Sue Coldham and Richard Marler
The authors were involved in the revision of a multi‐agency policy on personal relationships and adults with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities had been…
Abstract
The authors were involved in the revision of a multi‐agency policy on personal relationships and adults with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities had been largely excluded from this process, and an effort was made to redeem matters by commissioning groups of service users to write a booklet explaining what could be expected from staff as a result of the new policy. Although successful in terms of staff and service user interest in the booklet, evaluation showed the need to develop additional ways to get important messages across to service users. Reflection by the authors has increased awareness of the need for creative ways to involve people with learning disabilities in policy formulation and revision.
Valuing People presents a range of challenges for managers and other stakeholders. Partnership boards are charged with leading the change process. The paper sets out the steps…
Abstract
Valuing People presents a range of challenges for managers and other stakeholders. Partnership boards are charged with leading the change process. The paper sets out the steps that the West Sussex Board has taken to meet these challenges and describes in particular a ‘framework for frameworks’ that the Board has adopted to produce truly person‐centred and inclusive plans. The paper concludes that stakeholders can be empowered to find their voice where planners commit to an inclusive process.
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Robin Ion, Sue Cowan and Ron Lindsay
The notion of mental health service user involvement in curriculum design and delivery has become commonplace over recent years. However, concern has been expressed that the…
Abstract
The notion of mental health service user involvement in curriculum design and delivery has become commonplace over recent years. However, concern has been expressed that the rhetoric has not matched the reality. In particular, service user involvement has tended towards either tokenism or over‐sensitivity to the point of near inertia. By contrast, this paper describes a project that took a pragmatic approach and was designed to make involvement in curriculum planning, design and delivery meaningful and worthwhile for service users, students and educators alike. The paper has two principal objectives. In the first instance, it outlines the strategy for involvement that was used to inform curriculum design and delivery at the University of Abertay Dundee. This was grounded in the academic literature. Second, it provides an evaluation of this strategy based on practical experience and identifies some of the difficulties that must be overcome to work in a collaborative manner. In so doing, it examines some of the common concerns of educational staff, service users and students in relation to service user involvement. In conclusion, we provide recommendations for educators seeking to involve mental health service users in a meaningful manner in both the design of training programmes for mental health workers, and in their delivery.