Thank you for your interest in becoming a PPV Partner with NHS England on one of the Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs).
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Patient and Public Voice (PPV) Partner on one of NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs).
NHS England is committed to ensuring that public and patient voices are at the centre of shaping our healthcare services. Every level of our commissioning system needs to be informed by insight from those who use and care about our services. Our commitment to supporting our PPV Partners is set out in our PPV Partners Policy.
Please read this application pack before completing an application form [link] to ensure you fully understand the application process, and to determine whether you have the skills and time to become a PPV Partner.
PPV Partners are Level 4 PPV roles which attract an involvement payment or honorarium. Involvement payments may be classed as earnings or income by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs service (HMRC) or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). PPV Partners are paid their involvement payments through the NHS England payroll system.
NHS England will also reimburse any reasonable expenses in line with the PPV Partner Expenses and Involvement Payments Policy. Payments are subject to statutory deductions including tax and national insurance (NI), dependent on earnings and tax code.
If you are in receipt of state benefits, you should seek advice from the relevant agency, for example Jobcentre Plus, even if you do not intend to claim the honorarium payment.
Correspondence is primarily via email. If you do not have access to email and prefer to be contacted via telephone, please state this on your application form.
Diversity and equality of opportunity
NHS England values and promotes diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity for all. To help us understand if we are achieving this, we ask you to fill out an equal opportunity monitoring form as part of the application process.
How to apply
Please complete the :
- Application form and return by email to england.voice-crg@nhs.net
- Submit an equal opportunities monitoring form for PPV recruitment
If you would like support to enable you to apply for this role or you would like information in another format, please email england.voice-crg@nhs.net
We rely on the information you provide in the application form to assess whether you have the skills and experience required for this role.
Once we receive your application
- We will acknowledge receipt of your application form via email
- Applications will be shortlisted by a panel
- Applications will be assessed against the skills and experience required, outlined in this application pack
- Selection will be made based on the content of your application form.
- Interviews will take place via Microsoft (MS)Teams
Please note that two references will be taken up if you are successful. All applicants will receive a successful or unsuccessful notification.
This role does not require Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance (formerly known as a ‘Criminal Records Bureau’ (CRB) check’).
To hear about future involvement opportunities with NHS England, please sign up to NHS England » In touch bulletin and sign up to our stakeholder lists via CRG Stakeholder Registration.
If you have any queries about the application process, please contact england.voice-crg@nhs.net.
Role of Clinical Reference Groups
Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) provide specialty-specific clinical advice and leadership for Specialised Commissioning.
The role of the CRGs is to lead the development of clinical commissioning policy, service specifications and quality dashboards, advise on service reviews, conduct horizon scanning and advise on innovation, identify and explore opportunities to reduce clinical variation in healthcare and to deliver value. They also provide advice to assist in answering Parliamentary Questions and other correspondence and provide other ad hoc advice where required.
There are 54 CRGs across specialised commissioning, which are split into 3 categories:
- Transform – where the service is a major priority area with a transformation programme in place.
- Lead and inform – where the national service agenda requires it to be more active, with a full work programme agreed via the PoC.
- Respond and advise – No agreed active programme of work for the CRG. These CRGs will be led by a national clinical lead who will be responsive to requests from expert advice and will support delivery of the PoC work programme.
What is the role of Clinical Reference Group (CRG) members?
CRG members provide advice and leadership in five respects:
- To drive service transformation
- To ensure the best value for patients
- To support the identification and delivery of NHS England corporate and clinical priorities
- To support the commissioning of services; and
- To support parliamentary accountability and provide ad hoc advice.
What is the role of PPV Partners on the group?
Patient and public voice (PPV) representation brings important views, perspective and challenge into the CRG. This role is essential in championing a service user, patient or carer/family viewpoint, ensuring that their needs are met through the outcomes of the programme.
The role of the PPV partner is to:
- Ensure that the Clinical Reference Group (CRG) considers and prioritises the service user, patient, carer and family perspective.
- Champion the diversity of PPV views, and not just to represent their own experience.
- Provide ‘critical friend’ challenge into the group.
- Champion and advocate for increasing patient and public awareness of the programme’s outcomes and achievements.
- Review and comment on documentation.
- Comply with the Standards of Conduct, respecting the confidential nature of discussions when it is made clear by the Chair that this is a requirement.
Skills and experience are required for this role
- Constructively challenge, influence and help the CRG develop strategies in respect of its work programme.
- Bring independent judgement and experience from a patient and citizen
- Display a high level of organisation, self-motivation and drive for
- Demonstrate personal integrity and commitment to openness and inclusiveness
- Work effectively, constructively with senior stakeholders
- Have experience of working in a committee setting and be prepared to contribute actively to the discussions and work of the CRG
- Have the ability to understand and evaluate a range of information and evidence
- Bring experience of working in partnership with healthcare organisations
- Display sound judgement and objectivity
- Have an awareness of and commitment to equality and diversity
- Understand the need for confidentiality
- A commitment to the ‘seven principles of public life’ (sometimes known as the ‘Nolan Principles’: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership.
- Understanding of the needs of the patient community related to the remit of the group and commitment to improving outcomes and experiences of care
Time commitment
- Membership of the Clinical Reference Group (CRG) is for 12 months initially, at which point membership will be reviewed to agree a full term of three years in total
- Many of the documents and programmes are complex, so require reading time prior to the meeting
- Meetings are mostly online and take place during working hours
- Any in-person meetings are most likely to be in London
- There are three online mandatory training courses which attract the honorarium and can be done in your own time.
Support for PPV Partners
- New PPV Partners are invited to an online Welcome meeting
- New PPV members are briefed ahead of their first CRG meeting
- There are a range of learning and development opportunities available to PPV Partners
Honorarium and expenses
- Please contact england.voice-crg@nhs.netto discuss any support needs that you have.
- You can claim an honorarium of £75 per half day and £150 per full day (unless you are attending in paid work time). The honorarium covers your travel time if required, pre-reading and meeting time.
Advice if you receive state benefits
If you have any queries or concerns about whether reimbursement of expenses and involvement payments for public involvement might affect your state benefits, please contact the free and confidential service provided through Bedford Citizens Advice Bureau. Specially trained staff, with knowledge of how involvement fee payments or expenses might affect state benefits, can give you personal advice. Contact the Benefits Advice Service by emailing involve@bedfordcab.org.uk or call 01234 330604.