In February two service users from The Limes shared their own personal experiences at a health promotion training workshop for Senior Healthcare Support Workers across the organisation.
The two service users joined the workshop virtually, via Zoom, and spoke about the types of health promotion activities they found helpful and answered questions from the audience.
The workshop was part of the Skills Development Programme which aims to develop staff reflexivity skills (questioning one’s own taken for granted assumptions) and to promote best practice.
- The Limes
- Mental Health & Wellbeing
The Limes
Service users share experiences and perspectives on care
Here’s what the experience was like for one of the service users:
“We took part remotely and had a very productive session. We were able to discuss many aspects of physical health promotion and what we do at The Limes.
“The exciting aspect for me was that we took part via Zoom. I found it was easy to communicate in this way and to fully take part and to answer questions.
“I have developed a confidence to speak out publicly and all of the above added to that ability. It was nice talking to the group and even though I felt anxious, I really felt a sense of achievement after the session. Everyone was kind and polite.”
Helping service users prepare for the talk:
Claire Langley, Service User Engagement Lead, at The Limes, worked closely with both individuals and helped them prepare for the talk.
She explains “I discussed the opportunity to present at the planned training workshop at our weekly involvement group.
“Two of service users were really enthusiastic and got involved straight away. They collaborated together to write a piece of work on their own experiences of health promotion and group activities at The Limes.
“Both of them were extremely proud of delivering a piece of work at a staff training workshop and appreciated the positive feedback from external professionals and myself.”
Feedback from Elysium’s Learning and Development team:
Denise Nannetti, Regional Training Manager, delivered the workshop and thanked the service users for their important involvement.
Denise said: “Having the opportunity to listen to service users speak about their own experiences of how health promotion strategies and techniques are helping them is invaluable. It makes the process come to life.
“We also get the opportunity to receive feedback first hand on personal preferences, what individuals like or dislike, and this is incredibly useful for our learning. Thank you so much to both of them for taking part.”
Angela Owen, Nursing Development Manager, Central Learning and Development, also thanked the service users for their valuable insight which helped participants learn about the different effects approaches in care can have on individuals.
Angela said: “I just want to say a big thank you to these two people for sharing their personal perspectives on health promotion type activities available at The Limes.
“Understanding the experiences and perspectives of the people within our care is an important part of our development programme.
“All participants felt that it was very useful for them to hear the service user’s perspective and we all gained valuable insight into what is important to both speakers.
“Both individuals came across as confident speakers and they engaged really well with the group. Their manner demonstrated that they were keen to share their experiences and insights and they were both so willing to answer questions from the group.”
“Understanding the experiences and perspectives of the people within our care is an important part of our development programme.”
“All participants felt that it was very useful for them to hear the service user’s perspective and we all gained valuable insight into what is important to both speakers.”
Here’s how different professionals benefited from the workshop:
“Thank you so much to the two service users for giving us their perspective on how certain workshops and activities can benefit their personal, mental health, and physical wellbeing.
“It was lovely to chat on such an informal basis and have the opportunity to ask them questions. This has helped us a lot within our training on this subject and it was really nice meeting them both.”
Sarah, The Bridge
“I was so made up that they had the courage to talk to us, we all know how difficult that can be. I also wanted to congratulate the team on how they have worked with the service users to build that confidence and trust.
“Thanks to them for giving me a service user’s point of view on how things work for them – what different techniques work for different people. I applaud them for how far they have come on their recovery journeys. I will definitely be considerate of that talk when speaking with my own service users.
“I think they should be extremely proud of themselves, and I wish them both the very best as they continue on their paths to recovery.”
Lizzie, Ty Grosvenor
“The service user’s talk was fantastic. The information they provided was invaluable. Gaining their perspective was most helpful.
“They were very informative and what they had to say was extremely interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them and cannot thank them enough for their time.
Jon, Arbury Court