Development of a Citizens Jury for Health Innovation North East North Cumbria (HI NENC)

The overall problem to be addressed is how best to provide feasible services that meet the integrated physical, mental and social needs of people with persistent pain. This is particularly apt for the NENC region, which remains a national outlier for the use of strong analgesia and as such pain-related initiatives including public education and the reduction of opioid prescriptions are a high priority for our region. This issue is correlated with health inequalities and it would seem those communities with high deprivation scores are most likely receive prescriptions for persistent pain. We are keen to engage in deliberative consultation with the public in the region on these issues to provide a more inclusive and informed decision-making process through input from informed public opinion. We wish to do this by way of a Citizens' Jury to produce well-informed and balanced recommendations or decisions that can influence policy-making. Therefore, we are inviting tenders from qualified and experienced organizations to work with us in partnership to conduct the Citizens' Jury.