How?

Practices or departments work together to meet five Patient Friendly criteria, demonstrating their commitment to involvement through their use of information; feedback; how they make partnerships with the wider community and by considering patients’ experience and staff working lives.

They record their activities on a password-protected on-line portfolio. 

The emphasis is on individual and collective responsibility, focusing on small things that make a difference and need minimal resources.

First they meet the Patient Friendly Baseline Assessment Criteria and apply for an informal assessment visit.  A satisfactory assessment gives them the status of ‘Working towards Patient Friendly Accreditation' and allows them to display certificates demonstrating their commitment to staff and patients.

Patient Friendly Recognition requires teams to demonstrate that the culture of Patient Friendly working is embedded in everything they do.

Patient Friendly article in the BMJ by Judith Harvey (Adobe Acrobat file 105k)

Further information

www.patientfriendly.org.uk