Engagement Toolkit
What why and how
We are sharing information you need to involve your local community in decision making within health and care services. By doing this, we hope to encourage everyone to have their say and learn about services in their area.
Your local NHS is working with patients, charities and other services in the community to make sure that everyone understands how health and care works and can use these services well. Together we can make sure that no-one is left behind.
We have developed a simple toolkit which brings together lots of information. The toolkit is a practical guide to help you understand how and when community engagement should take place. Within this toolkit we use the word engagement to describe involving people and communities on how health and social care is designed and delivered.
What is engagement?
Listening to people in the planning and development of services makes sure that their views and opinions are built in. This gives local people the opportunity to have their say on what they feel is important and allows for greater understanding around what services will meet the needs of our communities.
Public involvement in the planning stages builds greater understanding of what is important. Involving people in the planning of services ensures that their views are built into the services.
Click here for more information on different ways of involving local people.
What does engagement look like?
Inform:
- Sharing information about changes so people understand what they mean.
- By letters e-mail, social media.
- Information on notice boards in the community.
Consult:
- Asking for people’s opinions on one or more ideas or options.
- Formal public consultations: Webinars, public meetings and surveys.
Engage:
- Listening to people to understand issues and discuss ideas for change.
- Patient forums.
- Focus groups or interviews.
- Give people the time, place and opportunity to discuss how services will look.
Co-produce:
- Working with people with lived and learnt experience from start to finish.
- Developing services using community conversations, mapping services and appreciative enquiry, builds a vision for the future.
Co-design:
- Design with people and take on board their ideas.
- Codesign with people with lived and learnt experience.
- Use service design tools for better results.
Why do we need to talk to people and how will we do it?
We want to understand what local people want from the health services they use. We can only do this by talking to lots of different people to make sure that the services we put in place work well for everyone.
We will speak to different communities in lots of different ways to find out what they think.
We want to make sure that the services we deliver will work well for everyone. Better services that meet the needs of local people will help us all to be healthy and live well for longer.
Why is engagment so important?
Your views will be used to shape services and make sure that they work well.
Hearing from people from different backgrounds and life experiences can help us to develop services which work better for our communities.
It’s the law! Under the Health and Care Act (2022) the ICB, or Integrated Care Board, has to involve people in planning and developing services.
The National Health Service Act 2006 (updated by the Health and Care Act 2022) shows the importance of including local people in our work.
When should we involve local people?
- When new services are being planned.
- When services are being improved.
- When people can influence and inform changes to services.
- When changes to services may affect people and communities.
Checklist for planning engagement
Who – Think about who you want to hear from. Are there any barriers people might come up against before they can take part? (Maybe they don’t speak English very well, have a learning disability, or cannot read). Is there any support that might help them to take part?
Why – Think about why you want to involve people and what you hope to get out of it. Make sure that people understand why they are being asked to take part.
What – What are your aims? Think about the questions you need to ask to get answers that are linked to what you are trying to achieve.
Where – Where are you going to promote this engagement and how are you going to do it? The more ways and places you can advertise will help to make sure that everyone has the chance to become involved.
When – Think about when and how long you will need to talk to people.
How – Think about how you want to talk to people and capture their views. You could try surveys, focus groups, one-to-one interviews in person, or over the phone. The more ways you have to talk to people the easier you make it for them to get involved. Make sure you make it easy for people to ask for information in other languages and formats, easy read, large print and so on.
Make sure that you are following the rules for protecting how you use and store the information you collect about people (GDPR). Click here for more information on data protection.
When you are planning to engage with people make sure that everyone knows about safeguarding and how to support people who may need help to keep themselves safe.
Our commitment to engagement
Engagement covers a wide range of activities from telling people what is happening to working with communities to co-produce services.
Inform: We promise to keep you informed.
Ask: We will listen and your views will influence our decisions and keep you informed.
Engage: We will work with you & your views will directly inform our decisions.
Co-produce: We will work in partnership with you & make decisions together.
What is Co-Production?
Co-production is a way of working that involves people who use health and care services, carers, and communities in equal partnership. It does this by involving people at the earliest stage of service design, development and evaluation. Co-production recognises that people with ‘lived experience’ are well placed to advise on what services and support will make a positive difference in their lives.
Please click here to view a video on co-production.
If you need any help, support, or advice then please contact the Co-Production Team at nnicb-nnicbcoproductionteam@nhs.net.
Our journey to happier, healthier communities
- Create services in partnership with staff, service users & carers.
- Work with Healthwatch & the voluntary & community sector.
- Understand your community’s needs for health and care. Reach out and make it easier for people to get involved.
- Provide clear public information about vision, plans & progress.
- Use community places which are more accessible and inclusive.
- Get a range of local people involved at the earliest stage and maintain an ongoing conversation.
- Build on what already exists.
- Be open and honest with people.
- Value peoples time and views and ask what support they need.
- Involve people in the design of services.
- Focus on doing things together.
Health and social care working together
The Integrated Care System:
A partnership of the NHS, Local Authorities and Voluntary Sector Organisations working together to provide joined up health and social care.
The Integrated Care Board:
The part of the NHS which works to meet the health needs of the population, managing the NHS budget and planning and providing health services in a geographical area.
The Integrated Care Partnership:
A joint committee of the NHS Care Board and Local Authorities that falls within the ICS area. Working together to improve the health and wellbeing of the population.
Involving people in planning
Involving local people in the planning and delivery of services is critical. Building the patient voice into consultation ensures that their perspective is embedded into services and therefore better meets their needs.
Click here to read more about how we involve people.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Our promise is that we will try to be more responsive to the needs and wishes of the public, all of whom will use our services at some point in their lives. We will work jointly with all of our communities to improve services delivered locally.
Click here to learn more about patient and public involvement.
How to communicate better
Social media isn’t the only way to communicate but can be a useful tool in reaching a wide range of people. If you want to know more about the role social media can play in effective communication, see our handy tips:
- Preparation is key – lay out your goals and objectives and work towards that plan.
- Learn about your audience.
- Every piece of content should be carefully thought-out.
- Choose the right time and amount to post.
- Focus on quality over quantity.
- Take advantage of video content on your social media platform.
- Connect with your audience.
- Measure and analyse results.
Ways of working with people
It’s important not to take a ‘one size fits all approach’ when involving people in the design and delivery of services. Try different routes and methods of communication from social media to easy read documents, online and printed documents.
Patient groups can be a really good route into involving the wider public.
Click here for resources for your patient group.
- Communicate by letters, leaflets, text messages and email.
- Work with community and voluntary services to understand local communities.
- Post on social media and websites and in local publications and newsletters.
- Visit community groups, places of worship and local events.
- Share surveys online and provide hard copies.
For more information on running a focus group, please visit: A bite size guide to running focus groups for patient and public engagement.
For further guidance on writing an effective questionnaire, please visit: Bitesize-guide-writing-an-effective-questionnaire.pdf
To watch a short video on ways to involve patients. Please visit: Widening participation in health and care (youtube.com
Building confidence
We offer continuous training development opportunities for local people to build their confidence when commenting on services. We have worked in partnership with Health Innovations East Midlands to run a series of training sessions. Further development will continue to be developed and progressed in partnership with our patient citizen leaders.
Click here for more information on working in partnership with people and communities.
Support to get involved
The NHS Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board has an Engagement Team which is willing to offer expert help and advice around engagement and getting people involved. If you need any help, support or advice then please contact the Engagement Team at nnicb-nn.engagement@nhs.net.
One of the Engagement Team will contact you directly to discuss your needs and provide expert guidance and support.
Alternatively, further information can be found on the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire website.
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System
The local picture
This page shows the different organisations that make up and participate in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS).
Place-Based Partnerships (PBPs)
Nottingham City PBP – 396,000 population
8 Primary Care Networks
South Nottinghamshire PBP – 378,000 population
6 Primary Care Networks
Mid Nottinghamshire PBP – 334,000 population
6 Primary Care Networks
Bassetlaw PBP – 118,000 population
3 Primary Care Networks
Integrated Care Board
NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)
NHS Trusts
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Sherwood Forest NHS Foundation Trust
Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Foundation Trust
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (mental health)
Community providers
Nottingham CityCare Partnership
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Ambulance Service
East Midlands Ambulance NHS Trust
Local Authorities
Nottingham City Council (Unitary)
Nottinghamshire County Council
- Broxtowe Borough Council
- Gedling Borough Council
- Rushcliffe Borough Council
- Ashfield District Council
- Mansfield District Council
- Newark & Sherwood District Council
- Bassetlaw District Council
Voluntary and Community Sector
Voluntary and community sector input across all areas
How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?
The Kings Fund has produced a short (5 minute) video to explain how the NHS is working in England and how it is taking a more ‘joined-up’ approach to provide a better service for patients. To view the video on how the NHS is changing please click here.
