Engaging and working in partnership with the people and communities that we serve is a key part of the way the NHS can improve health outcomes.
A new course, created by NHS England, gives anyone interested in how we can do this an introduction to some of the key principles and what they need to consider.
The course is designed so participants can work at their own pace for a few hours over a couple of weeks. It looks at why it’s important to work with people and communities; how to create better health outcomes through working with people; how we can successfully involve marginalised communities; and some of the challenges to working with people and communities that health and care professionals can face and how they can be overcome. The course includes video case-studies from across the NHS and wider health and care system.
Help the people you work with access healthcare services
Understanding how to work effectively with diverse groups can help you better meet the needs of the different people you work with. This two-week course from NHS England will show you how simple changes can create big improvements to people’s lives and transform their access to healthcare services.
You’ll take a strengths-based approach to understand how you can work with people and not systems. With this knowledge, you’ll learn how your work can have a bigger impact.
Understand how people have different experiences in their access to healthcare
You’ll unpack how different communities can have very different experiences of healthcare as you identify who faces bigger barriers.
With this knowledge, you’ll learn how to consider different perspectives in the design and delivery of healthcare services.
Explore inclusive engagement activities
To help ensure better care and efficient use of resources, you’ll delve into the inclusive engagement practices you can use in your context. With this understanding, you’ll learn the importance of making people feel heard when you engage with them.
You’ll also learn how to look at a diverse population and ensure equitable representation rather than equal representation.
Develop an awareness of implicit bias and underrepresentation
To further ensure the inclusivity of your engagement practices, you’ll explore implicit bias and how you can navigate this to break down barriers to healthcare access.
You’ll also discover the underrepresented groups in England and the strategies you can implement to ensure wider groups of the public are represented in healthcare.
By the end of this course, you’ll have the practical tools and knowledge to understand how to successfully involve people and communities in your work.
Everyone can take part in the course for free; using the Limited Access option. NHS and social care staff + students on NHS courses can get a fully-funded upgrade as part of the partnership between NHS and FutureLearn. Full eligibility criteria are here: https://verify.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/eligibility
You can join for free HERE
To access the course for free, you will need to select Limited access, which will give you access to the course materials for the two-week duration of the course. To have access to the materials for longer and learn at your own pace, you will need to upgrade.
The partnership with FutureLearn means that all NHS and social care staff can get fully-funded upgrades to selected FutureLearn courses at no cost to the individual. The upgrade allows learners to get continual access to the course and a certificate of completion. Instructions on how to upgrade can be found at the start of the course.