The Lancashire and south Cumbria case for change
Following the publication of the draft Sustainability and Transformation Plan in November 2016, Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria engaged with members of the public, health and care staff and Councillors from across the region to help make the information about the challenges we face as easy to understand as possible.
A case for change sets out the challenges and a vision for what needs to be done to deliver change.
Armed with sticky notes, more than a dozen different groups in different areas across Lancashire and South Cumbria worked through the document, page by page, asking questions and making comments and suggestions to help make sure it is clear and coherent.
The engagement work was supported by local Healthwatch who had the role to establish the public focus groups and independent facilitators were used to ensure people's views were listened to.
All of this work has led to the document being awarded a Crystal Mark by the Plain English Campaign in June 2017.
To attain this mark, the Plain English Campaign say that documents have to be as clear as possible.
Things they look for include:
- the use of ‘everyday’ English
- consistent and correct use of punctuation and grammar
- explanations of technical term
- clear, helpful headings, which stand out from the text
Printed copies of this document are being used to support health and care staff, clinicians, Councillors, community organisations and patient voice groups to discuss the challenges and describe how organisations are working together with members of the public.