Involving People in Temporary Service Change
Involving People in Temporary Service Change
You can download a copy of this information here
People should remain at the heart of service decisions
Even when services need to change quickly because of staffing, operational or financial pressures, we still have a duty to involve people and communities in decisions that affect how services are delivered.
What is a temporary service change?
A temporary change is a time-limited change or pilot that affects how people access or use services. Examples include:
- Changes due to infection prevention and control measures
- Interim changes resulting from staffing pressures
- Pilot projects or test initiatives
- Temporary reconfiguration of services to maintain safe care
Four things every team should do:
Before or as soon as possible after identifying a change:
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Understand the impact
Before or as soon as possible after identifying a change:
- Before or as soon as possible after identifying a change:
- Identify who uses the service – stakeholder mapping
- Consider who may be affected – Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA)
- Understand potential risks and benefits – IIA
- Explore how inequalities can be reduced - IIA
Why? People who use services often identify impacts and solutions that may otherwise be missed. Contact gram.involve@nhs.scot for support with this.
-
Communicate clearly
Tell people:
- Why the change is happening
- How services can be accessed
- What support is available
- How the change will be reviewed
- Expected timescales
Remember: Clear, transparent and accessible communication builds trust.
-
Seek and use feedback
Keep listening throughout the temporary arrangement - ways to gather feedback:
- Conversations with patients and carers
- Digital surveys
- Postal questionnaires
- Care Opinion
- Community engagement discussions
Feedback should shape both current arrangements and future decisions.
-
Plan the next steps
When a temporary arrangement continues:
- Review evidence and feedback
- Assess the impact on people and communities
- Consider longer-term implications
- Engage appropriately on future options
- Seek advice from the Engagement Team involve@nhs.scot
Temporary arrangements should be regularly reviewed and informed by service user experience.
What does good involvement looks like?
- Early conversations
- Honest communication
- Understanding impacts
- Listening to diverse voices
- Acting on feedback
- Showing how people's views influenced decisions
- Learning and improving
The NHS Grampian Public Involvement Team
The NHS Grampian Public Involvement Team have a range of resources available on their website to help do great engagement, including, Service Change Conversations, VOiCE Engagement Planning Tool, The Grampian Digital Engagement Toolkit, Foundations of Community Engagement Training and Engagement 101 Training, now available to book on Turas here
We also provide some of the key documents you will need to get started. To access all of this and much more, you can visit our website here
Key message
Temporary changes may need to happen quickly, but people should still be informed, listened to and involved wherever possible.
Meaningful involvement helps to build trust, make better decisions, understand impacts and deliver better experiences for patients, carers, families and communities.
NHS Grampian Engagement Team – here to support Services to involve people in decisions that will impact them.
Please contact gram.involve@nhs.scot for advice as early as you realise change is needed.
Published: 14/09/2026 14:08