New information for a new customer journey

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What we did

Derby City Council has used co-production to develop clear and easy to use customer information to support their new customer journey for SDS. New information that has been produced includes an assessment form, support planning tools for people using services, customer leaflets and staff handbook. A small project team was set up, led by the Personalisation Programme team and senior practitioners, who involved staff through a series of Process and Practice Forum meetings. These included representatives from all service areas and included service heads, team managers and practitioners. Representatives obtained feedback from their team colleagues then discussions were held in a workshop format to identify areas needing to be clearer and suggestions for improvement. First drafts were then produced to work on with people using services and carers. This took on a number of different forms, including a workshop on the design of a new customer friendly assessment form and input from the Council's Plain Talking Panel and Plain English Forum to get the views of members of the public who had little knowledge of adult social care. Input also came from the Citizen Leaders, a group of residents with a particular interest in adult social care who have completed the Sharing Knowledge course, aimed at people who wish to help the council deliver change and help others to make informed choices about their care. Staff working in adult social care assessment teams have received dedicated training on making best use of the new suite of information.

Why we did it

The reasons for the development of new resources and a new toolkit were to give customers consistent information and staff consistent guidance.



Outcome

The inclusive approach taken to re-designing SDS information has taken longer than if the council managed the process internally, but has resulted in much better information, as a consequence of people using services bringing their own perspective and experience. The co-production approach led to the development of key principles which can be used in other areas of communication. The approach is being continued.


Contact details

Olwen Wilson, Programme Manager -Personalisation, Derby City Council, Olwen.Wilson@derby.gov.uk, Tel: 01332 642742