Part 1: General NHS England Introduction
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Lived Experience Partner in line with NHS England Public and Patient Voice Partners Policy.
Working in partnership with people and communities creates a much better chance of ensuring services meet people’s needs, improving their experience and outcomes. Becoming a Patient and Public Voice (PPV) Partner is one of the important ways that we can hear people’s voices.
Please read this application information pack before completing the application form for this role. It will help you decide if the role is right for you.
If you would like support or this information in another format, please contact sarah.wall14@nhs.net
The closing date for applications is 11pm 4 October 2024.
Please note that correspondence will be primarily via email, unless otherwise requested. If you do not have access to email and would like to be contacted via telephone or post, please state this on your application form.
This post attracts an involvement payment in line with the PPV Partner Expenses and Involvement Payments Policy. Please note: Involvement payments are classed as a form of income by HMRC and are subject to deductions including tax and National Insurance (depending on individuals’ circumstances).
Involvement Payments are made via payroll for tax purposes only, to ensure that NHS England makes payments in a tax compliant way in line with HMRC guidance. PPV Partners are not employees, workers or agents of NHS England.
Before accepting an offer of a role with an involvement payment you are advised to get independent advice. You may wish to contact the job centre or Citizens Advice.
NHS England is not able to provide benefits advice (or any other financial advice) to PPV Partners. However, we commission a helpline from Citizens Advice for people who are in receipt of benefits and currently involved, or considering being involved, as a PPV Partner in NHS England work. Please contact england.engagement@nhs.net to access this service.
You can choose to decline an involvement payment if you wish.
Limits and exclusions
To encourage a range of people to become PPV Partners and to minimise conflicts of interest, there are limits to the number of roles that PPV Partners can have and certain exclusions. The limits are:
- PPV Partners can only hold up to three roles at any one time
- the length of term for a PPV Partner role is a maximum of four years continuous involvement
PPV Partners are not employees of NHS England. The limit to the number of roles also exists to reduce the possibility that their earning levels could be construed as implying employment. While there are not set limits to the number of hours that PPV Partners can do per month, a guideline is that that each role should average no more than two full days per month (including all preparation and travel time).
To minimise conflicts of interest and to ensure that PPV Partners bring a public perspective the following people cannot be NHS England PPV Partners:
- a chair or board member of an NHS body – including an NHS Trust or NHS Foundation Trust, an NHS commissioning body, the Independent Regulator of NHS Trusts, and some Special Health Authorities
- NHS England employees – including all staff, honorary or unpaid medical or dental posts this applies even where their employed role is in a different area of the business. Non-clinical staff employed by other NHS organisations are usually exempt from this exclusion
- a practising healthcare professional – including practising GPs, General Dental Practitioners
- a serving MP or local councillor – including candidates for election
How to apply
Please complete the following:
If you do not wish to complete the online form, you can send these documents by email to sarah.wall14@nhs.net
We understand that filling in forms is not the most accessible way for some people to apply for roles. We do not want the application process to be a barrier to your involvement. If you would like to apply for the role in a different way, for example by telephone, or by sending a voice recording or if you would like support to apply for this role, and/or information in another format please contact Sarah Wall sarah.wall14@nhs.net
We will rely on the information you provide in the application form to assess whether you are a good fit for the role.
Diversity and equality of opportunity
NHS England values and promotes diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity for all. To help us understand if we are achieving this, we ask you to fill out an equal opportunity monitoring form as part of the application process.
NHS England is a Disability Confident employer. Disability Confident applies to all recruitment opportunities, including PPV Partner recruitment. Applicants who state that they have a disability and successfully evidence the essential criteria will be offered an interview. Please note: In certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, disabled candidates who best meet the essential criteria will be interviewed rather than all of those that meet the essential criteria.
Once we receive your application
The steps will be as follows:
- We will acknowledge receipt of your application form via email (unless otherwise specified). If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 1 week, please get in touch.
- Applications will be shortlisted by a panel, including members drawn from the following groups: People and Communities Division, Strategic Lived Experience Partners.
- Applications will be assessed against the skills and experience required. Selection will be made on the basis of the content of the application form.
- Interviews will take place via an online Teams meeting, week commencing the 7 Oct If you have been shortlisted for interview you will be contacted by email to arrange a suitable time, any accessibility requirements can also be discussed and arranged.
- Please note that two references will be taken up for successful applicants before the role is confirmed.
- All applications will receive a successful or unsuccessful notification. The successful notifications will include information about next steps.
If you wish to be informed about future involvement opportunities, please sign up to NHS England’s In Touch newsletter
If you have any queries about the application process or would like an informal discussion about the opportunity – please contact sarah.wall14@nhs.net
Part 2 – Role specific information
The People and Communities Division leads for NHS England on ensuring that people and communities are involved, listened to and their experiences understood in the development of strategy, policy, commissioning and delivery of care.
The People and Communities Division, Experience of Care team aim to support several policy areas including:
- the statutory guidance to ‘Work in Partnership with People and Communities’ to work with systems to continuously improve quality of care based on the needs of the population
- our statutory duty to continuously improve the quality of experienceas part of the overall duty to improve quality
The ambition of the National Quality Board for NHS England to ‘Improve experience of care: A shared commitment for those working in health and care systems’ including supporting health and care systems in actively engaging with people who use services, families and the public throughout the process of designing, running, monitoring and reviewing services.
As our population changes, we recognise, as the People and Communities Division, that there is a growing importance in understanding the needs of older people living with complex needs and their Unpaid Carers. We currently know that:
- number of people over 60 is expected to increase from 14.9 million in 2014 to 18.5 million in 2025 (ONS, 2015)
- 75% of 75 year olds in the UK have more than one long term condition, rising to 82% of 85 year olds (Barnett et al, 2012)
- One in five (20%) of unpaid carers are aged 65 plus (Age UK, 2023)
- 6 million people aged 65+ have unmet needs for care and support (Age UK, 2023)
Recognising this we would like to invite two new Lived Experience Partners to join our Division, for an initial period ending March 25, to support our current and potentially ongoing work in this area.
The initial scope of this opportunity is to:
- Work with colleagues to support 7 Integrated Care Systems pilot sites in using the insight from the Integrated Care Experience Survey to grow co-produced improvements. (The aim of the survey is to provide insight on experiences of care and to help understand the extent to which integrated care is working from the perspectives of people receiving care and their unpaid carers’. It has been designed to provide national insight and data for Integrated Care Boards (ICB) to understand where joined-up care is working well and where experience of care can be improved. – nhs.uk)
- Support colleagues to reflect on the learning and make recommendations for the sustainability and spread of the above.
- Work in partnership with the Experience and Partnerships team (People and Communities Division) to inform the future opportunities for working with people with lived experience.
- Work in partnership with the Experience and Partnerships team (People and Communities Division) to demonstrate the opportunity and value of working in co-production with people with lived experience. (This may include presenting at events/meetings.)
The scope of work may alter as things progress and it is important to us that this is done with the involvement of Lived Experience Partners. These roles represent an exciting opportunity to shape future work in this area as well as support the current project.
What is the role of Lived Experience Partners on the group?
We are looking for 2 Lived Experience Partners to support this evolving and dynamic piece of work. Ideally one with Lived Experience as an Older Person (over 65 years) Living with Complex Needs (need a high level of support with many aspects of their daily life, and relying on a range of health and social care service) and one with Lived Experience as an Unpaid Carer (anyone who cares for someone who is ill, disabled, older, has mental health concerns or is experiencing addiction and is not paid by a company or local authority to do this).
The Lived Experience Partners will bring important views, perspective and challenge into the People and Communities Division relating to Older People Living with Complex Needs. This role is essential in ensuring this work is co-produced with people with lived experience/people using the service and their unpaid carers, ensuring that their needs are met through the outcomes of the programme.
The role of the Lived Experience Partner is to:
- make sure that the group co-produces with older people with lived experience/people using services and their unpaid carers
- where appropriate, represent different views within a community and not just represent their own voice. In particular to consider the impact and perspective of this work for those from diverse communities or those who have protected characteristics
- help shape the direction of the workstream, informing and influencing future objectives and plans
- work in partnership with the group, as an equal voice with equal access to insight and information
- continually consider the impact of the project on people with lived experience/people using the service and their unpaid carers
- highlighting where this could be improved or has shifted
- share ideas and discuss opportunities and challenges as an active member of the group
- review and comment on documentation
- speak at meetings, events and webinars
- support sharing the outcomes and achievements of the project
- comply with the Confidentiality agreement, Declaration of interest, Statement of values and code of conduct, respecting the confidential nature of some discussions
- network with others across the organisation e.g. Older People’s Sounding Board, VCSE’s, related cross divisional teams
- to co-produce strategies/approaches to gain insights and knowledge of older people’s experiences of living with complex needs
All Lived Experience Partners will need to comply with the standards of conduct and respect the confidential nature of some discussions. The team will make it clear when a topic is confidential.
Skills and experience desirable for this role
- understand the need for confidentiality
- passionate about healthcare
- able to communicate with lots of different people
- able to speak about their views, and where appropriate represent the views of others
- have an awareness and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- have either Lived Experience as an Older Person (over 65 years) Living with Complex Needs (need a high level of support with many aspects of their daily life, and relying on a range of health and social care service) or Lived Experience as an Unpaid Carer (anyone who cares for someone who is ill, disabled, older, has mental health concerns or is experiencing addiction and is not paid by a company or local authority to do this).
- experience of strategic co-production and continuous improvement
Time commitment
- membership of the project is until March 2025 initially, at which point membership will be reviewed
- you will be required to attend meetings, read emails and review documents approximately every 2 weeks.
- meetings will usually take place online or in person (appropriate adjustments will be made and every effort to make meetings and communications both inclusive and accessible)
- meetings will normally last for 1 hour plus pre & post preparation time.
- the majority of involvement will be within a 4-hour time slot
- it is expected that the time commitment will be a half day (maximum 4 hours) every 2 weeks
- any additional or longer hours will be discussed and agreed in advance
Support for Lived Experience Partners
From your team:
- you will receive an appropriate induction and introduction to the project team
- a member of that team will act as your single point of contact and support you in your role
- all meeting documents, and if necessary, pre-meeting briefings will be provided
From NHS England:
- NHS England is not able to provide benefits advice (or any other financial advice) to PPV Partners
- however, free confidential advice is available for people who are in receipt of benefits and are involved, or considering involvement, with NHS England. Please contact engagement@nhs.net to make use of this service
- we have a digital support offer for PPV Partners who may need a laptop, internet data, or other IT equipment to do their role. If you will require this support, please contact sarah.wall14@nhs.net for more details
- there are a range of learning and development opportunities available to PPV Partners
- we have an online PPV Partner network and regular drop-in session for partners to support one and other, access free training resources and ask questions
- NHS England has an Employee Assistance Programme which is available to anyone who works with or supports NHS England, including contractors and PPV Partners