Learning from the Experience-based Co-design demonstrator sites
This report provides insights into the learning from three service areas that were supported to use and adapt Experience-based Co-design (EBCD) to improve the quality and experience of care in their settings as part of the EBCD national demonstrator site work across Scotland.
The three areas include:
- Specialist Dementia Units participating in the ihub's Specialist Dementia Improvement Programme
- Women and Children Services in NHS Ayrshire & Arran focusing on antenatal education, and
- a multi-agency project in North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) focusing on the issue of frequent attendance of people in distress in the emergency department.
For more information about the specialist dementia improvement programme and the development of an online toolkit from this work, visit the Focus on Dementia Specialist Dementia Units web pages.
Having been developed from methods used in service design and participatory action research, the six stage EBCD cycle or process brings service users, carers and staff together to reflect on their experiences of a service (gathered through filmed interviews and observations), and then work together to identify and co-design priority improvements.
Through using EBCD for improvement, the process has shown to enable staff and people using services to come together to share their experiences about what matters when receiving and delivering services and work together in new ways to improve the experience of care. These improvements also expected to have a greater impact over time as new ways of working become embedded.
Flexible and creative opportunities for involvement and a focus on building relationships were reported as important factors for sustaining the EBCD process through to the co-design stages despite the challenges that this can present.