Sussex Oakleaf aims to put the people who use our services at the heart of our organisation. For us, ‘Service User Involvement’ means that anyone using any of our services can share their ideas, experiences and skills with others. It can be an ideal way for a person to take steps towards their individual goals or personal interests. This also helps Sussex Oakleaf to improve and develop the way we work, and grow as an organisation.
We consult with people about many different things including: policies, our strategic goals, proposed changes, activities, trips, what people think about our services, new ideas, etc. We really value everyone’s views, and they are all taken into account when we make decisions about our services and our goals. We have a detailed involvement policy which can be sent to you on request, and there is a monthly mailout which you can sign up to.
Service User Involvement Opportunities
We have a whole range of different ways people can get involved – with or without support from staff
Your service. Our services have a variety of ways that ensure people can be involved as often and as much as they want to. There are regular meetings to share ideas and discuss any issues. If you don’t want to go to a meeting, you can just have a chat with a member of staff, put your thoughts down in a letter or email, or fill in an informal feedback form. Some of our services (e.g. Day Services) also have peer support opportunities, and there are different ways people can work alongside paid staff to plan, develop and deliver various aspects of the service, e.g. group activities.
Local meetings and events. There are regular ‘Get Together’ meetings which are held at various venues around the county each month, or you could get involved in a specific ‘working group’. Both of these are ways of working as a team with other service users and staff, to look at a policy, a specific goal or a service, and feedback ideas for how we can improve things.
We also organise conferences and other one-off events throughout the year, e.g. creative writing workshops and peer support days
Magazine. We regularly publish a magazine which is put together by people who use our services. This gives people the chance submit their ideas, jokes, stories, poems, recipes, creative writing, personal experiences, photographs, and many other things. There is also the chance to get involved and learn about planning, editing and designing the magazine.
Staff Recruitment. One of our goals is to involve people who access our services in our staff recruitment. People have the opportunity to be trained and supported to be involved in some of all of the following: setting interview questions, meet applicants informally, shortlisting applicants, or be part of the interview panel.
Training Staff. We are developing a range of ways that service users can be involved in delivering training to our staff. This could include attending relevant courses alongside staff, introducing exercises, or facilitating a training course.
Surveys and questionnaires. We regularly conduct a survey and everyone using our services is encouraged and supported to complete. We use the information from this to directly influence the way in which services are planed, developed and delivered, and to discover and implement ways that the organisation as a whole can continually improve. There are also other chances for people to input into surveys and questionnaires at a more local level e.g. exit questionnaires when people end their support from us.
Board level involvement. We have some board members who are also service users who are fully involved in the organisation at a strategic level. Alongside them we have a service user sub-committee to the board, which is made up entirely of service users to ensure people’s views are represented at all levels.
Comments and Complaints. Feedback on services is welcome! All services welcome views, ideas, and feedback, and have Informal Feedback Forms and a Complaints Procedure that service users, carers, and other professionals can use to help us constantly improve on the quality of the service we provide. These are always passed on to the Service Manager, or the most appropriate person to take action and report back.
Paid Involvement. Some of the involvement opportunities are voluntary and some are paid.
We have a Service User Involvement Worker who can be contacted on Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10-2pm on 01444 447376. Please ask if you would like more information about anything mentioned here, or if you have any questions or ideas. We look forward to hearing from you!
Involvement Opportunities in the Community
We encourage and support people to take up interests in their local community and to access groups run by people with shared experiences or interests. Some examples of groups people could join:
- adult education courses, e.g. aromatherapy, pottery, painting, tai chi, local history, etc.
- peer support groups run in Crawley and Haywards Heath
- activities at the local leisure centre
- the “SUN” service user network in West Sussex
- starting up or joining a ‘self help’ group.
- a knitting club
- a catering project
- a walking group
- working with other agencies to run nutrition courses
- the music group, run by service users, that performs at our conferences and events
We can also signpost you to a number of agencies who can help you find volunteer or paid work that matches your goals.
Recovery
Sussex Oakleaf is committed to the principles of recovery-based service delivery. This means we believe that everyone has the ability to learn or regain the ability to be in charge of their own life. We understand recovery to be a person’s individual journey to a life that has personal meaning and fulfillment for them, and includes living well in the presence or absence of symptoms or other difficulties.
Staff receive training and supervision to ensure their practice embodies recovery-based values, and that we retain the hope and belief that the people we support are able to live their lives as they wish, and recover a sense of control. This approach enables people to have a central role in designing their lives and their support, and to have support from staff to use tools such as Wellness Recovery Action Plans or the PATH planning model, should they wish.
Case study
Nigel had been receiving floating support from Sussex Oakleaf for some time and had a very good relationship with Cathy, his Independent Living Worker. Nigel was someone who took time to get to know and trust new people, and had always said he would not want a different worker to visit him if Cathy was ever not working. When Cathy was off work unexpectedly due to ill health, he had the opportunity to reconsider this, as it happened at a time when Nigel was feeling particularly fragile due to several changes and stresses in his life. Although Cathy was only off work for a short time, Nigel felt he really had needed staff support at the time.
When Cathy returned to work, Nigel shared with her some good ideas about how to prevent others from feeling the way he did when their worker was off work due to sickness or holidays. With Nigel’s permission, Cathy arranged for the service manager to accompany her to Nigel’s next visit. Nigel suggested to the Service Manager that all clients have written in the front of their file the name of a second worker that they would be happy to be supported by when necessary. He also wanted the opportunity to meet with another worker, and develop a relationship with them for times in the future when Cathy was not working, and suggested that this become standard practice for those clients who needed it. They also discussed how much information clients could be given when their worker was off work. Just to be told that Cathy was off work had felt very negative for Nigel and he would have preferred to have had a brief explanation as to why e.g. that his worker was off sick, but without being given any further personal details. This was agreed, and incorporated into his support plan. To ensure that the quality of the service was improved as quickly and effectively as possible, all of Nigel’s suggestions were listened to, discussed at the next team meeting, and implemented immediately.
For more information, please contact:
Our Service User Involvement Worker on Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10-2pm
01444 447376 or send an email to info@sussexoakleaf.org.uk
Two thirds of all British press and TV coverage on mental health includes an association with violence. (Health Education Authority 1998) 44% of respondents to a study by the Mental Health Foundation in 2000 reported stigma and discrimination from GPs. Sandamas and Hogman, 2000, found that black people are twice as likely to be involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act than white people.
