The Citizens' Senate (CS) is a resource pool and source for informed public involvement. It provides the Clinical Networks and other regional healthcare structures with insight, information and views about services and proposed redesign or service change from the perspective of patients, service users, carers and the public. Members of the CS are all living with long-term conditions or are caring for others with debilitating illness. They have current and relevant experience of services and are therefore considered ‘experts by experience’. They are all actively involved with informing programmes and projects, together with reviewing health policy and guidance documents, e.g. Medicine Optimisation, Accelerated Access Review, Consultant Outliers Report. Meetings are held weekly with each session focusing on the Senate's strategic objectives to increase understanding of the health and social care system. Early projects undertaken by the members were, Equality of Access, Awareness & Early Diagnosis and Community Support. Some findings from this work were presented to the Clinical Networks together with other health bodies. Our intentions were to try to influence priorities and workplans.
Guest speakers are invited from across the region’s health and social care services to discuss topical health and social care issues, service changes and new programmes and projects. Members are encouraged to learn and share information about programmes they are involved in – this can be many and varied, from active participation on Review Panels with the Clinical Senate to supporting mental health initiatives and operating at executive level within Healthwatch or local integrated care system patient forums. There are also many disease-specific projects such as one member co-delivering a training day for medical students with the Society for Endocrinology. The CS meetings serve as a vital forum for peer support for these great examples of Patient Leadership, and also to equip members with knowledge and information in order to influence commissioners and decision-makers on service improvement.
In summary the Citizens' Senate:
- Acts as a hub for the regional patient/carer voice both to the Clinical Networks and Clinical Senate and any allied bodies such as Integrated Care Boards and Academic Health Science Networks.
- Considers issues of strategic importance raised by patients, carers and service users. These are raised from within the network of constituent patient groups, from intelligence gathered through insight data or patient experience surveys, or from any of the statutory bodies.
- Considers issues raised by Health and Social Care Professionals and the Clinical Networks/Senate.
- Supports its members as Experts by Experience to opearate in partnership with healthcare organisations across the region, encouraging the adoption and implementation of Coproduciton Principles.