Abstract
Aims and methodService user involvement in the development of services is a fundamental aim of the National Health Service (NHS). However, a structured and quantifiable approach to their involvement in the recruitment of NHS staff is still lacking. In this study, we used service-user focus groups within a therapeutic community for people with personality disorder in order to develop the Service User Informed Tool for Staff Selection (SUITSS).ResultsWe enabled service users to develop SUITSS as a Likert scale with which to define relevant staff characteristics and rate applicants according to them, informing the staff-selection process. The tool has a semi-quantitative format that allows to test whether applicants with higher ratings are actually appointed by selection panels or not.Clinical implicationsThis new tool provides an approach to enhancing service user contributions to staff recruitment. It may be adapted and refined for use in a range of services, with local input from service users, following the approach described here.
Highlights
The tool has a semi-quantitative format that allows to test whether applicants with higher ratings are appointed by selection panels or not. Clinical implications This new tool provides an approach to enhancing service user contributions to staff recruitment
This study describes a methodological approach to purposefully processing service users’ views in order to develop and pilot a structured tool (Service User Informed Tool for Staff Selection, SUITSS) for gathering the views of the community of service users on National Health Service (NHS) staff applicants during the process of recruitment
The development of SUITSS took place across the service in order to identify staff characteristics that were relevant to work with this service user population, its application was specific to the residential therapeutic community to which staff were being recruited
Summary
The outcome of the project has been to develop a process that enables service users to build a tool through which they are able to provide a formal input to the staff selection process. They were interested and involved in discussions about the selection of parameters and in the use of ratings. Staff members, having had their future clients involved in their selection process can feel empowered and confident regarding their suitability for their post and the interaction with service users it requires. As the research aimed to provide minimal disruption to therapeutic engagement, we could not gather service users’ views on their experience of using the tool through additional focus groups. This is an aspect requiring further exploration
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