Publish date: 11 March 2024
And so we did! On Thursday, three people closely linked to our Whalley LD site spoke at NHS R&D’s “Let’s Talk Research” conference in Wigan.
Presenting on their work directly with service users and carers, Tracy Collard (SU and Carer Engagement Co-ordinator), Michaela Thompson (Research Practitioner) and John Rowbotham (communications) received good feedback from attendees.
Together they’d had discussions with service users moving from Whalley to our new Aspen Wood site over many months and as part of engagement over several years. They supported people in the existing low secure service to co-produce guide books for the new build, videos and to have input into ward names, artwork and colour schemes at Aspen Wood.
The Whalley carers’, principally including parents of those in individual packages of care in Whalley, were represented by an emotional film. In it, they recounted their own experiences of being part of a group that they felt valued and trusted in. Both carers and service users spoke of how they felt listened to and could point to many real co-produced outcomes.
As well as presenting the findings of years’ worth of research and engagement, the team also shared ideas with attendees and other stakeholders.