RCGP Quick guide: Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD)

This is an approach that allows patients and staff to analyse and design services together.

It involves in-depth interviews, observations and group discussions, and is a proven method of enhancing patient experience. The use of videos helps the group to achieve a shared understanding of your service improvement needs.

Download RCGP Quick guide: Experience-Based Co-Design (EBCD)

How to

The King’s Fund has developed a toolkit for using this technique. The toolkit identifies the following stages:

A project steering group is formed and meets at critical times:

• Before the project starts
• Before feedback events
• After fist co-design
• After celebration event

One member of the group is appointed lead and will need protected time to organise the project. Organisation will need to consider the following elements:

• The stages can be adapted to reduce expense.
• Need to get buy in from the whole primary care team. One way is to pick an area that the team feel needs improvement.
• Observation is done from the patient’s perspective.
• Interviews are conducted with a range of team members.
• At least five patients who are representative of your practice list are recruited. Consent for filming is required.
• Filming is powerful as patients say things to camera that they may not otherwise reveal.
• Filming equipment may be available through training or be owned by team members.
• Editing of the films is required and the length ideally is be less than ten minutes per patient/carer.
• The films are shown and the observations shared at a meeting of the whole team.
• The patients who were filmed are invited to a meeting where:
  • The films are shown.
  • Their response to the viewing is requested.
  • They can prepare for meeting with the team.
• At the joint meeting of patients and members of the team:
  • Show the films again.
  • Give feedback on the previous meetings.
  • Jointly decide the areas for improvement
  • Form groups to take them forward.
• The co-design group meetings will need:
  • Facilitation
  • To have a clear agenda.
  • To spend time monitoring the actions from previous meetings
• Hold an informal celebration event for all participants at the end of the project.