Meaningfully engaging people in the design of changes

People who need, access and use services, and their families and carers, should be at the heart of change. Think of services as belonging to the people who need and use them, not the organisations that provide them.  

Evidence shows how we engage with people is important. 

Making engagement meaningful

Building trust through collaboration, not one-off consultation. Meaningful engagement and involvement of people cannot be undertaken in a transactional way. Solving tough problems together is one of the best ways to build trust. 

Making engagement inclusive and ethical

 Engage in a way that is legal, ethical and inclusive. This includes:

  • conducting an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)
  • conducting a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA, if needed)
  • adhering to the Patient’s Rights Act, meeting community engagement standards
  • complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty guidance from the Scottish Government
  • getting consent for participation
  • understanding each person’s communication needs so you can help them participate

Understanding what people need

Understand what is important to people who use and provide services. This includes their needs beyond clinical ones, like social needs. Then, let that guide your ideas for change.   

Make engagement an empowering experience 

Shifting power to people and communities helps address imbalances between services and those who need them.  

Understand your statutory obligations around engagement for service change

NHS boards and Integration Joint Boards have a statutory duty to involve people in the planning and development of services, and in the decision-making process. Boards must meet their duties of public involvement as set out in the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978, Section 2B. Integration Joint Boards’ engagement and participation duties are specified in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 also strengthens the duty to involve people in the design and delivery of care services.