PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT – DISCOVERY INTERVIEWS Discovery Interviews: a mechanism for user involvement Jackie Bridges PhD, MSN, BNurs (Hons), RN, RHV Senior Research Fellow, City Community and Health Sciences, City University, London, UK Wendy Gray MA, BA (Hons), DPNS, RGN National Discovery Interview Lead, Heart Improvement Programme, NHS Improvement, Leicester, UK Graham Box DPhil (Oxon) Chief Executive, National Association of Patient Participation, Berkshire, UK Sheelagh Machin BA (Hons), RGN, Dip Man, FETC Director, NHS Improvement, Leicester, UK Submitted for publication: 16 May 2008 Accepted for publication: 22 May 2008 Correspondence: Jackie Bridges City Community and Health Sciences City University Philpot St Whitechapel London E1 2EA UK Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7040 5469 E-mail: j.m.bridges@city.ac.uk BRIDGES J., GRAY W BRIDGES J., GRAY W., BOX G BOX G . & MACHIN S & MACHIN S . (2008) (2008) International Journal of Older People Nursing 3, 206–210 Discovery Interviews: a mechanism for user involvement Discovery Interviews have become widely used in the UK National Health Service as a service improvement tool and patient involvement mechanism. This first paper in a series of three explores the development of Discovery Interviews in the NHS in the context of explicit central government policy of the development of patient-centred services and user involvement in shaping health service organization and delivery. It draws on the published literature on Discovery Interviews to date, including that on evaluation. Key words: narratives, older people, person-centred practice, service development, user involvement Introduction Discovery Interviews were initially developed by the NHS Heart Improvement Programme in 2000 and have since become widely used in the UK National Health Service as a service improvement tool and patient involvement mecha- nism. They are conducted by practitioners and others, trained in the technique, and involved in service delivery with patients who have been or are still in receipt of care, typically but not always from the interviewer’s own organization. Transcripts from the Discovery Interviews are reflected on by local clinical and service teams to inform service improve- ments through a process of identification of issues and/or processes of concern. This paper explores the development of Discovery Interviews in the NHS in the context of explicit central government policy of the development of patient-centred services and user involvement in shaping health service organization and delivery. It draws on the published litera- ture on Discovery Interviews to date, including that on evaluation. UK policy context The NHS Plan (Department of Health, 2000) set the stage for widespread modernization of the NHS. It focused on rede- signing services around patient need, in contrast to the portrayal by the Plan’s authors of services at the time being designed around organizational need. A wide range of reforms were thus launched. The notion of ‘patient- centredness’ was given serious policy attention in spite of a lack of agreement as to which interpretation of the term was 206 Ó 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd