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What is Public Involvement?

All NHS Boards in Scotland have a legal duty to involve people in designing, developing and delivering healthcare services.  NHS Borders is committed to listening and responding to the view of patients and carers, and involving the public to ensure:

  • We provide the best possible care and experience for patients
  • We take account of public opinion when we plan and develop current and future health services

NHS Borders supports patients and the public to have a say on how we design and deliver our services.Involving patients and the public is essential because it helps us:

  • make our services responsive to local needs
  • make difficult decisions on how we best use our limited resources
  • improve our services
  • encourage patients and the public to take responsibility for our services and their health care

There are a number of ways you can get involved with NHS Borders:

What are Public Representatives?

Currently NHS Borders has two options for people to consider; you could become a Public Member and attend bi-monthly meetings of the Public Involvement Partnership Group and also contribute to a number of groups/committees. The other option would be to register with our Hear From You Network; this is a more informal commitment and you would be able to choose when you wished to participate.

These groups comprise of people from a range of backgrounds and experience, and who want to be involved in the work of NHS Borders, by giving their views, experience and feedback on a specific topic. Through this database we share information about opportunities to get involved in current public engagement opportunities. People who volunteer their time in this way are called Public Representatives.

Who can become a Public Representative?

Becoming a public representative would suit someone who has an interest in the work of NHS Borders, or an interest in health care services. You don’t need to have any special skills or qualifications. Training if required will be provided and you will receive ongoing support from the Public Involvement Team.

When would I need to be available?

Times vary depending on the piece of work you decide to become involved in. Opportunities can vary from ongoing pieces of work that require monthly meetings or simply completing a questionnaire. This decision is your own.

Where does Public Involvement take place?

The majority of Public Involvement takes place remotely at this point in time although this may change. If you have access to a computer, tablet or mobile device, there are opportunities to get involved in developments throughout the community. There are opportunities to support engagement activities via video conferencing, such as attending meetings, or providing feedback on documents or completing surveys.

Public Involvement Partnership Group

The Public Involvement Partnership Group (PIPG) meets every two months to provide a public perspective on NHS services provided by NHS Borders, Scottish Borders Council and the Voluntary Sector.

The aim of the Public Involvement Partnership Group (PIPG) is to enable NHS Borders to develop and maintain an effective dialogue with the community, paying particular attention to those who could be socially excluded or face discrimination when accessing services by supporting the health board to:

  • Inform the public about the range and location of health and care related services
  • Engage and involve the public, local service users and carers in discussions about how to improve health and care services for the local community
  • Support wider public involvement in planning and decision making and assisting in breaking down the barriers that prevent equal access to services

Hear From You Network

The Hear From You (HFY) Network comprises of a wide range of individual members of varied age, background, location, interests in or experience of health conditions. You might have faced barriers in accessing healthcare, you might be part of a community you feel is under represented or seldom asked to express your views.that support the work of NHS Borders. Members of the network are given the opportunity to feed into the work of NHS Borders in a range of different ways from receiving information to being actively involved in groups and committees.

If you would like to find out more about NHS Borders or to get involved please contact the Public Involvement Team by: