Preparing for your appointment - tell us what matters to you

We have a blank ‘About Me’ form to help you do this.

Have a go. It asks you to record:

• What is most important to you.
• People who are important to you.
• How you want to communicate with us, and how you want us to communicate with you.   
• A description of things you would like someone to support you to DO and any you DO NOT want support with.
• A description of what you can do, your strengths and skills, how you engage with others and how you feel on a typical day.
• Your wellness: symptoms that affect your every day life, such as a cough, pain, itchiness etc and how you manage these.
• Tell us about your life now, your work, study, your aspirations, your skills, your networks, things you like or don’t like, such as foods, places, a football team, things you like to talk about and things you don’t.

Complete the ‘It's OK to Ask’ questions form and the blank ’About Me’ form and take them with you, so you can say what matters to you and what is important to you. It will help you have a better conversation with your healthcare professional.

We also have forms if you are going into hospital to say what matters to you, or to help you say what you need if you have autism.

Write notes about your symptoms, medicines or other health issues.

Write your questions down before the appointment to make sure you ask everything you want to.

Feel free to bring a family member or friend to your appointment. They can ask questions too and help you remember what is said and take notes.

At the appointment

Don’t be afraid to tell your healthcare professional if you don’t understand what they’ve said.

Don’t feel embarrassed about asking your healthcare professional to explain things again.

Ask your healthcare professional to write down and explain any words you don’t know or understand.

Remember it is ok to ask again if anything is unclear.