Preparation - What this means for Imran
Preparation for the process:
Imran is used to having around a week's notice prior to his CPA review, which most often happens during one of his routine appointments at the Psychiatrist Outpatients Clinic.
However, as the review meeting will follow a different process this time, Ray (Imran's CPN) agrees a date with Imran two months in advance, so that Imran can prepare properly and also involve his family, who need more notice to attend. Ray explains the process and timescales to Imran and they talk about the best way for Imran to be at the centre of the process.
Imran has an indication of his likely budget allocation based on the previous assessment. As no major changes have taken place in Imran's situation, preparation takes place on the basis that the budget will remain at approximately the same level.
Preparation by Imran:
Imran asks Claire, his support worker from the Day Service he attends, to help him prepare. Imran gets on well with Claire and considers her to be independent of his doctors as she is not part of his care team. Imran has always been keen to have more control over his support, so wants to do as much as he can. Claire's role is to help Imran to think about what matters to him, what is working and not working in his life and what he wants in the future.
Claire and Imran also consider who he would like to be present at the meeting and what support he needs in the meeting. Imran usually relishes a big meeting and the chance to talk directly to his care team, so he is happy for everyone involved in his support to attend and for his father to be present as well.
Imran talks about his great desire to get back to work and how important this is to him. Himself and Claire proceed to capture what matters to him and this is shared with Imran's support team before the review meeting. Claire also makes sure that Imran has the information he needs to feel in control of the process and to be able to explain what is happening to his family. As well as this, Imran asks to discuss what is happening, rather than have information in writing and he also asks to have some basic information (leaflets) to share with his family.
Imran has close contact with an Imam at a local Mosque, so Claire suggests that she and Imran see what possible support is available for Imran from the Mosque in order to help with preparation for the personalised care and support planning meeting/CPA review.
As a priority, Claire ensures that she understands the points Imran wants to make in relation to his support, as his main concern is not being able to express himself clearly in the meeting.
Preparation by the practitioner:
Ray (Imran's care-coordinator), takes responsibility for ensuring everything is ready for the 'What Matters' conversation to take place.
This includes:
- Discussing suitable venues with Imran.
- Making sure all the relevant health information (blood tests, psychology report etc.) are up to date.
- Speaking to any relevant third parties if they are not able to attend the meeting.
Ray is able to answer any queries before the meeting and ensures that everyone involved had allocated enough time.
Following the conversation, Ray works with Imran to review his crisis plan, which gives details of how he is to be supported, should his mental health deteriorate.
Ray also works with Imran to identify any issues which he does not want to discuss in the meeting. For example, Imran mentions difficulties he has with relationships with his family. Ray agrees to refer Imran for psychology support and for this not to be discussed in the meeting as Imran's family will be there.