to for on the spot help, advice and information. Your first point of contact will usually be front line staff such as a nurse, receptionist or therapist who will have a vital role in helping you find your way around the NHS.
• LINk - The Local Involvement Network (LINks) is a voluntary group set up to tackle issues faced by service users of public health and social care services. The LINk is made up of local volunteers from across the county who use health and social care services and represent other service users in their area.
• Clinical Commissioning Groups - There are 6 Clinical Commissioning Groups in the Nottinghamshire cluster.  The main aim of the new Clinical Commissioning Groups are to work with GPs, other healthcare professionals, stakeholders and the public to make a real, positive and measurable difference to health and social care.