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Patient and Client Council, Headway and Health and Social Care Board work together for the safety of patients

Following the Patient and Client Council and Headway - the brain injury association, highlighting the lack of consistency in information provided to patients with a head injury on their discharge from hospital, the Regional Health and Social Care Board has re-issued important guidance to the Health and Social Care Trusts throughout Northern Ireland to reinforce the need for a consistent response to this issue.

The Patient and Client Council has been working with the Regional Health and Social Care Board to ensure that concerns about the availability of standardised information provision are addressed.

Maeve Hully, Chief Executive explains,

‘Not all hospitals here had been issuing recommended NICE (National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence) guidelines to patients. This issue was highlighted by the Patient and Client Council’s Local Advisory Committee and Headway.  We are delighted that the Regional Health and Social Care Board has listened and is re-issuing the information.’

Headway is the UK-wide charity, with several groups and branches in Northern Ireland, that works to improve life after brain injury. In 2010, the charity, as part of a wider national survey, found that 11 out of 19 Accident and Emergency departments in Northern Ireland were providing patients with less than half of the written information laid out in NICE’s guidelines.

Whilst the NICE guidance has the status of recommended best practice, the Health and Social Care Board has decided to underline its commitment to ensuring the provision of clear and accessible information to such patients in hospitals throughout Northern Ireland.

Kevin Keenan, Assistant Director for Older People and Adults at the Regional Health and Social Care Board said,

“We are grateful to Headway and the Patient Client Council for drawing this matter to our attention. We have listened to their views and hopefully have shown a responsiveness to public concerns”.

Peter McCabe, Chief Executive of Headway, said: “We are delighted the Regional Health and Social Care Board has come to this important decision. A lot of hard work has gone into this and we thank the Patient and Client Council for its assistance with this.

“Even a minor head injury can have serious consequences that may not manifest themselves for some time after the injury. It is therefore vital patients and their families are provided with written information that clearly identifies possible symptoms to look out for – some of which may require the patient to return to hospital immediately.  We have no doubts that this move will improve the lives of head injury victims in Northern Ireland and may even save lives.”

The Patient and Client Council will continue working with the public and Health and Social Care organisations to make real change happen within health and social care services.