Co-Production

Co-production is a way of working that involves people who use health and care services, carers and communities in equal partnership; and which engages groups of people at the earliest stages of service design, development and evaluation. Co-production acknowledges that people with ‘lived experience’ of a particular condition are often best placed to advise on what support and services will make a positive difference to their lives. Done well, co-production helps to ground discussions in reality, and to maintain a person-centred perspective. Co-production is part of a range of approaches that includes citizen involvement, participation, engagement and consultation. It is a cornerstone of self-care, of person-centred care and of health-coaching approaches.

Co-production goes beyond traditional methods of engagement, participation and consultation and focuses on what matters locally, asks what everyone can do and contribute, and values networks that we build together. It shifts expectations, roles and responsibilities, particularly around how power is used and shared.

Check out the Involvement ladder below and consider where you are as a service? Or perhaps a project you are involved in? What would you need to do in order to move up the ladder?

The Patient Experience and Involvement team runs a monthly Co-Production network meeting. This takes place the first Wednesday of every month at 2pm via Microsoft Teams (click here for link), and is available to all BCHFT staff, as well as people with lived experience and external stakeholders.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join this network, or find out more about it, please contact us on bchft.getinvolved@nhs.net.

On Tuesday the 25th of April 2023 we held our first Lunch and Learn session on Co-Production, titled 'How we can all benefit from co-production'. 

A recording of this session (which lasts an hour) is below, if you would like to see what was discussed.