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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Katrina Miriam Regnauld, Dr, Sue Payne, Dr, Peter Donnelly, MD MPH MBA FRCP, and Julie D Clark, BSc MPH. Public Health, Lothian NHS Board, Deaconess House, 148 Pleasance, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Synopsis
Partnership working and patient participation are bywords in the Scotland’s National Health Service (NHS). Edinburgh’s NHS Board’s decision to expand haemodialysis provision provided an opportunity to incorporate these principles in the development of a hospital service that, in the past, would have included only doctors and managers. This review discusses the option appraisal methodology, results and evaluates the process.
Background
After a comprehensive needs assessment it was decided to expand Edinburgh’s haemodialysis services. There were 5 potential locations. This study of stakeholder preferences (alongside a contemporaneous feasibility study not reviewed here) evaluates which site best met valued outcomes.
Method
A steering-group was chosen to reflect the diverse range of interests upon which expansion would touch, including a patient representative. Standards (desired outcome or ’benefit criteria’) against which each potential site would be assessed were detailed and weighted in ways that gave equal consideration to each group member’s opinions. Each option was ‘scored’ against these criteria by the group. A sensitivity analysis was undertaken to ensure that variations in weighting or scoring did not greatly changed the preferred option.
Results
The above process produced two sites that were clearly preferred above all others. Preferences did not change with sensitivity analysis, substantiating the reliability of this result. The preferred options coincided with the outcome of the contemporaneous feasibility study so haemodialysis was expanded into these two identified sites.
Conclusion
This method proved an effective technique to decide the location of new services through partnership working.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Partnerships, Public Health Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.