From discussion with current EBEs we felt it is important to have a set of principles to guide how we work. This will be for staff and EBEs.
Working Together Charter - draft
Working together in participation
Participation involves customers, carers and their families, health and social care services, decision makers, and partner organisations working together.
Commitment
We are committed to the principles of effective participation – guiding the design, development and experience of services
This is underpinned in the legal framework of The Care Act 2014, which champions the participation of customers and carers in decision making.
Welcome and care
We will:
- create a welcoming and caring space
- introduce everyone, their role and why they are there
- provide clear purpose for involvement
- outline the commitment needed
- ensure everyone’s well-being to nurture confidence and self-esteem
- consider when, where and how activities take place, thinking about the needs and availability of those involved
- always consider “who needs to be involved?”and make contact at the earliest opportunity
Communicate
We will:
- communicate clearly and honestly
- support discussion and listen to understand, rather than listen to respond
- respond in a way that is open and honest, always with kindness and compassion
- maintain confidentiality as agreed and be clear about what can be shared
- provide information that is easy to understand in accessible formats
- be transparent about what we are doing and why
- respect and use individuals preferred terminology for their identity - preferred names, pronouns, identify first language
- follow up meetings and discussions with written notes
Value and include
We will:
- keep people central to everything we do
- embrace differences and treat everyone with respect, acknowledging different perspectives
- support each other to enable participation
- ensure that everyone gets the information they need when they need it
- listen and value everyone’s contributions and work towards shared solutions
- ensure that spaces feel safe for everyone
- ask “who have we missed?” and “what have we missed?” give the opportunity to be heard
Work in partnership
We will:
- co-produce how people will be involved before we start
- give equal value to the contributions from both lived experience and professional training, evaluating evidence together
- focus on the steps that can be taken, look at different ways of working to meet people’s needs
- show willingness to engage with difficult conversations
- understand that the outcome may be a compromise reached through shared understanding and the decisions explained clearly
- acknowledge the contributions of partners including use of logos with consent
Signed by: (This will signed by council leadership to commit their agreement)
Who to contact if you feel this is not being followed: (this will give contact details for who to raise issues with)
Ways of working:
- Information is giving people the information they need about services and changes
- Consultation is asking the opinions of people about changes being considered
- Engagement is asking people about their experiences and discussing ideas
- Co-design is working together to share their experience and including their ideas in the outcomes
- Co-production is where everyone works together, using their skills, knowledge and experience to create better outcomes through shared decision making
Involvement at different levels
How will we work on a strategic level
Involvement: policy, strategy and service design.
Possible limitations to co-producing fully: budgets and policy decisions are the legal responsibility of the responsible authority.
Best practice: directly involve EbEs as strategic partners, and inviteother groups as and when agreed.
How will we work on a service level
Involvement: working with those who are using or have recent experience of a service.
Possible limitations to co-producing fully: decisions informed by legislation, strategy and policy.
Best practice: involve service users and Experts by Experience and link in with local groups.
How we work on a individual level
Involvement: individuals having an influence on their own plans.
Possible limitations to co-producing fully: statutory decisions remain the duty of the responsible authority (ICB, WCC).
Best practice: support is informed by individuals, carers and their families.
Working Together Principles - feedback
From discussion with current EBEs we felt it is important to have a set of principles to guide how we work. This will be for staff and EBEs.
We are calling this our Working Together Charter.
So far we have worked with several of our EBEs to customise an existing example used by the Children's and Families teams.
We are eager to get feedback on what you think.
Does it include what you think is important?
Are you happy with the language used?
Please feel free to respond via comments on here or by email.
We are open to ideas on presentation and layout also. This will be our next stage once we have confirmed the content.