How patients and the public can have their say with Health Technology Wales

It’s important that patients, carers and members of the public can have their say with Health Technology Wales, the national body working to improve the quality of care in Wales.

We’re committed to meaningful patient, carer and public involvement in the identification, appraisal and adoption of non-medicine health technologies.

Why is this important to health and social care?

With a remit that covers (but isn’t limited to) medical devices, surgical procedures, psychological therapies or tele-monitoring, it’s important that we follow national and international best practice.

Public engagement helps us to ensure its work programme is relevant to national priorities and keeps it at the leading edge of health technology assessment (HTA).

We’re taking steps to ensure our efforts aren’t tokenistic and that the views and voices of patients and carers are able to have an impact on our work. Patients, carers and the public hold unique knowledge and experiences that can’t be found in clinical studies.

In addition to giving input on the appraisal of specific technologies, it’s vital that Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) shapes our processes.

What are we doing to engage with patients, carers and the public?

Our first steps towards effective PPI began with appointment of a named PPI Lead. We then prioritised Public Partner recruitment and formed a PPI Standing Group, so that they could inform work and Guidance from the outset. Health Technology We now have six Public Partners serving on our key committees and has recently appointed a PPI Officer.

The PPI Standing Group held its inaugural meeting in April 2019 and meets four times a year. The members give direction and guidance so that we establish and maintain effective PPI throughout its work.

Alice Evans, our PPI Officer, said: “The group has co-produced tools that will enable patients and patient representatives to share their perspectives in a way that can impact our appraisals. These tools are currently being piloted and will be made publicly available to share with the international HTA community.

“We are trialling a range of PPI mechanisms and will utilise a formal evaluation framework. This allows us to learn from early implementation feedback and respond to the evolving HTA landscape and emerging PPI best practices.”

How you can get involved

Non-medicine health and care technologies make a real difference to people’s lives in Wales. Do you know a non-medicine technology that we could appraise? Anyone can suggest a topic at www.healthtechnology.wales/suggest-a-topic