The importance of relevant and accessible patient information

I’m coming to the end of my time as lead for Patient Information and Chair of the Patient Information Group at the College after almost six years. During my tenure two critical events have occurred which will have lasting implications for how we inform patients about their treatment; the Montgomery ruling in 2015 forced the medical professionals to reassess how they inform and seek consent from patients. And more recently COVID-19 has changed the shape of interactions between healthcare professionals and patients with a move to online consultations and an increase in the use of technology, which is likely to stay beyond the pandemic, at least to some extent.

I would argue that now more than ever patients need access to high-quality, accessible and evidence-based information resources on anaesthesia, and in a variety of different formats.

 Building on a solid stock of basic information and risk leaflets, our range of resources has increased considerably in the past six years and now includes video content, FAQs and infographics to discuss risk with patients in a very visual way which aids understanding and shared decision making. And of course our  award nominated Fitter Better Sooner toolkit, which includes a main leaflet, an animation and factsheets on how to prepare for an operation and specific types of surgery. .

Fitter Better Sooner helps patients to understand what to expect at each stage of the perioperative care pathway. It is beneficial for patients to feel able to play a more active part in decisions about their care and the consent process. Feeling in control ahead of surgery helps them manage pre-operative anxiety and can set them on a journey to make changes to their lifestyle for the better and long after their recovery. .

Critically, with over five millions patients on waiting lists currently, Fitter Better Sooner offers all the information that patients need to turn that ‘waiting time’ into ‘preparation time’ and optimise their physical health and fitness to improve their outcomes from surgery. Writing good patient information can be challenging and we wanted to make sure that we had external validation for the quality of our resources. We were delighted to be approached by the Patient Information Forum to be part of a pilot for their new accreditation scheme and our resources have now been certified through the PIF TICK, the UK quality mark for health information, for the past two years.  One of the criteria to meet PIF TICK accreditation is the accessibility of resources. It is important that the right language and tone is used throughout patient information resources, so that the majority of patients are able to read and understand them easily and taking into account the variation in literacy skills in the UK. We have recognised that patients with low reading ability will have family or carers that can help – so we have produced an easy read resource to help with this. We also acknowledge the challenge of accessing interpreting and language services in hospitals and we are proud to now offer translations of our leaflets in over twenty languages, including Welsh.

The electronic leaflets on the website can be accessed directly by members of the public when they know they need surgery. Some hospitals incorporate our patient information resources into their own local leaflets, which is good as long as they are updated when ours are revised. We invite you to do the same at your hospital or trust by accessing the additional resources for healthcare professionals here.

We are working to advertise our resources to GPs and patients through social media and other patient organisations. Indeed, our Fitter Better Sooner animation is perfectly placed to be played on screens in GP surgeries as well as our pre-assessment clinics and many surgeries and anaesthetic departments are doing just that. If you would like to have access to the video for your hospital click here to download.

We welcome feedback on our resources or ideas for patient information materials that you think would be of benefit to your patients. Please feel free to get in touch here or email: patientinformation@rcoa.ac.uk. 

Dr Hilary Swales

Writing good quality patient information can be challenging.  Materials need to allow each patient or carer to receive the amount of information they want, in a form that they can understand and digest. This helps them understand what to expect at each stage of the perioperative care pathway. This also helps reduce anxiety. Patients are encouraged to optimise their fitness prior to surgery and plan arrangements for their recovery period. It is important that patients feel able to play a more active part in decisions about their care and the consent process. Expectations can also then be far more realistic. It is important that the right language and tone is used throughout patient information resources, so that the majority of patients are able to read and understand them easily. One of my first projects upon joining the College was to clarify and document our standards for writing our resources, taking into account the variation in literacy skills in the UK. We have recognised that patients with low reading ability will have family or carers that can help – so we have produced an easy read resource to help with this. To improve accessibility for patients with sight difficulties, the College website now makes use of Browsealoud software that enables text to be read out or made easier to read.

The electronic leaflets on the website can be accessed directly by members of the public when they know they need surgery. Some hospitals incorporate our patient information resources into their own local leaflets, which is good as long as they are updated when ours are revised. We invite you to do the same at your hospital or trust by accessing the additional resources for healthcare professionals here.

We are working to advertise our resources to GPs and patients through social media and other patient organisations. Indeed, our Fitter Better Sooner animation is perfectly placed to be played on screens in GP surgeries as well as our pre-assessment clinics and many surgeries and anaesthetic departments are doing just that. If you would like to have access to the video for your hospital click here to download.

We welcome feedback on our resources or ideas for patient information materials that you think would be of benefit to your patients. Please feel free to get in touch here or email: patientinformation@rcoa.ac.uk. 

Dr Hilary Swales