Routinely offer help with paperwork

We suggest that all services take a universal approach to offering support to those who have to fill in forms and paperwork. Ask all staff to operate in this way across your service to ensure that support is available at all points of contact from the first encounter with the reception staff in your service. You may also wish to consider the paperwork that you post out to people and whether this may cause unneeded anxiety and stress for people before they present for their appointment.

To reduce stigma ensure that everyone is offered help. Why not practice some skills development in how to approach this with those who use their service by asking staff to practice with each other and share experiences of times it has worked well or not so well with patients.

Offering routine support can reduce pressures on people who may struggle with the forms and also support your service in gathering the information that they require.