The importance of involvement – Learning Disability Week 2022

Patient involvement is the processes of working together with patients, carers and families, to shape, influence or guide projects and services. Patient involvement is central to delivering and improving services and health outcomes.

This Learning Disability Week, we are shining a light on the North Yorkshire Learning Disability Shadow Quality Assurance Group (QuAG), an excellent example of how patient involvement works in the Trust. The group has been in operation since 2016 and supports and challenges the North Yorkshire Learning Disability Service on decisions about service development and improvement and completes service audits.

The group is attended by people who use TEWV’s North Yorkshire learning disability services and who are able to self-advocate for change.

Commenting on the group, Carla Pawson, learning disability service manager for TEWV said: “It’s essential that our services meet the needs of our service users and carers. Listening to people who use our services is key to making sure that this happens and that we provide, safe, quality and effective care and support for local people.

“People telling us what does and doesn’t work for them helps keep us focussed and allows us to continuously improve the service we provide. The Shadow QuAG do a fantastic job and often get involved in helping us to develop news services and wider work across the Trust too.

Victoria Stenhouse, patient engagement facilitator adds: “The input, passion and commitment shown by Shadow QuAg members is invaluable. It helps ground us and consider what our services need to aspire to by working towards a co-created vision of the future. We are fortunate to have this group and for them to be so proactive in bringing ideas forward and asking us the hard questions at times that makes us think about what we can do differently and / or better.”  

Caroline Lawrence co-chair’s the Shadow Quality Assurance Group (QuAG) and shares why she likes to be involved.

“I became involved in the Shadow QuAG five years ago and I am the current Co-Chair.

“Over the years I have done many involvement activities with the Trust.  These include doing interviews for staff, audits for services, giving a talk to staff about Shadow QuAG, helping with posters and many Easy Read documents, training doctors and nurses and now being Co-Chair of Shadow QuAG.

“The Shadow QuAG gets us all going! We find out about the ways we can make a difference to the quality of services and help people. I love the Shadow Quag because it gets me out and involved in a team. I really enjoy it. I love finding out what’s going on and having my say.

“Most things are good and exciting; there is so much to learn about like news and writing letters. I like to be helpful; it makes me feel good and I can deal with it. I get on with everyone there; they are so kind and help you with the work you are doing.

“We talk about a Rainbow at Shadow QuAG – we put a rainbow on our posters, and it makes me feel good. It is as if a rainbow is over us and gives power around us.

“We talk about a Rainbow at Shadow QuAG – we put a rainbow on our posters, and it makes me feel good. It is as if a rainbow is over us and gives power around us.

“I am looking forward to the future and I would like to go to some conferences.”