Support for a Network

What The Experts Say

“Some kind of mutual support network for users and carers who become involved so they can reflect on what worked well and what didn’t and where people with less experience of involvement can learn from those who have more.”

—Suggestion from October 2007 event to find out how service users and carers could get involved in staff training in Glasgow

Findings from Local Research

Many of those interviewed had experience of working with local forums.

Top Tip: You and your group don’t have to do it all yourself. A network of groups involved in training can help to share experiences and encourage consistent practices from local colleges and universities that want to involve service users an carers.

Messages from Wider Research

• Universities and colleges should recognise that it takes time to develop effective participation
• Universities need links with a wide range of local service user and carer groups

(Ager, Dow and Gee, 2005)

Good Practice Example: The Glasgow Service User and Carer Group

This group has representatives from user and carer networks right across Glasgow. Its role is to work with the Community Health and Care Partnerships (CHCP) to support them to involve people who use services and carers in their work. They also monitor how successfully the CHCPs are involving people.

Some of the work the group has undertaken includes:

• Guidance for CHCPs on Involving Service Users, Patients and Carers
• Developed an outline action plan to assist CHCPs in implementing the guidance locally
• Produced both a plain English and an easily accessible illustrated draft newsletter for use by CHCPs in engaging with service users and carers locally
• Hosted 2 participative sessions involving Service Users and Carers to look at the content and performance of Glasg City Council’s Action Plan. This resulted from the Social Work Inspection Agency inspection on Social Work in the city
• Held sessions on the proposed Learning Disability Day Service Reform and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Communications Support and Language Plan