North West Region Service User Consultation Meeting

Transcription

1 North West Region Service User Consultation Meeting Learning Disability Services Held at Head Office, Manchester 3rd January 2013

2 Present David Beckman Service User The Courtyard, Stockport Catherine Collins Support Worker Osborne Road, Manchester Lorraine Gainsborough Development Officer Head Office Mandy Hague Support Worker The Courtyard, Stockport Ian Judge Support Worker Osborne Rd, Manchester John McDonald Service User Osborne Rd, Manchester Brian Stewart Service User Ratcliffe St, Manchester Justin Walsh Support Worker Osborne Rd, Manchester Rebecca White Development Officer Head Office Introduction Everyone introduced themselves. Lorraine explained that she held a consultation meeting last year to find out what service users wanted from Creative Support for They now wanted to find out: If people felt the service from Creative Support had improved What people would like from

3 Highlights of the Year Everyone was asked about their highlights from the previous year: Going to Alton Towers Going on day trips and especially the one to Blackpool Attending Breakthrough Cookery classes with Alex Taking part on a play with the drama group and performing in different places Artwork Getting a certificate for football coaching Going to see the pantomime Aladdin Going to the gym and losing weight Having fitness training and a session with a personal trainer 3

4 What Was Good and What Was Not So good We talked about what had been good and what had not been so good over the past year. Healthy Living Two people said they had been well supported to have a healthy lifestyle and one person was not sure. Everyone said they had been supported to cook healthily and go to the gym. One person had achieved their goal of losing weight. Support Everyone had helped with writing their own support plan and were happy with the quality of support they received but budget cuts meant that some could not afford to pay for the support hours they wanted. I have to pay for my support. I am not able to do so many activities, for example, eating out. I cannot afford to pay for staff to accompany me for activities as it is not in my budget assessment. Staff tell me about my rights Staff are helping me to learn to cross the road safely. I was supposed to have a holiday in Howe Top but staff did not get it organised it was too hard to fit in. Computers and Social Media Everyone had internet access but no-one knew about the Service User Webpages or the Events Calendar. No-one knew about the Creative Support Facebook page. 4

5 Communication There were mixed views about communication. Service users who regularly went to the Cybercafe or to Head Office to help with interviews always found out about what was going on but others did not. Some did not know about Recruitment Training and Lorraine said that she would send a copy of the Recruitment Workshop presentation to Maxron House so that the local manager could go through this with service users. Not everyone present knew that they could apply for a place on Creative Support s training courses, such as First Aid or Manual Handling. No staff present knew about the role of the local service user involvement co-ordinators but everyone agreed it would be good to share more information among projects in the same area. Everyone felt they got bombarded with too many flyers so that things got overlooked. It was suggested that events and training should be sent out on a calendar instead. Lorraine told everyone that they could request that newsletters and flyers are mailed direct to them Social Activities Everyone was happy with opportunities for hobbies and activities. It was agreed that: The Events Calendar should be promoted more and kept updated Staff would keep more information on activities and build it into support reviews and the activity timetable There should be more focus on local community grants. The value of grants can be very small if it is for a large service. 5

6 Social Activities (continued) There could be more inter-project activities Lots of advance notice is needed of events going on Training Again, cuts were having an impact. I used to go to college for English and Maths under the Pathway to Employment scheme but the course was cut. I used to go to college every week to do motor mechanics but once I was 25 I was no longer eligible. I used to go to a cookery class but found there was too much theory. Some people did not know that they could access Creative Support s training courses and no-one knew about the Creative Support Employability Skills training. Housing Everyone was happy with where they lived. I would like a house for me and my wife but there are complications with my support and staff are looking into this. We were offered one house but it was too far away from our local community. Repairs and maintenance can be a bit slow. I have been waiting a long time for the housing association to replace the boiler and this is giving me high bills. 6

7 Work and Volunteering Most people said that they had had the opportunity to get involved in volunteering: One person used to help out on a farm (although he does not do this any more.) Many people had volunteered at Manchester Dogs Home One person said his goal is to get a job and was looking for volunteering work with animals. One person volunteers as a football coach at City and will be helping at football matches once he has had his CRB check. Another person helped in the café at their Day Centre and they had done First Aid and food Hygiene courses there. Imogen said that she had taken over co-ordinating Volunteering now at Creative Support as Harriet had left the company. 7

8 Better communication What We Want for 2013 A calendar of events to be sent out rather than lots of flyers More opportunity for holidays and day trips More opportunities for volunteering and work placements. More information about dating websites. Staff training around relationships and not just sexual health. Social events for singles for example, a Valentine s ball Pay rise for our staff. More Creative Support community grants You Said We Did Lorraine gave everyone a leaflet showing what had been achieved as a result of last year s Consultation Meetings. She thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. The minutes of the meeting would be written up and everyone would receive a copy. 8