What is classed as 'Patient Information'?

Patient information is any leaflet, flyer, brochure or booklet, which provides information for patients, their families or carers and members of the public. The information could be about: · Operations, treatments and tests · Certain health conditions and illnesses · Services, such as groups and classes · Medication and new drugs for patients · Information about the hospital and its facilities

Getting Started

Before you spend any time on an item of patient information, please make sure that the information is not already available, either in-house or from other organisations. You also need to make sure that:

  • Multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) have been asked for their input, where appropriate
  • The content is evidence-based, which means it reflects national and local policy, as well as Trust practice
  • The information is in keeping with the most up-to-date clinical evidence and medical research
  • The information you are providing is a true reflection of patients and carers’ experience
  • If the information is not just about one service, ward, or department, you will need to speak to experts from different areas, for their comments.

Preparing the content

Your content should be based on the best and most reliable knowledge. There are 3 types of knowledge:

  • From research, sometimes called evidence
  • Information collected from audits, sometimes called statistics
  • The experiences of patients, their carers, other service users and staff

There are often different views in collected evidence on any subject, so you need to be careful not to promote a single view as this would be a biased opinion. You must get your information from a reputable source.

The format of our patient information

Here is some helpful guidance to help you meet the Trust’s patient information quality standards:

Title

The title should be clear and concise; you can always expand in the introduction if necessary.

Introduction

The introduction should explain the purpose of the leaflet and who it is aimed at.

The main body of the text

The leaflet should tell the reader what they can expect, perhaps by answering most commonly asked questions.

It should also give information about:

  • Possible treatment or care outcomes and should be stated in a clear and readable way
  • The risks and benefits of the procedure/subject should be clearly described in a neutral, unbiased way
  • Where there is choice, alternative treatment or care should be clearly stated, including any complementary therapies but only if they are offered by the Trust
  • Give a realistic timeframe of the usual rate of recovery and when the patient can expect to get back to their normal activities
  • Explain the problems that could happen after discharge from hospital, giving the reader telephone numbers to call if there are any questions or concerns

Contact Information

Contact details are included in most of our leaflets, unless the author has a valid reason not to include them. These should always include the time frame for calls such as Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Further Information

Where appropriate, it is helpful to signpost patients to other items of patient information, including the full title and reference number. Rather than duplicating information about general anaesthetic or parking, for example, it would be much more efficient to direct patients to existing leaflets, which are written solely about these subjects. It is also helpful to list further information sources where relevant, such as trusted websites and charitable organisations.

Good Practice Guidance

Patients' responsibilities

You need to give clear guidance to the patient or carer explaining their responsibilities when preparing for treatment, such as fasting before an operation for example. You should also provide practical guidance about what the patient should expect, or do, at different stages of their treatment.

Readability

We are working closely with the STSFT Health Literacy Team to ensure our leaflets are understandable for all.  Guidance for improving readibility of information can be found on the Trust's Health Literacy page:  Health Literacy Team

Contact Information

Further help and advice about developing patient information can be from contacting the:

Clinical Effectiveness Department

Trust Headquarters

Sunderland Royal Hospital

Tel: 0191 5656 256

Ext: 42010

Templates

A4 Template

A5 Template

2 fold Template

 

 

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