As an NHS service we are required to involve people who use our service in decision-making - whether that be by informing them, consulting them or involving them fully in the process. We were keen to invite some BSA members to help us recruit to the post of specialist speech and language therapist for stammering. BSA were kind enough to approach members who lived in and around Derby. We were delighted that three of them contacted us and were willing to be involved. We had redesigned the post, had advertised nationally, and short listed two therapists for interview. One of the BSA members who responded to our invitation was not able to attend on the day but sent some ideas on how he would like to see the service develop. The interview panel that included service managers considered these carefully.

Two other members were able to meet each candidate and have an informal discussion with them and put them at their ease. They also heard the candidate's presentation, which included their plans for developing our local service for people who stammer, and were also able to ask questions at the end of the presentation.

They did not sit on the interview panel and did not have a responsibility for selecting the right candidate. However, they both joined the panel after the interview and gave us their views, which were extremely useful and informed the final decision. Recruitment is about finding the right person for the job - the involvement of people who might use the service makes this aim more achievable.

Feedback from all parties was extremely positive. The panel felt more confident in our decision, having a wider range of views to draw on. Candidate feedback showed that the BSA members were able to set the scene informally and put the candidate at ease before the more formal part of the interview. We hope that the BSA members who took part felt that the recruitment process was fair and will support the successful applicant in her post here. We would like to involve more service users in decisions that affect the service in the future.

Mary Heritage
Professional lead
Southern Derbyshire Speech and language therapy services
www.southernderbyshire.nhs.uk/speech

From the Winter 2004 edition of Speaking Out