Emma Ashman Email & Phone Number

Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

I provide advice to the north of Scotland health boards and National Specialist Services Scotland on communication and public/patient engagement in service redesign. This involves attendance at, and presentations to, senior NHS colleagues on committees and project groups on compliance with national guidance on service change.I also undertake quality assurance of the engagement process with a variety of stakeholders (patients, carers, public, elected officials and third sector) to confirm compliance with Scottish Government guidance. These assessments and reports inform decisions at governmental and ministerial level, and reports are published. During the quality assurance I engage with a variety of stakeholders, including campaigners, media and elected officials, at public meetings, via social media, telephone and email communication. I analyse both the quantitative and qualitative feedback to identify areas of compliance and learning. I provide ongoing support to my designated NHS Boards and Integrated Joint Boards on improving their approach to involving patients and the public in service redesign by sharing good practice and providing presentations to staff on guidance and good practice. I have been involved in developing a range of guides, tools, video case studies and information on the Scottish Health Council website on good practice. I also liaise with other advisors to identify areas of common practice, provide update reports to colleagues in Healthcare Improvement Scotland on areas of common interest and updates on progress with health board projects to colleagues in Scottish Government Health Directorate.I have developed a series of workshops, webinars and animations to support engaging in service change.I have recently been involved in developing a new self-evaluation tool and framework with stakeholders to support the improvement in the quality of community engagement.

Manage local area Community Engagement & Improvement Support activity including the line management of Local Officer and Administration staff. Provision of local community engagement support, facilitation of multi-agency working, sharing practice, supporting networking & research, and promoting skills & knowledge development of Patient Focus & Public Involvement (PFPI) .Develop and maintain relationships with agencies and clients of “seldom heard”, stigmatised and vulnerable groups within communities of need and interest within the designated local area of responsibility.Monitor and support the organisation’s volunteers.Provide advice to designated NHS Boards on involving patients, carers and the public in service redesign and where appropriate analysing feedback from communities on the engagement process to confirm if it has been in line with Scottish Government guidance.Contribute to the sharing of best practice on Patient Focus and Public Involvement across NHS Boards- facilitating regional events and contributing to the national newsletters.Undertake a yearly analysis of NHS Board's self-assessment on Patient Focus and Public Involvement and provide recommendations of areas for improvement.

Meet with, and where appropriate undertake presentations to, statutory and voluntary agencies including staff of NHS organisations and local community groups to establish and maintain positive relationships between the Scottish Health Council and these agencies in order:- that they are fully aware of the Scottish Health Council and its role- to facilitate the feedback of information and evidence about the effectiveness of PFPI activity in the local area- to raise Participation Standard awareness and engagement within NHS Boards - to support the Scottish Health Council’s performance assessment process- to identify and disseminate examples of good practice in the PFPI agenda- to attract volunteers to participate in Scottish Health Council activities.Engage in the validation and development of the local NHS Board’s PFPI activity by highlighting, networking and sharing current emerging practice so that statutory requirements are met and supported by evidenced good practice Target communications and meetings with identified social groups to develop a consistent approach to equality and diversity and ensure that “quiet voices” are heard and fed back to appropriate NHS organisations, thereby providing information to enable services to be redesigned as necessary to meet the specific needs of those groups. Also, support local communities in their verification of NHS Boards’ self-assessments. To manage local office activity including supervision of administration staff and co-ordination and support for the activities of Local Advisory Council members; and to promote awareness of the Scottish Health Council by establishing and maintaining links with local NHS, patient and public networks.

Ma (Hons), Politics & International Relations

Education record