Our commitment to engagement
We know that good communication and engagement leads to the delivery of high quality health services. Our success in improving health outcomes relies on our ability to look outward and on including local people in conversations.
Engagement principles
We have a draft set of engagement principles which are published in our constitution and support our approach to engagement.
Fairness, equality, confidentiality and inclusion will underpin all aspects of our community engagement, and will be reflected in our engagement policies and practice
Engagement is a two way and proactive process and we will ensure that this is reflected in our approach to all engagement activity
Engagement activities will have clear and agreed purpose, and we will use appropriate methods and standards to achieve these purposes, ensuring they are relevant to the audience and easily accessible for everyone
Community engagement will be continuous with a commitment to learning from experience and national guidance
There is an acceptance that some communities find it difficult to engage due to capacity or competency. We will work with these communities to ensure that they are able to respond effectively to us. Dorset CCG will ensure the effective implementation of equality principles, to share ownership of the wider agenda, and to enable all viewpoints to be identified, collected and reflected
Skills will be built in the CCG to ensure the effective implementation of equalities principles, to share ownership of the wider agenda, and to enable all viewpoints to be identified, collected and reflected
We will be clear with all our communities the scope of change and the influence that they can have on this change so there is a shared understanding. We will be clear about our reasons for this change and why there may be limitations on public ability to influence change
Accurate, timely information is crucial for effective engagement and wherever possible enough time will be allowed for early information gathering, engagement and if necessary consultation on specific issues
Feedback is essential to develop a trusted and honest relationship. Feedback will be provided following all engagement activities and there will be clarity about the differences engagement has made. If no changes have been made, this will also be explained
In summary, these principles highlight the importance of equality and recognises:
The diversity of people and communities
The need to ensure that engagement has a clear sense of purpose
The requirement to be open and transparent about the scope of change and what can be influenced
The need to use effective methods to achieve change
The skills and knowledge of all those involved need to be used and developed
That continuous improvement is essential
Standards of engagement
Honesty – we will be clear about the scope of the engagement activity and what can be changed and what can’t. When changes can’t be made, we will explain why
Involvement – we aim to identify and involve the people and organisations who have an interest in the focus of the engagement
Support – we will identify and overcome any barriers to involvement and support people to engage with us
Planning – we will gather evidence of the needs and available resources and use this evidence to agree the purpose, scope and timescale of the engagement and the actions to be taken
Methods – we will agree and use methods of engagement that are fit for purpose and relevant to the target audience
Working together – we will agree and use clear procedures to work with others where appropriate to avoid duplication of engagement and effort
Improvement – we will ensure that the engagement feeds into commissioning decisions so that people can see results of the engagement activity
Feedback – we will feed back the results of the engagement to the wider community and those who undertook the engagement in a timely manner
Communication – effective communication about the ways and opportunities to engage will be published and proactively shared with communities
Proactive – we recognise that the CCG needs to be proactive in its approach and wherever possible will attend existing meetings and go to where people are rather than expect people to come to the CCG
Monitoring and evaluation – we will monitor and evaluate whether the engagement achieves its purposes and ensure that we monitor those who have engaged with us
Our audiences
The CCG has both internal and external audiences, sometimes referred to as stakeholders. By definition our audiences are any person, group or organisation that affects, or can be affected by, our actions.
They include all those within the new involvement and engagement network, localities and the CCPs and others such as HealthWatch Dorset, Health and Wellbeing Boards, Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees, local authorities, providers (both NHS and private), voluntary organisations, the NHS England and MPs.
The CCG already has relationships with a large number of audiences. Developing and maintaining relationships with all of them and exploring opportunities for collaborative working, underpins the effectiveness of our engagement plans.