Patient, carer and public voices to be heard by Health Technology Wales

Patients, carers and members of the public will have their voices heard as we work to improve the quality of care in Wales.

We’ve now established our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Standing Group, which will be influential in supporting a national approach to the identification, appraisal and adoption of non-medicine health technologies.

There are a wide range of health technologies in our remit, which can include; medical devices, surgical procedures, psychological therapies, tele-monitoring and models of care.

The Standing Group is chaired by Claire Davis, Health Services Researcher and PPI Lead. She said: “Involving patients, carers and members of the public in our work is an important part of producing Guidance for health and social care commissioners.

“It’s essential to incorporate the perspectives of both patients and the public, as well as those who have a professional role in health and care systems. We’re looking forward to enabling everyone to have a voice in our work to ensure an all-Wales approach to non-medicine health technologies.”

Members of the PPI Standing Group were recruited at the start of 2019. The group held its inaugural meeting on 3 April 2019 and will meet four times a year. Its purpose is to provide advice and strengthen relationships with patient and carer organisations, and ultimately to ensure that the views of patients, carers and members of the public are effectively used to inform our decision making process. They will assist us to continuously improve PPI throughout our work, ensuring that patient and public perspectives are fairly represented.

The PPI Standing Group consists of the newly recruited Public Partners who sit on the Assessment Group and Appraisal Panel, as well as PPI representatives and advisors from Wales and beyond, umbrella patient organisation representatives and Health Technology Wales’ PPI Lead.

Members of the PPI Standing Group will help gather and present the views of patients, carers and the public. You may also see them representing us at external events, such as conferences and training events. Members will help raise awareness of opportunities to get involved and will provide support accordingly.

Anyone can suggest a topic for us to consider and topics are welcomed from patients, carers and members of the public. Click here to complete our online form.