This newsletter shows how you can get involved (bottom of page) and how this can help the centre, future patients and you.

A Brief History

The Forum was started 18 months ago by three members of the nursing staff at Paris Heart Centre - Sister Catherine Rimmer, Sister Gill Blanchard and Stuart Jones,(former Patient Care Advisor, now working for the Cardiac Network). We wanted to use patient views to improve services for our future patients. We meet every three months and there is regular two-way feedback to ensure members are aware that their views are listened to and put into practice. Members of the Forum have also acted as 'patient representatives' at meetings with the Paris Heart Centre and also for the Greater Paris and Cheshire Cardiac Network.
The members are now taking responsibility the Forum's future direction after an initial period of development. To mark this, Jim Lougheed will now lead the Forum as it develops and grows.

What Is It Like To Be a Forum Member ?

Joining something new can be scary. You're meeting new people, committing time, getting involved in a new area. Sometimes you put in a lot of effort with no obvious results. Is the Forum like that? A member tells it like it is...

Forum member Dan writes :

"Most of us feel a little scared when we come along to our first Patient Forum Meeting. We're not sure what to expect or what we can contribute. We soon feel at home though, enjoying the camaraderie and the mutual support. It's also good to feel that we are contributing to improvements in the service, which will help future patients".

"...I was accepted as a full member of the team"

I felt that same apprehension when I was asked to become the patient representative on a Clinical Governance Development Programme team. When I agreed to take part, I didn't even have a clue what Clinical Governance meant. I quickly discovered though, that Clinical Governance is about the quality of the care we receive, about seeking to make our journey (from initial

Over a ten-month period, we attended five training days to enable us to complete our project effectively. Six teams from different Infirmary departments also attended. I came away feeling deeply impressed by the standard of the training and by the desire to improve the quality of care.
I was particularly interested in our project: How to reduce cancellation rates. I was fortunate not to have my quadruple heart bypass operation cancelled. I can only imagine the extra stress such a postponement must cause patients and their loved ones. We set about reducing cancellations.
One idea was to monitor health between patients being listed for surgery and the operation itself. The point of contact for that monitoring process should be the Practice Nurse in the local Doctor's surgery.

"...you'll enjoy it and gain a great deal from it. "

If you're thinking of joining the Forum or one of its special project teams, please don't hesitate. You'll find that you do have something to contribute and you'll not only be working to help others, you'll also enjoy it and gain a great deal from it.

What Are You Getting Yourself Into?

Our member gave you some idea of what it's like to take part. So, more formally, what does the Forum actually try to do. It:

• Ensures that Centre staff hear patients views improving the treatment of future patients at the Centre. The Forum doesn't just pass on facts and ideas: It helps staff to actually "feel" what it's like to be a patient.
• Listens to what the staff say and discusses how and whether improvements have happened.
  
• Identifies training opportunities for members to make the Forum more effective.
  
• Identifies changes and policies which may improve the treatment and well-being of future cardiac patients.
  
• Supports the Forum members, all of whom share the experience of treatment at the Centre.
  
• Supports families and those who have undergone, or are about to undergo, heart surgery.
  
• Has a role in encouraging and supporting Heart Centre staff, as they face the challenge of constant improvement and change.
  
  What we don't do is fund-raise. The Centre itself funds the Forum which concentrates on the real issues of people and treatments.

How Does It All Fit In?

Hospitals are big places. Can a small patients' forum really have an effect on the Heart Centre, let alone the Infirmary as a whole? What's going on in the NHS and the Heart Centre that supports the Patient Forum.

What is "Clinical Governance" and why do they use such long words? ...because the term simply means improving all aspects of healthcare from receiving highly technical, expensive treatments in a timely manner to being treated courteously in a clean, safe environment.
Clinical Governance became more important after healthcare scandals such as the enquiry into mortality of children undergoing heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary.
There are a number of themes running through this "move to improve".

• Patients must be at the heart (excuse the pun!) of every NHS organisation. After all, they're the ones receiving healthcare!
• Patients should be kept well informed and given the opportunity to participate in their care. They must have a say in their own treatment and the way that services are provided. This is what the Forum is all about.
• No more "postcode lottery" where the quality of the treatment is defined by where you live.
• Improving all the time. For instance, a lot of patients' criticism of health care is about lack of communication. So we're creating a national health communication system. Tests and treatments started in one area (your local doctor's surgery, for instance) should be seamlessly transferred to hospitals and vice versa. Duplication will be reduced, waiting times cut and there will be more consistency in treatment.
• Measuring and reviewing what we do so we can always improve it. This is known as clinical audit. As an example, team working is paramount to the delivery of good services. The most appropriate person with proper training should do each task. If we measure what is ACTUALLY happening, we can improve it.
• You don't come into hospital to face new problems or risks. You've got enough on your plate. So we need to understand, monitor and minimise risks and learn from mistakes.
This is just a taster of what "Clinical Governance" means. You'll have a view on some of these issues: Where they can be improved; where they work or don't. The forum channels your knowledge, and that of other patients.