Having recently made a commitment to move from consultation to co-production, it was no surprise that North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership fully embraced What Matters to You? Day 2017.
We recently began discussions about how we might engage with the public prior to developing our next strategic plan. This is a high level plan, which would set out fresh priorities over the following three years and therefore it is crucial that the residents of North Ayrshire have their say on the plan’s content. Recognising that lived experience should always be central to any piece of work within health and social care, we would need to begin speaking to the public before pen was put to paper and begin the conversation with an open question. Enter stage right What Matters to You? Day!
Before committing to a partnership-wide approach to What Matters to You? Day, we recognised the responsibility that comes with asking such a question, especially on a large scale. As soon as you ask someone ‘What matters to you?’ you are committed to listening and ultimately acting on what you have heard. Ask, listen and do. If you are not committed to listening and then doing, then it is usually better not to ask the question at all. Have you ever been asked ‘What matters to you?’ realising that the person is not listening to you? It can be very disempowering. Therefore, we took this commitment very seriously and still do. We wanted to ask what matters, listen to what matters and do what matters.
For our purposes, we decided to alter the question slightly, to focus people’s thinking on health and social care, whilst still maintaining the openness of the question. After internal discussions and conversations with people on the streets of North Ayrshire, we decided that we would ask ‘What matters to you about health and social care services in North Ayrshire?’
What Matters to You? Day would offer us several opportunities with what we later named the four tiers of opportunity.
- The first opportunity, or tier one, would be for the person asking the question. Whoever was asking the question, whether it be a community care worker or a social worker, they would be able to have a conversation and potentially find out something about that person that they didn’t know before. They could use this new knowledge to improve how that person was supported.
- The second tier would be for the service or organisation to listen to the collective feedback. It could be a nursing home listening to the residents, or the local carers centre listening to the carers. They would have the opportunity to analyse all the feedback to come back from that service and act on that information.
- The third tier would be for our Localities. There are six localities in North Ayrshire, each with their own Locality Planning Forum. The feedback from each locality will paint a picture of people’s views and allow them to further identify the assets and areas of improvement within the local area.
- The fourth tier will be the foundation of our next strategic plan. The conversations and views from everyone asked across North Ayrshire will be gathered and analysed to provide a clear picture of what matters to people in North Ayrshire. The information will ensure that our next three years of work is driven by what matters to people.
Various approaches were used on the day to allow us to capture a wide range of the population.
- Small locality teams consisting of Locality Planning Forum members, senior managers, partnership officers and other partners were out on the streets, in the glorious Scottish rain, speaking to members of the public across North Ayrshire. We were in shopping centres, town centres, train stations, colleges, GP surgeries and town halls.
- Our Community Connectors were asking patients and families in GP surgeries
- Peer researchers were asking young people across North Ayrshire
- Our Third sector were widely involved, asking people who access local projects and services on the day.
- Our Independent sector, including care homes and care at home organisations, were having conversations with residents, the people they support and their families.
- The local carers centre, community cafés and various community groups were involved.
- There were boxes in libraries, where people could answer the question on a postcard and post it in the box.
- There was a dedicated email address set up for people to email us – whatmatterstoyou@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
- A dedicated text number, allowing people to tell us via text message
- An online survey link which was publicised via our social media channels and local radio station
- Each of our services were involved on the day including: mental health, social work, addictions, community care and allied health professionals amongst others
- Colleagues from Our Voice, the Scottish Health Council and Health Improvement Scotland joined us on the day
On 6 June, North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership had well over 2,300 conversations with people who access health & social care services, carers and their families (and this number is expected to continue growing as we receive further feedback).
It was incredibly moving and humbling to be part of such a meaningful piece of work. Those of us who are somewhat removed from front-line services found the day to be especially insightful. It was a real example of cross-sector working, with everyone recognising the benefits of the approach.
“It was great meeting with the public, listening to their views on our wonderful NHS/Social Care services.”
“As a member of staff who is more removed from front line care, this was a really interesting exercise to be involved in and will assist me in my senior lead officer role.”
We fully expect new, empowering stories of change to begin filtering through as a result of the question which was asked on the day. Our role will now be to analyse the collective feedback from across North Ayrshire and understand what people have shared with us. We hope to have a report ready within the next six weeks, which will be shared widely and inform our strategic plan. As a partnership, we will continue asking people what matters to them, recognising that it is not a one day per year action.
We are all very excited that such a high level document will be mainly influenced by what matters to our communities. There is real power in finding out what matters to people. Of course, it is a nice thing to do – asking someone ‘What matters to you?’ and it can make us feel good. But there must be action beyond the kind words. There must be an outcome to that conversation. Exit stage left What Matters to You Day (for now). Watch this space.
What matters to me about health and social care services in North Ayrshire is….
“Not having to wait so long to see a GP.”
“Making sure that people are listened to and treated fairly, whatever the situation is.”
“I have nothing but admiration for the services in North Ayrshire.”
“People working in home care should have more time to spend with each person.”
“I want to feel listened to, whoever I go and see for an appointment.”
“Quite simply, having a good service.”
~ Gavin Paterson, Engagement Officer, North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership