Joining a group

Working with people with lived experience

We believe it is very important for people with lived experience (patients, service users and carers) to be involved in decisions that are made about their care. By involving people with lived experience in the guideline development process, we can identify their concerns and use their views to support findings from scientific research and the knowledge and experience of healthcare professionals.

People with lived experience can help the guideline development group understand what it is like to live with a condition and how different forms of treatment can affect their lives. Examples of the types of things we are interested in hearing about include:

• what people want from their treatment;
• whether people accept different treatments;
• peoples’ preferences; and
• the needs of different groups of people, for example in relation to their sex, age and ethnic background.

People with lived experience can also raise a wide range of other issues to make sure that the guideline development group considers the needs of everyone who is affected by a condition.

Over the next few months, we will begin recruitment and preparation for upcoming guideline groups. We are accepting expressions of interest to take part in our work from people with lived experience of the following:

• antibiotic prophylaxis
• leg ulcer
• lower UTI in women
• cardiovascular disease

To register your interest, please email the Patient and Public Involvement team at his.signpublicandpatientinvolvement@nhs.scot.