Practice 4.5 Use an external reference board or advisory panel

Examples of notable practice:

User reference panel

In 2005 the MHAC set up a Service User Reference Panel, which is made up of people with direct recent (or current) experience of detention under the Mental Health Act, in a range of settings including medium and high secure hospitals. This is the first time that people who are currently detained under the Mental Health Act have been invited and supported to contribute to a monitoring body’s work in this way. The MHAC is involving members of the panel and other service users in its work in a number of ways, including recruitment of Commissioners (“inspectors”) with lived experience of services.

External reference board

A new tripartite forum ‘Healthcare Health and Safety (HHS)’ was established in October 2005 to co-ordinate activities between HSE, NHS Employers Organisation, Healthcare Commission and Trade Unions in a collaborative programme of work to drive improvements across the health care sector.

Expert panel

The National Audit Office usually convene an expert panel on all of their helath studies to help provide an expert view and improve credibility and buy-in. For example, the quality of the expert panel on hospital acquired infections, convened by the National Audit Office, helped improve the credibility of the report findings throughout the health sector and also with the media.  On the study Stroke Services the Intercollegiate Working Group on Stroke acted as the study’s reference panel.