User Involvement

We aim to encourage user involvement in all aspects of our support and at all levels of our organisation:

• Service users are encouraged to contribute to business planning. For example, the Federation holds various events throughout the year at which opinion is sought, e.g. AGM, World Mental Health Day event;
• We prepare a quarterly newsletter to which users contribute and which seeks user feedback, and we undertake other user consultation;
• Service users have a Support ‘Action Plan’ designed to incorporate needs and goals for support as defined by the service user. This action plan is reviewed three monthly, or more often as required or requested by the service user. This is prepared in accordance with our Person Centred Assessment and Support Planning policy;
• Service users contribute to the planning and running of events, groups, trips and other activities;
• Our constitution requires that our Board includes at least 4 trustees who are service users or carers; in practice the level of user involvement is often higher than that;
• Service user trustees are actively involved in the work of the Federation including attending new staff interviews and service user panels.