Recognising the importance of patient empowerment and informed decision-making, Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) took a proactive approach by becoming an early adopter of the Professional Record Standards Body’s (PRSB) standards for Personalised Care and Support Plan (PCSP) “Overcoming Challenging Times” and “About Me” care plans.

“Being able to send a message rather than trying to get through by telephone is certainly quicker. I have been able to manage patients more effectively between appointments – they can message in with blood pressures for instance which can help my decision making. It feels more streamlined rather than disjointed phone messages coming in. It also prevents interruptions in workflow as I can choose to answer PKB messages at a time that suits rather than breaking off to answer a phone call. Overall it has helped us to manage the ever increasing patient demand.”

“The online portal My Health and Care Record has proved an innovative way of caring for and supporting prostate cancer patients post treatment, as well as created efficiencies for our team”, says Izabela Przyczyna, Oncology Co-ordinator, Eastbourne District General Hospital/Conquest Hospital.

Keeping patients well, supported and fit for surgery whilst they wait is imperative to the patient’s overall recovery and rehabilitation, post surgery. Hospitals also benefit by less cancelled operations and providing more remote care. Providing them with the right care and information to fully support their prehabilitation is crucial but how to deliver this, particularly if your patients are infirm or live a long way from hospital can be difficult.

The North West Midlands Cystic Fibrosis Centre, a beacon of care for both children and adults across North and South Staffordshire, Burton, Shropshire, and Wolverhampton, has embarked on a transformative journey. In a concerted effort to enhance the quality of care and streamline patient communication, the centre has integrated the Patients Know Best (PKB) digital tools into its operations.

“It puts patients’ minds at ease, provides answers to many of their questions and in many cases removes the need for further appointments or written communications – allowing the clinician to spend additional time helping other patients”, Mr Duffy, consultant at Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust

Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s Heart Failure (HF) team has pioneered the use of Patients Know Best’s digital tools to enable remote monitoring and self-management and reduce unplanned hospital admission / attendance. Building on early learnings, in 2023 this has successfully been extended to underserved patients as well as supporting the implementation of a digital offer across the heart failure pathway. The use of these tools has enabled better information for patients, better communication with clinicians and more rapid uptitration of prognostically important therapies. The result is an improved patient experience and reduced the risk of unplanned admission to hospital.

“UHNM is one of a handful of Trusts involved in the NHSE Weight Management pilot and is the only Trust with an automated approach. The automation of these referrals is working brilliantly with minimal staff overheads. Furthermore, UHNM is ranking first in the pilot for referral count to the service.” Andrew Fraser, UHNM Business intelligence manager

This work holds the principles of personalised care at its centre, and is an excellent example of how true coproduction can produce innovative, user led tools to enable everyone to self-manage their mental health and wellbeing.
City and Hackney also holds the impressive achievement of being the first (and only so far!) site to have their PHB support plan and information visible and accessible via the NHS App, and is also the first to flow information from a non-Statutory VCSE to the app through its work with Patients Know Best” Janet Blair, Personalised Care Lead, NHS England.

Waiting list validation is a crucial component of the national elective recovery plan. Patients Know Best’s (PKB) Questionnaire function enables trusts to validate a patient’s status, prioritise appointments, and filter out individuals who no longer require them. By doing this within PKB’s health record platform, trusts can access more detailed data to analyse and optimise their waitlist management as part of an on-going programme, engaging patients in a consistent system that supports broader utilisation.

“Patients being enabled to see their own results empowers them to manage their own condition. It also allows us to design remote management pathways meaning that patients will no longer need to come to the hospital regularly. This is better for the patients and better for the NHS; having patients who have already seen problem-results mean they are prepared for the discussion we need to have.”