When?
On 23rd April I attended the 3rd National Co-Production Conference to run a workshop about the Hospital to Home project activity so far and to explore some of the tools and methodology I’ll be applying in our Working Groups – starting early next month and running for 6 months!
Who was there?
To help facilitate the workshop I was joined by three people involved in the project:
1. Lynne Morman: Team Manager, Social Work Department, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.
You can hear Lynne speak about the pathway from Hospital to Home in Dundee on the project website.
2. Lorri Smyth: Masters for Service Design Student, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), Dundee.
Lorri is supporting this project until August 2014 as part of her final Masters submission. In this capacity, she – plus two other students from the course – will be helping to facilitate the Working Group workshops (starting 2nd May 2014).
3. Margaret Hume: An informal carer.
Margaret is involved in the project as a participant in the Working Groups.
What did we do?
During this workshop we introduced participants to the overall findings of the Hospital to Home project to date before asking them to participate in a ‘Serious Play‘ activity using LEGO to map the current pathway from Hospital to Home for older people.
For this purpose, the group (36 participants) was split into four small groups with each group being asked to map the services and support currently available to older people within one of four pathways: 1. Straight home; 2. Step Down; 3. Early Supported Discharge; and 4. Straight to a Care Home.
Each group was then asked to use the LEGO to highlight what some of the issues with these services and support might be. They were also asked to identify the people involved in the pathway at each stage. For example, family members, informal carer(s), health and social care practitioners, community services and not forgetting to include the older person being discharged!
Each group was given 30 minutes to complete this task before providing feedback about their activity to the larger group.
The workshop concluded with a discussion about some of the ‘Golden Rules’ for Co-Production.
select the right people
Build and maintain relationships
Discuss expectations early and make sure everyone involved will benefit from the process
Be open and honest
Remember the facilitator is not the expert
Create a positive environment: encourage, involve, listen
What did the participants think?
“Facilitator suggested older people have a life before hospital – this is a key consideration to make co-production successful!”
“I liked the creative approach to stimulating the working group.”
“The main thing about co-production is around getting everyone involved to have an equal voice.”
“The importance of the PERSON is absolutely key.”
