Understanding and commitment from the board of directors to include clients in board level activities. / Current client forum doesn’t have the structure and direction to make meaningful contributions to service delivery, strategic planning at board level and trust policy. / To undertake a mapping exercise that will include the membership of existing groups, individuals who receive a service from the trust and have the interest and potential to be considered for joint working with the board of directors.
Supporting identified clients to form a client forum with the structure in place that allows increased involvement in all aspects of the trusts service delivery.
Open meeting for clients and Board members with exchange of information and asocial component.
Undertake joint training workshops for clients and board members. / Chris and Thalia (Community Service Directors)
Patrick and Caroline (Community Support Managers)
Chris and Thalia (Community Service Directors) Client forum members, board members
Currently being researched / January 2013
March 2013
May 2013
June 2013
Priority 1 – Involving clients in Board level matters.
The Board set the company’s values, strategic aims and standards and ensure that its obligations to its members, clients and others are met. They ensure that financial and human resources are in place for the company to meet its objectives. As an organisation we feel that clients should be represented at all levels.
Priority 2 – Involving clients in the trust’s visiting programme.
The aim of the official visit is to ensure by observation and question that the clients of the Lady Verdin Trust are appropriately supported to maintain their safety, independence, well being, health, comfort and involvement in their home and community. As an organisation we feel that who better to be involved in the visiting programme than people who receive a service and have an insight into what the clients, being visited, maybe feeling.
What’s working? / What’s not working? / What steps will we take? / Who will do this? / By when?Official visits by non executive board members currently take place.
Initial interest shown by some members of the client forum into taking an active part in official visits. / No client involvement in any of the official visits.
Current client forum can lack direction and is focussed on the social element rather than on issues such as official visits. / Facilitate a training workshop for clients and board members that covers;
Confidentiality, joint working, roles and responsibilities, how to conduct an official visit, what to ask? and reporting.
Initial visits from clients to non residential services such as the Purple Onion drop in centre or the Blue Tomato bistro. This will give the clients involved the opportunity to gain experience of what is required of them and the etiquette of doing a visit.
Information sharing exercises with all of the clients within the Trust. Through house meetings, staff to collate client’s feedback on what they think of the visiting process and the option of having other clients being involved in visits.
Introducing the clients and board members through the trust’s bimonthly board meetings.
Matching up like minded board members and clients to go on the visits together. / Chris and Thalia (Community Service Directors) to research suitable training package.
Client forum members, Board members.
Clients, Support managers, staff, CSD’s.
Chris and Thalia, Client forum members, board members.
Chris and Thalia. (Community Service Directors) / June 2013
October 2013
April 2013
May 2013
May 2013
Priority 3 Improve our working with the local Polish community.
What’s working? / What’s not working? / What steps will we take? / Who will do this? / By when?Referrals have being made to support clients from the Polish speaking community.
We already have a service user guide that is available in Polish. / At the present time we don’t have any Polish speaking staff, making communication with clients and their families problematic. / We will ensure that any advertisements for future staff vacancies are partly written in Polish.
We will ensure that some of our English speaking staff are enrolled on courses to learn basic Polish.
We will ensure that more of our information leaflets are available in Polish. / Ashley Owen ( Director of Human Resources )
Community Service Directors / April 2013
August 2013