Organisation Name: Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People (NCODP) Contact name: Michael Llywelyn Cox Job title: Service User/Survivor Email: micox@stollard.plus.com Telephone contact: 01508 548615
Any links to webpages or sites giving further information about your initiative?
http://www.norfolk-pct.nhs.uk/?q=node/790
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fKSib0HZbY
NHS Norfolk is running one of the UK pilots for personal health budgets and personal health plans and our focus group of users and carers has been commissioned to monitor the implementation. Our group is user led and we make our own decisions. Further information about the pilot and a downloadable copy of the health plan can be found at the first of the URLs above.
We are a group of experienced volunteer users and carers ranging across pan-disability. Support and facilitation is provided by a paid worker from Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People. This is Mary Fisher who can be contacted at Mary.Fisher@ncodp.org.uk
What have been the benefits for individual service users (and others) accessing your project?
Our mental health experiences have, from the start, been integral to our work - especially that of developing the health plan drafts. The result has been a great deal of improved self-image and emotional confidence from building the processes in the draft plan and sharing the self-reporting details when we each completed a health plan to trial what it would be like for the service user. Importantly we noted that some sections of the plan could hold emotionally charged content for service users and that this content and the process of completion of the section could be therapeutic provided skilled guidance and support was directly available. We also noted that with appropriate training this guidance and support could be peer to peer.
Are you considering any future developments in response to the 'Personalisation' agenda?
The group has developed into both a beautifully constructive support vehicle and an effective working team for the task in hand. That work is now indeed extended to participation in joint seminars with NHS Norfolk and other health professionals, the supportive elements above making full contributions possible from all of us.