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Routinely offer help with paperwork

We suggest that all services take a universal approach to offering support to those who have to fill in forms and paperwork. Ask all staff to operate in this way across your service to ensure that support is available at all points of contact from the first encounter with the reception staff in your service. […]

Use simple language

The terminology used in healthcare can often be confusing for people, especially at times of distress when people may struggle more than usual to take in information. In health a range of jargon and acronyms are used routinely and we may forget that this language is unfamiliar to our patients and service users. Therefore, you […]

Chunk and check

Chunk and check can be used alongside tools such as teach back to assist in promoting understanding. When we speak to patients and clients there is often a lot of information to be discussed and we may have to explain more than one concept. People can struggle to take on board a long list of […]

Teach Back

The teach back method is a useful way to confirm that the information you provide is being understood by getting people to ‘teach back’ what has been discussed and what instruction has been given. This is more than saying ‘do you understand?’ and is more a check of how you have explained things than the […]

Access to Healthcare

A common issue reported by some of Scotland’s most vulnerable groups is difficulty in registering at a GP Practice. This is an issue that has particularly affected Gypsy Travellers, refugees, people seeking asylum and people experiencing homelessness.

Self-management

Self-management can be described as an approach which supports people living with long term conditions to manage their own health and be in the driving seat of healthcare.

Medicine management

Information related to medicines such as guidance on why and how they are taken and medicine information sheets can be confusing for people. The language used in explaining dosage and side effects may be difficult for people to understand and can result in medications not having the intended outcome.

Encouraging patient questions

We are responsible for ensuring that all relevant information is provided and understood it is important to support people in asking questions to help them find out information that is important to them.

Use pictures

Spoken and written word is often misheard or misread and also misunderstood, pictures and visuals may be effective in improving understanding when communicating new or complex ideas to people. It may be that pictures are used to compliment text, for example, when explaining a self management procedure such as giving an injection or caring for […]