Prison uses co-production to help create healthcare support pack
This week at NHFT, we are celebrating our work in the area of co-production.
For those who are not familiar with the term “co-production”, this is when NHS services or teams work alongside people with lived experience of using that particular service, to either improve the service, make adaptations or develop new services. NHFT has been using co-production across services for almost ten years. By combining clinical expertise with the experiences of services users, the hope is that more patients and service users will have a positive experience receiving treatment at NHFT. This week, we will be sharing five different examples of how different service areas have used co-production to develop or improve services, and you will hear from those who have been involved.
HMP Peterborough has involved its prisoners, through co-production, to help create an eye-catching and easy-to-read healthcare pack for new inmates.
HMP Peterborough is a youth offender institution (YOI) which is the only purpose-built prison in the country to accommodate both male and female prisoners, who are kept separate at all times. The prison also has a mother and baby unit on site.
Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) provides mental health support services at the Cambridgeshire-based prison, along with other prisons in the country.
To ensure new prisoners understand what mental and physical health support is available to them, a booklet has been created as part of an innovative ‘co-production’ project.
The HMP Peterborough booklets includes information about what health support is available, how to access it, medication advice, sexual health information, and substance misuse support.
A focus group of prisoners have proof-read the booklet, and helped shape its content, to ensure it can be easily-understood.
Dan Fowkes-Grange, Patient Engagement Lead at HMP Peterborough, said: “This has been co-produced to support people who may have difficulties with their reading or understanding of expectation and, more importantly, what is available to access support needed whilst at HMP Peterborough.”
A number of other co-produced projects are being planned at the prison including a review of their prisoner survey, and a smoking cessation service, both of which will include involvement with service users at the planning stage before they are rolled out.
Dan added: “We're taking a draft of the new survey out to service users and saying do these questions actually make sense, and are they user-friendly and practical? With regards to a smoking cessation service here, I've spoken to a few of the prisoners and said this is what we're looking at doing, what information do you want us to provide you and how do you want us to let you know that the services up and running. They've given me that feedback, which I then sent across to the lead for that project, so that way they're aware about what the patient expectations are.”
Find out more about NHFT’s Secured Services role at www.nhft.nhs.uk/securedservices