Posted on: 7 August 2024
CNWL’s Addictions Directorate recently hosted their third Strategic Service User Group away day, focusing on sustainable ways to improve co-production. Over 30 representatives joined us at the Wellington Hotel in central London, including volunteers, service users and peer support workers.
Opening the event, Ben Parker, Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner, said: “It’s an opportunity to think creatively about how we take service user involvement to a more advanced place.”
The Trust offers Addictions services for adults and young people across North West London, Milton Keynes and beyond, including drug and alcohol services, the National Centre for Behavioural Addictions and the newly established East of England Gambling Service.
The Trust is committed to expanding our lived experience roles, recognising the invaluable insights and support these individuals can offer to current service users.
Teresa Wirz, Head of Addictions, emphasised the importance of these events: "Engaging with our service user representatives in this way allows us to truly understand their needs and preferences. Their input is crucial in helping us design services that are not only effective but also empathetic and responsive."
Coming together in groups to share ideas, everyone focused on ways to improve involvement to ensure these voices remain at the forefront of service development and delivery.
One of the central themes of the day was the vital role of volunteers in the organisation, and the importance of attracting "fresh" volunteers with lived experience. Ensuring that volunteers are never out of pocket was highlighted as a priority, alongside consistent support, regular supervision, and thorough training. Ideas such as shadowing other teams, clear pathways from volunteer roles to career positions, and better communication channels were put forth to enrich the volunteer experience.
One volunteer noted: “Language from NHS services includes lots of jargon and acronyms. Demystifying this language would be helpful. Once a month have a no jargon day.”
They also highlighted the need to create a more welcoming and less clinical environment at our sites. Investing in redecorating and enhancing reception areas were key points of discussion. The group also spoke about the importance of inclusivity, wanting to reach marginalised and vulnerable groups through proactive outreach and targeted events.
"We need to see a breadth of recovery journeys, different backgrounds and ages, and young people," one participant shared.
Engaging with the community through public events and social media was another focal point. We plan to increase the use of notice boards in public spaces and create dedicated social media pages for services to foster a stronger connection with our local communities.
In the afternoon, participants were joined by Outside Edge Theatre Company, who came in to run a taster session and showcase the benefits of incorporating drama into addiction recovery.
Outside Edge offer free drama and creative writing workshops that help improve wellbeing and support recovery maintenance.
We heard from Bags Sharma, Consultant at Arc Hounslow, who started lively discussions on deconstructing stigma and breaking down barriers to accessing services.
"We need to dig into stigma and the language that supports it. If people relapse, they often don't return to our services because of stigma. We must stop using words that isolate people and eliminate unhelpful language,” he said.
The event was also an occasion to celebrate the contributions of this group who have played a pivotal role in improving our services. A series of awards were presented to acknowledge their dedication and impactful work:
| Award title | Winner |
|---|---|
| Loyalty Award | Hendrik de Vries |
| Community Recovery Advocate | Shashi Thethy Sharma |
| Service User Voice Champion | Carly Monks |
| Rising Star | Gush Jawanda |
| Above and Beyond | Ian Cupid |
| Excellence in Action | Justin Davies |
| Rising Star | Nick Adams |
Ben Parker, Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner, expressed his gratitude: "Their involvement is fundamental to the success of our programmes. Their experiences and feedback drive us to continually improve and adapt.”
To finish off the day, we premiered a series of films Arc Hounslow, where service users shared details from their recovery journey.
You can watch the films below, which were developed by Hounslow Council: