citizen directed support newsletter - february 2012

Swansea Social Services February 2012

Citizen Directed Support

Changing lives together

Welcome to the first Citizen Directed Support

newsletter of 2012. This newsletter starts with

a round-up of recent developments under each

of our Three Pillars. There’s a lot of activity

going on as we try to work out the most

effective ways to move forward, and a great

deal of enthusiasm for trying out new ideas.

The three Lunchtime Challenge Workshops

held so far have been successful and

interesting, with a range of staff attending.

Discussions at each workshop have taken a

slightly different course, according to the

interests and concerns of those attending, but

nevertheless some common themes have

emerged. We intend to develop the issues that

have been raised into Frequently Asked

Questions which can update and replace the

FAQs currently on the website. Further

Lunchtime Workshops are being planned, and

dates will be announced shortly.

We know that people are always keen to know

what’s going on in other work areas, so please

keep your good news stories coming, whether

you work for Social Services or in the

independent sector. We can all learn from

each other! Also contact the newsletter editors

if there is something you’d like to see covered

in the newsletter – their contact details are on

the final page.

In this issue:

TASS programme - Current News 2

St. John’s Locality Pilot 4

Local business support social club 7

TASS Communication - a two-way street 8

Next steps in person centred thinking 10

Health Service Community Networks 11

Draft Social Services Bill for Wales 13

Summary of main organisations taking forward the CDS agenda across Wales 13

On-line form helps with referrals to Intake 14

Safeguarding Older People Regional Independent Advocacy Project 15

Three Cliffs Nursing Home News 16

Community Lives Consortium—a journey into system thinking 18

Open MIC Session 21

Transformation of Adult Social Services Programme - Current News!

So what’s been happening in each

Pillar?

Here’s a round-up of some of the latest

developments under each of our three

Pillars.

Refocusing On Communities

Local Area Co-ordination (LAC)

The evaluation of the Central pilot

(St John’s) has been completed. The

results are mainly qualitative, and the

outcome is positive in:

providing community based

alternatives for people – both those

with social care needs and their

carers – living in the Manselton area

who have contacted the Intake Team

leading to new relationships between

local people and involving local

businesses

gaining support for the project from

SCVS via the volunteer project

by regular reporting back to the

Central A&CM Team, changing

practice to consideration of a wider

range of options for people with

social care needs

establishing successful cross-client

work with Learning Disability services

Recommendations from the pilot

include:

Continuation of the approach in the

Port Tennant area

Consideration to be given to using a

similar approach with the West Team

There’s more information about the

work at St John’s on page 4

A one year temporary Community

Connector Post has been created to

work in the North to:

Signpost people and workers to

universal community and

preventative services

Network with organisations, groups

and partners to promote the

development and use of a wide

range of flexible services and

initiatives

Enable people to move through

social care services into

community alternatives

Working in Partnership

Partnership working is key to developing

strong and active communities that are

able to support the new model of

sustainable social care. This must include

opportunities for people who have been

using statutory services to move on within

their community with an improved quality

of life.

There will need to be universal services

available which can support the health and

wellbeing of all citizens and through more

early interventions and preventative work,

ensure that resources are used most

effectively. To take such developments

forward and explore opportunities to work

together, workshops will take place in the

near future bringing together Adult

Services, Health, Third Sector

organisations and citizens.

Meanwhile, meetings are continuing with

SCVS and Community Regeneration to

Continued/…..


look into ways that joint working in the community can be developed.

Social Services Planning Officers will be linking in to the five Health Community Networks to help with better communications between our services and community health. There is more information about partnership working with Health on page 11.

Redesign of our Operating Model

Work is progressing well in this Pillar through various workstreams. A workshop was held on 1st February to explore potential options for allocating resources fairly and equitably. Team Leaders, Principal Officers, Care Management Officers, Deborah Driffield, Contracting Officer and Senior Practitioners from across Adult Services attended. The views of those who attended will be collated, discussed via the ACM Development and Performance Group and recommendations made to the TASS group.

The Intake team are piloting the use of an electronic referral form so that individuals, carers and other organisations can refer directly at any time.

There is more information about this on page 14.

Work has begun on building the revised Unified Assessment tool in Paris. This tool will help us better focus on the outcomes people want to be achieved.

A new outcome focused review form is also being developed based on the feedback we have had from practitioners, commissioners and contracting staff.

We are also exploring how best to redevelop our web pages so that people are better informed about what we do and what other sources of help are available for them.

Reshaping and Remodelling Service Provision

The work to ensure that our Services are sustainable for the future is on-going. Some recent activities have been:

Across Older People’s Services we have seen the creation of Dementia Champions to support the work required for people with Dementia. This work will link into other areas in Adult Services.

Coastal Projects have held various workshops to promote the work they do across Swansea, Adult and Children’s Services.

Photo Tales, a project developed through Coastal has recently held an exhibition in the Grand Theatre to showcase the work of the users of that Project. It was well worth seeing! For more information see http://lifephototales.wordpress.com/

Learning Disability Services have developed more hubs in the community, a move away from traditional services and continue to promote a person-centred, outcome focused service for its users.

Respite News The reshaped respite service for people with learning disabilities and physically disabled people has been operational since January 30th 2012. Glan Yr Afon Gardens has been de-commissioned and staff transferred to Ty Cila or redeployed elsewhere as appropriate. The Respite Steering Group for Younger Adults and the Stakeholder Reference Group have been stood down. However a Social Worker from the Younger Adults Disability Team and representatives from SAIL and SCVS continue to meet with the residents of Ty Cila in order to represent their long-term interests.


St John’s locality pilot – a summary As part of the work under the Community Pillar, a locality pilot centred on

St. John’s Day Centre in Cwmbwrla took place between June and December

2011. The pilot looked into ways in which local networks of support and

community resources could be harnessed and connected to broaden the support

options available to a range of staff and client groups and add value to our

services.

Background and rationale for the pilot

The pilot was set up to address two particular areas.

Assessment and care management staff had said that the current focus on

office-based work has cut them off from the communities they serve leading

to a strong emphasis on allocating services rather than finding alternative

community-based solutions to presenting needs.

The All Together Now project in 2009 identified that although many

assessment and care management staff had little involvement in the work

undertaken by service providers such as domiciliary care and day services,

clear benefits could arise from enhanced partnership working across the

commissioner-provider divide.

For the duration of the pilot Lynda Roach, a Care Management Officer from the

Central Older People’s Team was based in St John’s Day Centre for part of each

week. Staff from the Intake Team and from St John’s itself were also involved.

A Steering Group met on a monthly basis for the duration of the pilot.

Intended outcomes

Early on in the project, the Steering Group identified a number of outcomes to be

achieved, which were categorised under three headings:

Value for money – need to evidence cost effectiveness in achieving

outcomes for older people and carers

This outcome focused on developing a better understanding of the local

community so that more people – both with eligible and ineligible needs – could

be connected with community support services, thus reducing the demand for

traditional services along with the amount of bureaucracy involved. It was hoped

that St John’s would become the hub for a wider range of support provision at no

additional cost.

Continued/…..


Team spirit – evidence of effective collaboration and an enriched

environment of support

The work aimed to develop relationships so that everyone involved felt a sense of

belonging, purpose and achievement, knowing that they have something to

contribute as well as receive. Key to this would be an understanding of

everyone’s roles and a clear sense of direction. This approach would also extend

to establishing good working relationships with all local stakeholders including

health, housing and the voluntary sector

A positive approach to risk – evidence of risk enablement to achieve


The project aimed to work across all client groups, ensuring that people are

getting good support within their local community, with evidence of greater self

reliance and reduced dependency. In addition the project aimed to support ACM

Teams and Intake to make more informed decisions about community support

packages through the provision of better local information.

Some key successes

Value for money – need to evidence cost effectiveness in achieving


A directory of services for Cwmbwrla, Manselton & Brynhyfryd has been

completed. (This is available from the Central Team— 636215.)

A self-funding and self-managing Daffodil Club for older people and carers

has been established. (See page 7 for more about this project.)

A large percentage of day service referrals were signposted to existing or

new community groups.

Referrals to St John’s are now more targeted with an emphasis on providing

a service to those in greatest need.

Many individuals’ needs have been addressed without the need for a formal

Unified Assessment.

Continued/…..


Team spirit – evidence of effective collaboration and an enriched

environment of support

Everyone involved in the pilot has felt involved and has enjoyed the work.

There is clear evidence of enhanced working relationships and flow of

communication between individuals and agencies.

Both staff and citizen participants felt that the project enhanced the profile

of day services and day opportunities and highlighted the importance of

social relationships in making things happen.

A positive approach to risk – evidence of risk enablement to achieve


A number of individual referrals were linked together to provide mutual

support rather than an individual service.

Third sector organisations, voluntary groups and local businesses have all

shown an interest in supporting the work at St Johns.

A service user and carer reference group has been established in St John’s

Day Centre which will inform how the centre is run.

The pilot identified a number of carers in need of assessment and support,

and established links with Swansea Carers Centre.

A small number of people whose first language is not English have been

identified and work is in progress to set up a Direct Payment for PA support

to a small group.

Staff in the Central Team feel that they have a greater awareness of what

support is available in the community, and draw on Lynda Roach’s

knowledge when developing support plans for their own clients.


Local Business Supports Social Club

Members of the” Daffodil Club” were delighted to be

handed a cheque by local construction company

Gravan Construction to help fund activities, transport

and trips.

The Daffodil Club

is a social group

which started in

June 2011 for

people over 50

and carers of all

ages, who meet

every Thursday

at the Plough &

Harrow,

Brynhyfryd between 10 am and 2pm.

The members enjoy a game of bingo, a quiz, arts &

crafts etc, as well as a home-cooked lunch.

The group is run by unpaid volunteers. Social

Services Community Connector Lynda Roach has been

helping to facilitate the group, introduce new

members and offer advice and support.

The Daffodil Club meets every Thursday so if you

would like to come along just pop in for a free cup of

tea, friendly welcome and to meet new friends.

Lynda is hoping to help start up another group in the

Port Tennant / St Thomas area in the coming months

so if anyone is interested in becoming a

volunteer or joining any of the groups

she’d love to hear from you.

If you would like more information or

need any help please ring Lynda Roach

on 636215.


A candle loses nothing

by lighting another

candle. - Erin Majors

If you are working on

something exciting

that you really care

about, you don't have

to be pushed. The

vision pulls you." -

Steve Jobs

They may forget what

you said, but they will

never forget how you

made them feel. - Carl

W. Buechner

Perfection is not

attainable, but if we

chase perfection we

can catch excellence –

Vince Lombardi

Minds are like

parachutes - they only

function when open. -

Thomas Dewar

TASS Communication - A two-way street

Do you understand what the Transformation of Adult Social Service (TASS) process is all about? Many staff worry they don’t, so if you’re one of them, remember there are lots of ways to get information, ask questions and contribute your own ideas.

Some of these are:

TASS as an agenda item on your Team Meeting:-

Staff have told us that they value having TASS as Agenda item as it helps to them to understand what’s happening across all Three Pillars. It also helps team to reflect on their practise and identify opportunities to develop as a Team.

Lunchtime workshops:-

Some 50 staff have attended the two recent Lunchtime TASS Workshops with Deborah Driffield. Staff have had the opportunity to ask a range of questions about the whole TASS process.

Look out for future dates and responses to some of those Questions!

Director’s sessions for staff:-

Approximately 300 staff attended meetings with our new Corporate Director, Phil Hodgson. Phil was asked a range of questions over the three sessions and welcomes staff contacting him via email or arranging to meet with him.

Deborah Driffield’s offer to visit teams:-

Deborah is keen to spend time visiting teams across Adult Services and is especially interested in shadowing staff. She has already visited a number of teams but is keen to get more invites. Please contact :– Sue Davies on 01792 636245 to arrange.

Open Mic sessions:-

This is a new opportunity to attend - individually or as a Team - one of the Adult Services Management Group Meetings which take place on the last Wednesday of each month.

This is a half hour slot (12.30-13.00) to discuss any new ideas, developments or share good practice initiatives with Principal Officers.

Continued/…..


One person

with a belief

is equal to a

force of 99

who have only

interests. -

John Stuart

Mill

To think

creatively, we

must be able

to look afresh

at what we

normally take

for granted. -

George Kneller

Change is the

law of life and

those who

look only to

the past or

present are

certain to

miss the

future. - John

F. Kennedy

Open Mic sessions:-

This is a new opportunity to attend - individually or as a Team - one of the Adult Services Management Group Meetings which take place on the last Wednesday of each month.

This is a half hour slot (12.30-13.00) to discuss any new ideas, developments or share good practice initiatives with Principal Officers.

Interested…contact Fiona Broxton in SMSU on 01792 636693.

Comment on pages on website:-

There is an opportunity to make comment or ask questions in relation to any stories you read on the Citizen Directed Support website directly from the web pages.

ACM Development & Performance Group:-

Team Leaders, Planning officers and POs all meet together monthly in the Assessment and Care Management Development and Performance Group ( DAP ). All ACM teams and the Safeguarding Team will we hope contribute suggestions/ideas for improvement and be involved in the work streams to take forward the work.

Newsletters & Briefing Papers:-

This newsletter is intended to provide an opportunity for you to catch up on the latest developments across Adult Services. And of course feel free to comment on the stories you read in any of our Newsletters by getting in touch with the editors. (See page 21)

You could also:

Ask questions of managers or team leaders

Recognise good practice in your area of work and think how/with whom you can share this

Take time to look back and forward at how you’re working – does it fit with person-centred principles?

Consider whether you need more training. (Have you been on the Person Centred Thinking course for example?)

Talk with your service users – if they have questions you can’t answer who can? – and how can this best be done?

Find out about opportunities to spend time in another team. Maybe a direct swap with someone? By sharing practice and ideas ‘on the job’ a lot of informal learning and development can happen naturally.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on how you could engage with the Transformation Process, give me (Julie Burroughs) a ring on 01792 636352.


The Next Steps in Person Centred Thinking

Making the jump from attending

training, to incorporating new

information into our day to day work

can be difficult even with the best of

intentions. Research suggests that it

takes a minimum of 21 days to

change or make something a habit but

this is more likely to happen when

certain things are in place….

Because of this, Helen Sanderson

Associates have developed a new

course to explore how staff can help

embed person centred thinking tools

in their workplace so they become a

habit. The course aims to provide

participants with the skills and

confidence to take person centred

tools from training to including them

in their day to day work and support

their colleagues to do the same.

This “7 Habits that promote Person

Centred Thinking” course will be run

on 27th March 2012 and is open to

staff from Adult Services who have

attended the two-day Person Centred

Thinking Skills course and are

interested in moving the work around

the tools on.

Though participants will need to have

completed the two-day Person

Centred Thinking Skills course before

attending the 7 Habits course, staff do

not need to be using the tools

regularly in their practice to apply.

Participants can range from those who

have not used the tools and want

ideas on how to begin to those who

use Person Centred Thinking tools

regularly and want to expand their

use.

Our Person Centred Thinking Skills

trainers, Ceri and Jane, are happy to

provide a brief refresher session on the

tools for any participants on the “7

Habits” course who did the Person

Centred Thinking Skills course a while

ago and feel they need a reminder.

They are also happy to offer ongoing

support in any efforts to introduce the

tools in the workplace. The success

measure, of course, is not the tools

being used as “business as usual” but

the end result for the individual –

better lives, not just better plans.

Flyers to invite applications for the “7

Habits” course will be sent via Team

Managers in the near future.

For further information please

contact Ceri Jones, Service & Staff

Development Officer, 636071 /

[email protected]


Not just better plansNot just better plans……

Help people get better livesHelp people get better lives

© The Learning Community for Essential Lifestyle Planning, Inc. 2006

Health Service Community Networks

The Swansea Locality of the ABMU Local Health Board has developed five

Community Networks – City Health, Llwchwr, Cwmtawe, Bay Health and Penderi.

Each network is built around a group of GP practices and is responsible for the

planning, co-ordination and delivery of primary and community services for the

local population.

The aims of the Community Networks are to:

Focus on preventing ill health, enabling people to keep themselves well and

independent for as long as possible.

Develop the range and quality of services that are provided in the

community.

Ensure services provided by a wide range of health and social care

professionals in the community are better coordinated to local needs.

Improve communication and information sharing between different health,

social care and voluntary sector professionals.

Facilitate closer working between community based and hospital services,

ensuring that patients receive a smooth and safe transition from hospital services

to community based services and vice versa.

Staff from Social Services’ Planning Team and Team Leaders from all areas are

working with the Community Networks to establish better links between us.

Information about developments in each community is being shared and

possibilities for collaboration explored.

Chair Attending for Social Services

City Health Bob Mortimer Heather Hughes and Andrea Preddy

Llwchwr Manisha Richards Mariann Hewitt and Pat Hughes

Cwmtawe Richard Tristham Jane Tonks and Eirian Davies

Bay Health Chris Johns Nick Andrews and Jackie Turner

Penderi John Rees Jane Tonks and Eirian Davies

Continued/…..


SCVS has set up information points in some surgeries with a member of staff on

hand to answer questions. In the next few months, we hope to firm up how we

will work together, and also involve colleagues from Child and Family Services

so that a holistic approach to well-being in communities is developed. Principal

Officers from Child and Family are working with networks to ensure vulnerable

children receive the support they need to fulfil their potential and to ensure

clarity where there are safeguarding issues.

Each network now has a website, including both a public and a members’ area,

which will provide the latest news, meeting agenda and minutes and other

important information for that community.


Staff Lunchtime Workshops - Update

Two staff lunchtime workshops have now taken place, and a third is happening

around the time this newsletter is being finalised. These workshops have

provided an opportunity for staff to have face-to-face dialogue with senior

managers around the Transformation of Adult Services and discuss any concerns

or questions that they have.

Recurrent comments and questions from these first three events will be drawn

together to create a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which will be

available on the Citizen Directed Support website.

Further lunchtime workshops are being planned for the spring.

Coming Soon… Draft Social Services Bill for Wales


The work underway to transform Adult Social Services in Swansea will mean that in some aspects we will have a head start when the Welsh Government publishes the Social Services Bill in October 2012. This Bill follows on from the Sustainable Social Services paper published last year, and will specify the core legal framework for social services and social care.

Gwenda Thomas, the Deputy Minister, made a statement about the Bill on 24th January and in it she emphasises that ‘we must draw on the strengths of people being members of their families, networks and communities’ and ‘sustainability depends on people having a stronger voice and real control’. The Bill will also extend the range of services for which people have a right to a Direct Payment. Other aspects are a portable assessment of need and establishment of a national eligibility framework for social ser-vices across Wales.

The draft Bill will be published for consultation in March.

Heather Hughes Planning Manager

A summary of the main organisations taking forward the Citizen Directed Support agenda across Wales

On-line form helps with referrals to Intake As part of the TASS agenda the Social Services web pages are being redeveloped this

year. One of the first changes to emerge is an on-line referral form, which will

enable people to provide their details – or those of someone they wish to refer – to

the Intake Team via a secure web link.

The form is currently being piloted with two organisations – the Red Cross and Age

Cymru. Although we expect that the form will mainly be used by agencies who wish

to refer their clients to Social Services, it is something that individual members of the

public can also use if they wish. The on-line form is expected to go ‘live’ in April.

Advantages of the on-line form include:

It can be completed at any time that suits the referrer with no need to wait in a

queue for a member of Intake staff to be free

It has been designed to collect all details that Intake require to process an initial

referral, thus reducing the number of call-backs to the referrer to collect

additional information

An automatic acknowledgement will be emailed to the referrer confirming receipt of

the form and the response time that should be expected

Completed forms

are delivered to

Intake through

the email system,

so there is no

need for

monitoring of a

separate system.


NEW SERVICE at AGE CYMRU SWANSEA BAY!

Safeguarding Older People Regional Independent Advocacy Project

Age Cymru Swansea Bay are delighted

to receive funding to provide a much

needed advocacy service for older people

across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and

Bridgend. The project is funded by the

Big Lottery Fund under the AdvantAGE

programme for three years and aims to

improve and promote independent living,

to give older people greater choice and

control over their lives and to protect the

most vulnerable from abuse.

Age Cymru Swansea Bay employ four

advocates who will support vulnerable

older people who are facing life changing

decisions, such as moving into

residential or nursing care and being

faced with the loss of independence.

Advocates will provide information on

various options available, ensure that

people have a voice and assist

individuals to reach a decision which is

best for them.

Advocates will be supported by a team of

trained volunteers who will provide

support to individuals living in sheltered

housing, residential care and hospitals

and are also able to visit older people

within their homes, thus ensuring that

the service is fully accessible to all those

in need. Advocates are independent,

non- judgemental people who will act on

the client’s behalf to ensure that their

needs are met and they are able to

access the best possible services and

care. This exciting new service will be

available for referrals from January 2012

onwards.

For further information please contact

Cathy Boyle on: 01792 648866 or e mail

[email protected]


Three Cliffs Nursing Home

Three Cliffs Nursing Home in Penmaen is home to around 50 older people, many of whom have dementia. The manager, Karen Woods, has been trying a number of innovative approaches to reconnect the residents with the world they used to know, and below she shares a couple of their stories.

Pet Therapy

Our pet therapy started small. We brought in some willing guinea pigs and a very soft rabbit. The residents’ responses were amazing - they were entranced by the animals, they stroked and cuddled them or just felt them against their skin. They smiled, laughed and some remembered pets they had had as children.

A large macaw was next, he squawked and fluttered and some brave souls let him land on their shoulders and we talked of pirates and Long John

Silver. A horse, of course, had to follow and, best of all, a four day old spring lamb. I’d been enjoying seeing the year’s new arrivals on my way to work across the common every day and it occurred to me that my residents hadn’t shared this, so after some negotiation the lamb arrived. Every single resident had a chance to hold the lamb and the delight in their faces made us all quite emotional. One lady told tales of being in the land army and taking care of the sheep as a young woman.

Pets truly have a remarkable effect on those living with dementia, and we arrange for pets to come in as often as possible. They seem to open doors and help people to express themselves.

The only problem is how to get bigger and better, anyone got a spare giraffe?

Continued/…..


The Pub

Three Cliffs now has its own ‘pub’, converted from a redundant outbuilding. It doesn’t serve alcohol, but in all other respects it’s just like a country pub. The idea came about after seeing the look of disappointment on residents’ faces when their visitors told them they weren't going out. Their dementias are such that outings are difficult and often involve confusion and anxiety.

We think the pub is pretty amazing. It took ages to source all the bits and bobs to make it so authentic but local pubs were keen to help and car boot sales provided the rest on a shoestring.

The pub is only a few steps away from the main building but having to put a coat and hat on to go for a drink makes it much more memorable and the good emotions associated with it seem to last all day. For husbands and wives of residents it provides a moment of normality and a bit of relief.

If only we could get a volunteer to come and open it for an hour or so at weekends it would be even better.


Community Lives Consortium - A journey into System Thinking

Community Lives Consortium (CLC) is an organisation which provides a range of community support services to adults with a learning disability.

In September 2010 CLC started working with Vanguard Systems Consulting to help us be both person-centred and really efficient. As a result we have developed a new approach to helping people plan and record their lives based on conversation rather than form filling.

This is the journey the organisation has been on so far:

In September 2010 a working group formed to work with Vanguard. The group involved individuals who play different parts in the organisation, from front line staff through the different layers of management, senior managers and chief executive.

In line with system thinking principles the organisation had to evaluate who our customer was. The tenants, clients were our customer.

The first task that we were set was to think of a new Purpose for the organisation. We agreed on “Supporting people to live the life they choose “. We then agreed on seven operating principles.

Using the model for change we looked at “What Matters to our Customers”. We were able to achieve this by collecting Demand.

We then looked at our current service delivery planning via “Mapping the Flow” and identified waste in our existing systems/ procedures. We needed to work on achieving a more individual Service Delivery Plan and also challenge ourselves on how we involved our customers.

The working group met with tenants and staff in one Network and piloted completion of Service Delivery Plans using alternative media.

CLC then met with CSSIW and CST. Contract and Monitoring shared some new Service Delivery plans and also discussed variance of recordings for individuals in line with their Service Delivery Plan and unified assessments, ensuring that we still met legislation and standards.

Continued/…..


In April 2011 we seconded our peripatetic Contract Manager as ”System Thinking Leader“ to implement system thinking operationally. This involved meeting with staff who deliver hands on support to our customers, sharing with them our new Purpose and Operational Principles and, using EDIP (Explain, Demonstrate, Imitate and Practice), worked alongside frontline staff , managers and customers to review their Service Delivery Plans. Each Network collected customers’ Demands (requests) to enable us to find out what matters to the cus-tomer. This information was recorded on a central Demand Log. We then looked at the Demand and identified where we met the Demand and also where we failed to meet Demand. Next, we asked frontline staff and managers what got in the way of us meeting Demand. Contract Managers recorded this information on an Issue Log which Senior Managers then used to decide what to prioritise using PLAN and Mapping the Flow. Working alongside the System Thinking Leader were our SPICT (Supporting Participation through Information Communications Technology) Department. Staff were able to pull on their expertise when developing New Service Delivery plans, which enabled the staff who had the

best relationship with the customers to learn the skills to develop personal plans.

All staff within the organisation have been introduced to the principles of system thinking and work has commenced throughout the networks to implement new Service Delivery Plans for all customers.

Senior managers’ meetings have changed in line with the principle of allowing the company to change from a top down management structure to a bottom up one which allows decisions to be made closer to service delivery.

Organisationally, we are at the beginning of a long journey of change. As the organisation finds out what matters to the customer we will need to review our systems, how we and external partners monitor service delivery and our policies and procedures to enable our customers to have a more personal and efficient service.

Continued/…..


Below are some Tenants’ stories so far:

Paul lives in Port Tennant and works part-time in a hospital. This year Paul and staff produced a service delivery plan following the systems thinking process. Paul’s goals for his future were that he would like to live on his own in a flat and that he would like to keep his medication in his bedroom and take it himself. Usually Paul’s medication was kept in a cabinet in the staff office and medication given to Paul at the appropriate times. Paul was also concerned about the recordings written about what food he ate what he had been doing during the day and his general mood.

Since the introduction of his new service delivery plan, Paul keeps his medication in a lockable box in his own room which he now self-administers. Paul checks his medication and informs staff when medication levels are low. This was started in May this year and there have been no problems. Also staff members no longer keep records about Paul and his day. This makes Paul more independent and more in control. Paul says he is very happy with this. Paul and staff are now working on his other goal – a place of his own.

Jean from Gowerton wanted to do her own shopping. She can check the contents of her food cupboards by using her shopping list made of cards

– photos of foodstuff. She checks to see if she needs to buy items of food and if she does she places these relevant cards in a wallet. When she goes shopping she uses the cards in the wallet to choose the food items. This has resulted in Jean being more involved in her shopping and making it a more enjoyable experience.

Phil lives in Llansamlet and takes an active part in the community. He especially loves attending the local church which is a short distance from his home. Phil wanted to video his service delivery plan. In April 2011, Phil and his staff got together to talk about what was important to him. Through using person centred planning tools (Relationship Map and Path) it was discovered that Phil used to go horse riding in Ogmore on the beach some years ago. Staff then arranged for him to attend Cimla Equestrian Centre. Phil said he was nervous at first. The attendant at the horse riding centre said that Phil’s posture whilst sitting on the horse was good. Phil now goes regularly and thoroughly enjoys it.

Phil’s other wish was to see more of his girlfriend. This has happened with the support of her team. Phil is very happy with the outcomes of his plan and is presently thinking of his next goal.


OPEN MIC SESSIONS…………..Interested !

This is a new opportunity to

attend - individually or as a

Team - one of the Adult

Services Management Group

Meetings which take place on

the last Wednesday of each

month.

This is a half hour slot (12.30-

13.00) to discuss any new

ideas, developments or share

good practice initiatives with

Principal Officers.

Interested…contact Fiona Broxton in SMSU on 01792

636693 to book the slot.


Thanks to everyone who has provided information or articles for this newsletter. Please keep sending them in - even if it’s just a few lines we can find a corner for it. If you have a photo too, better still! And if there’s something you’d like the newsletter to cover, let us know.

Colleagues in independent sector and voluntary organisations are also very welcome to submit contributions.

The next newsletter will be published in late April and the copy deadline for contributions is 13th April.

If you have anything to contribute to a future newsletter – an article, a question, a tip, a link or even an idea for an article you’d like someone else to write – please contact the editorial team.

Helen Barney 636902 [email protected]

Angela Morgan 636414 [email protected]

citizen directed support newsletter - february 2012

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