05 December 2022
In July, we held consultation events as a space for people who use our Manchester service to tell us what they liked about the service and what we could improve on. Since then, we’ve been working hard to make these changes happen.
Watch the video or read below for more info on what has changed!
We were very grateful to get so much feedback. We want to provide the best service for as many people as possible, to do this we need to know what is working and what isn’t working.
Feedback about staff
You said: It can feel intimidating walking in to our buildings, especially when there are no/few staff around.
We did: Recruit more volunteers specifically as “meet and greet” at Phoenix Mill.
You said: Staff are friendly and make people want to stay.
We did: Increase volunteer numbers, so we could provide more of this friendliness, which clearly works!
You said: Mental health, trauma, suicide awareness and health knowledge is lacking.
We did: Expand training for staff and volunteers around trauma-informed care. This will be a work-in-progress to see where else we can upskill staff.
Feedback about communication
You said: It’s not clear what the service does and what we offer.
We did: Review the leaflets available at our bases and have planned a better system for making these easily available to people.
You said: Other formats should be used for delivering information, such as video, podcasts, bulletins.
We did: This newsletter and video! Expect to see the TV screens in waiting areas being put to use soon, too.
You said: More contact from staff is needed, and more consistently.
We did: Recruit more volunteers. Some will contact service users, and others will do other tasks which free up time for staff to increase contact.
You said: The text system works well.
We did: Take this on board and will look at what more we can do with the text system.
Feedback about groups and opportunities
You said: You want a more diverse offer of activities - days out, events, holistic/alternative therapies, nutritional guidance.
We did: Put on the Recovery Day which was a big event featuring live music, DJs and offered an introduction to mindfulness, meditation and massage, amongst other things. We have since recruited a Building Recovery in the Community (BRIC) Worker who will start in January 2023. They will develop links with local community groups/events and our service users.
You said: We should offer groups out of hours and increase peer-led groups.
We did: Launch the Innovation Fund. This is a pot of money that anyone can apply for, to help get something set up which will benefit service users, including new groups.
You said: That positive experiences and community are some of the best bits about Change Grow Live.
We… Love to hear this! Knowing this works means we will continue to do more of it.
You said: The volunteering offer is good but direct employment opportunities are limited.
We did: Recruit employment specialists into paid and voluntary roles. They are setting up Jobs Clubs at all bases which will provide access to a computer, to help with applications, etc.
You also said that more progression is needed in groups and that groups can be “life-changing”. We will gather some more specific feedback about how we can help you make the most of groups at our next consultation event.
Feedback about facilities and services
You said: Transport is needed for events.
We are: Ordering an electric car for the SHINE group to use for getting around to their activities. Organising transport to bigger events will be one of the responsibilities of the new Building Recovery in the Community worker.
You said: More support needed “under one roof”.
We did: Set up a Recovery Day at the Mill, which brought together Acorn, Emerging Futures and The Hepatitis C Trust amongst others, to provide an “under one roof” offer. We would like to find out more about what exactly this means. If you have any ideas on what this could look like, please do give us more feedback.
You said: A recovery cafe would be good.
We did: Expand the Breakfast Clubs across the city (with the help of SHINE!). A recovery cafe is a great idea and we would love to see this in future, but we felt other changes were a greater priority to be worked on now. Breakfast Clubs can hopefully provide some of these benefits.
You said: More community hubs/a community centre needed in the north of city.
We are: Visiting potential buildings in the north and the east of the city. We will keep you updated on this.
You said: Better links to mental health services are needed.
We are: Reviewing the existing links with other services to identify gaps, and review how we can make these services more accessible.
You also said that there’s a lack of parking at Phoenix Mill - this is unfortunately not something we can resolve or action quickly, but it is something we will consider when reviewing whether facilities are fit for purpose.
We will continue to keep you updated on what we haven’t been able to action this time. Keep giving us these bigger ideas though, it all helps us to understand what you want.
Good start… what’s next?
We want to make it easier for you to give us feedback, so you can expect to see feedback boxes as well as whiteboards that you can write on in the Change Grow Live bases soon. Until then, please keep telling us what’s working and what’s not - you can do this using the form below.
We have put together a plan to review feedback more regularly so that we can make decisions (and changes!) based upon it. We will then put together more videos and newsletters like this one to share what we have done and what we are doing next.
We will be putting on some more consultation events for you to attend in January - watch this space!
If you want to share your feedback and experience more widely, Care Opinion is a website that can be viewed by anyone and is used to compare services across the country. Click the link below and then go to “Tell Your Story”.
Complete our feedback form
Care Opinion - Tell your story
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