NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships have a legal requirement to involve people in designing, developing and delivering the health care services provide for them.
Effective approaches for community engagement and participation are critical in ensuring our services are fit for purpose, fit for the future and support better outcomes for people using services, carers and local communities.
Community; refers to a group of people that share a common place (people in a geographical areas such as a village or neighbourhood), a common interest (people who share a particular interest or experience) or a common identity (perhaps demographic characteristics such as age,race) There are also individuals and groups with common needs.
Engagement; is a broad term that covers a whole range of activities that encourage and enable people to be involved in decisions about issues that affect them. This can range from encouraging communities to share their views on how their needs are best met and influence how service should be delivered, to giving communities the power to inform decisions and provide services.
