Hi myself and a colleague work between two GP sugery's managing a drug treatment service.We have found it difficult given the setting to develop service user involement.our patients wait in the usual waiting room and come in for their appt but rarely meet our other patients.We do have one patient who has agreed to become the SU Rep but mindful that he will essentially be representing the views of himself rather than others.How have others developed sU involement.Grateful for any idea's.

Jeez bowled over by response!I know its not an exciting question but not one response....?

Hi Theresa

sorry about the lack of response, its not usual. From my point of view I hadn't heard of any good examples and was hoping someone else would come up with something. The silence might be instructive about the need for more of this in primary care

Hi Jim,Thanks for the reply!And yes you are right we do need to address this in primary care...we know that services are more effective when they are patient/SU led and yet I feel we are failing in reality to provide the platform for this.It's difficult given the usual lack of resources combined with a certain cynicism (from some) but surely not impossible?
Theresa

hi theresa

I work mainly in primary care, and have battled for many years to encourage the setting up of service user groups in this area. Things eventually started to happen when a person was employed by the DAT to enable the process, and gradually the local service users are getting organised in various groups, but each group needs support and a focus and a reason to exist. A useful task is generally helpful. The DAT for example funded a rather wonderful directory of local services to be designed by a proper graphic design company, who worked all the way through with a nucleus of keen service users. they then organised a big party to launch it. Also a group assembled to be trained in research techniques, and to get involved in research linked in with researchers as the local medical school/deanery. Another group is being trained to be trainers for naloxone prescribing and carrying.

So rather than "just" setting up a group, I think try to find a practical task that is needed locally, then get a budget (even very small)from the DAT to fund it, then invite service users in to sort it out,(with at least some kind of refreshment supplied) and they will gradually become a group which hopefully can grow?

Tomorrow the Alliance service user national conference is coming to our patch, so I have booked myself in, to learn i hope from the other parts of the UK. i suppose the conference stuff will be on their website afterwards. also Drink and Drug News have a fact file in this weeks edition, with progress reports from lots of groups, visible via their website:
http://www.drinkanddrugsnews.net/

I think, as usual, Judith hits the spot.

Like Jim, I didn't really feel I had any primary-care based examples.
Some from a secondary care perspective, mind.

Just today, I was meeting with the SECOND tranche of service user group officers to (re)-constitute themselves as local reps within only the last 6 months in my area.

I think that we in DAAT partnerships maybe under-estimate the wear and tear on our service user colleagues in the business of representation.
It's an onerous affair and they need and deserve a lot of support.

Simon

Hi Theresa,

It's probably a daft idea, but reading the "our patients wait in the usual waiting room and come in for their appt but rarely meet our other patients." part made me think how very different it is from your typical pharmacy in which the service users usually pick up on a daily basis, see and talk to each other (and are occasionally very supportive of each other) - it might be productive to involve the local pharmacies in the idea.[e-mail me off list and I'll give you some PCT and Bradford Local Pharmaceutical Committee e-mails and contact numbers if you think the idea has any merit]

Jeff

As a community pharmacist with between 90and 100 supervised clients in a small town, I find that most of our service users already know a number of others. The local drop in center works extremely well, clients can go for advice or just a cup of tea and a chat. Depending on your client base, it may be difficult to recruit suitable representatives. I have problems at times trying to lessen the influence of some of my clients on younger/less forceful individuals.

Hi Theresa,

We've had a Service User repesentative attending our Shared Care Monitoring Group [SCMG] in Wolverhampton for several years.

Our Service User Involvement Officer, who took up his post a year ago, also attends the SCMG meetings and The Alliance West Midlands Regional Advocate comes to Wolverhampton once a week to beef up our Advocacy activities.

The Service User Involvement Team [SUIT] has been involved in training local Pharmacists-leading and facilitating the training- and we are looking at setting up a Buddy/Advocate scheme to support individuals who have been diagnosed as having Hepatitis C when they go to Out Patients after a number of people were given very unacceptable treatment when attending for initial or review appointments at OPD over the past few weeks.

We've also had Service User attendance in very high numbers at our annual Treatment Plan meetings over the past few years.

SUIT publishes a magazine every three months or so with input from local Service Providers, Police etc in addition to the Service Users own input and in response to Service Users' questions around a variety of clinical and other issues.

Beyond this, Service Users are involved in RCGP Cert 1 training, especially with regard to IDTS [Integrated Drug Treatment System],i.e. treating problematic drug use in the Prison System, and have made a massive contribution in this arena in particular.

We are hosting a 'Women and Addiction' conference on 7.2.08 and Service Users will be delivering plenary presentations, facilitating workshops, co-chairing the proceedings etc etc

I hope this helps.

George

thanks for posting George. I did actually think of you because I knew you had something going in your area but couldn't remember the details.

Try the National User Network - the address is

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/nationalusernetwork

Sight has 80 members from around the country and will
allow you access to some really excellent groups

Jimi Grieve is the Chair and moderator jamesgrieve@ntlworld.com

Regards

Jimi

Hi - just to add that in Calderdale and Kirklees we have had 2 service user group (CUF and KUF) for a number of years, partly funded by the DAAT. They have done invaluable work on peer education around BBV's, injecting, OD, crack and stimulant use, formed a Hep C support group, a breakfast club, and generally been a link between services and clients who are hard to reach. There is more that could be done, and the toll on Service users at times is apparent, but the camaraderie and sense of purpose is also very positive. Quite a few members have moved on to jobs with drugs services. They continue to be a sound source of advice and street sense to the " professionals " who can be a little naive at times about peoples real lives and behaviours, but they advocate strongly for fair treatment. Sometimes more vulnerable clients do fall prey to contact with older or more street wise clients, and I would think that the people who sit in the surgery probably know each other ( or of each other ) in more detail than we imagine. We hvae had instances of younger female clients making lots of new friends through the waiting room ....... and increasing their risk taking behaviour....... I have forgotten if the NTA has its own strand of action around involving SU's other than in surveys ? It probably has, and its guidance may spur more of this type of work and recognition of its value.

Thankyou very much for all your comments and idea's ,it has certainly given me some food for thought!
I think as some of you advised it seems that having a purpose or task is vital and hep c support groups or peer education around BBV's etc would be perfect in primary care.
Jeff-very interested in involving local pharmacies and making use of the daily contact with our patients will e-mail you for those numbers.
Love the idea of service users acessing worthwhile training but just dont see our resources stretching to this and all the training available in our area tends to be very overdose awareness focused-not really equiping them with qualifications to move on with...However feel a bit more positive and hopeful that by using some of the websites and contacts given will be able to tap into a few things or at least create"the bones" for the SU's to put the meat on! With very little dosh do others find that refreshments are enough to entice and motivate our reps?!anyway once again thanks and will just try and roll with it now...

Sorry just re-read my post and want to add that I do not think that overdose awareness training is not worthwhile...it is.

quote:

Originally posted by gill redshaw:
Hi - just to add that in Calderdale and Kirklees we have had 2 service user group (CUF and KUF)

Contact details please - I've a client that might benefit.

TIA

Jeff