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If you had a magic wand and could change one thing in treatment and recovery, what would it be?
I keep asking this question and professionals and service users don’t seem able to come up with one answer. Could it be that we all know that one thing would not be enough? That’s where service user involvement comes in. Because the sum of all those answers would get us started at least.
While I am on line, on the same line of thought, there is something that is really getting under my skin, more and more these days.
The government (Wales and England) have it in the statutes (oft repeated since, what, 2003 approx?) that service users should be part of, and be consulted about, every change, inovation, alteration, introduction to treatment etc. etc. And with the long awaited embracing of the inevitable, recovery.
So why doesn’t it happen? Not even with something as major as peer mentoring. It doesn’t – not locally, regionally or nationally. I know cause I was there. Throw up all the token examples that you can muster. It does not happen.
Because of this more than any other reason, these changes are doomed to failure. But who do the all wise commissioners, regional teams, but more than anyone else the service providers, blame? Right the service users. Ready made whipping boys.
Don’t you just love that line, “Ah, but addiction is a chronically relapsing condition.” What a get out, a ready made excuse. It is true, but point the finger and there are three pointing back.You can’t have a helper and helped philosophy and still blame the service users. Set them free. Empower them.
Still that continually repeated excuse is one that you can use when you go for the next batch of funding. Now that is something that the providers are good at acheiving (what you going to do when it runs out soon?). I know what you could do (and this has started) rope in the service users as volunteers right! Now you want service user involvement.
So what would you do if you had the power?
I know what I would do. Knock it down and start again. It’s not working. Who could do a worse job? Not service users and those in recovery. They are the future. They are the cure for this sick industry.
“Censorship reflects society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime”. ~ Potter Stewart.
I have no problem generally with some of the more opinionated blogs that appear from time to time on wired in. I would say though that blogging, in a sense, is a form of conversation and, as with all conversations, the main ingredient is listening.
I have learned such a lot from listening to contributors words on this site. So much so that I honestly say that wired in has changed me as a person. Could anybody with an ounce of humility help but be changed in some way?
Every time I log in I read personal stories that are humbling, sometimes I admit bringing a tear to my eye. There is a level of intelligence and intellect by some that can at times make you feel quite humble. I do know though, that that it is not intended that way.
There again, someone who may describe themselves as a bit simple minded or even thick, will come out with a gem of a thought that can be life changing in its content – coming as it does straight from the heart.
I have changed so much that I once took off some early blogs because I did not recognise them as being who I am now. I have also seen a change in tone and attitude in other more regular contributors than myself. Which is clear evidence that the original aims of the wired in community are clearly coming to pass. And the support, yes that is there in bucketfuls.
So I for one vow not to into reverse and become reactionary when I read a blog that I don’t agree with or that I feel is against the wired in spirit, thereby giving it an importance that it doesn’t deserve. I accept that everyone has a right to their own opinion and as I said at the start, I don’t believe in censorship.
But! I might just say, “Why don’t you just read these blogs brother, be humble, listen and learn.”
I am so proud of what our little group in Bridgend have achieved. Our beginnings were as a Recovery/mutual aid group. The kind of support that we wanted was not around, so we ‘did it ourselves’.
Service User Involvement was dying in the region and when we were asked to form an involvement group (we prefer involvement to user in our title), it was only natural that we would be taking Recovery with us. That was just two years ago and, due more to our Recovery focus than anything else, we have have just been put forward as best practice following a health inspectorate Wales visit.
There is an open honesty in the group that that most visitors and guests can’t helped to be charmed by. None of the hidden agendas that tend to blight involvement. What you see is what you get. That comes from putting our Recovery first.
We are equally proud of our independence. It is that which has led to us working easily with different providers, encouraging whenever possible cross agency working. For the sake of the service users.
We were invited to be part of the health inspectorate visit by two providers (so far). Present at the second of those meetings were a number of clients who had, for what ever reason, never been introduced to service user involvement.
I asked if it was OK with the health inspectorate guys if I talked on the subject and they were fine with that. So I talked to these clients about the way we see involvement, as being a part of developing recovery capital and pointed to our own personal development as proof. That is as big a part as improving provision and outcomes and monitoring.
We have three or four new members and the inspectorate guys were delighted!
We are very much supportive of the peer mentoring scheme that is being run out across the region. It is helping to foster good working relations with another agency as well as developing individuals confidence and esteem.
We look forward to members of the group becoming mentors themselves eventually, and due to having proved ourselves in this area look forward to new members being signposted to B.I.G. It’s the only way that it can work.
And bear in mind that what sold the whole thing to us is the fact that, not to far into the future, the whole big chunk of Recovery will be handed over and be peer to peer managed. Once the whole thing develops momentum it will be hard to stop it being anything else anyway. Trust me on that.
Someone on this site once said that you have to use whatever setting or conditions that are prevalent in your locality to develop Recovery. We are service users, we don’t have much in the way of money, property, recovery or social capital. But we are using what’s there and continuing to grow.
Happy days.
I hope you dont mind me using this blog for a service user thing. We have a great recovery agenda developing within service user involvement at the moment anyway. Wales service users, family and carers now have their own website complete with discusion forum. It is accessable through this link.
There were some teathing problems with the forum part but anyone who has tried unsuccessfully previously should try again. Its up and working. It is service user moderated and will deal with service user issues, ideas and mutual aid.
It will, first of all though, be dealing with questions, problems etc regarding the 2nd Welsh Service User conference which this time around is user led. The moderator is a member of the Welsh Service Users Representative Committee and has all the contacts needed to answer questions fairly quickly.
We can start taking ideas for blogs just to kick things off though and wouldnt it be nice if Recovery was there by popular demand!
On June 10th we will be holding the second all Wales service user conference in Wrexham. This years event is once again funded by the Welsh assembly and the service user conference planning group is formed by one representative from each of the seven health trusts in Wales.
In the last couple of weeks we have been dealing with one of the more obvious tasks, that of selecting and agreeing the topics and speakers for the agenda. Which for the most part have now been agreed. I was not sure of what the reaction would be when I put forward the topic of recovery, after all it doesn’t seem that long ago that if I did that in a meeting people would look at me as if I had two heads.
However the reaction was really positive, it seems that recovery is very much in the hearts and minds of the majority of those taking the lead with user involvement in Wales. The group also agreed that we ask David Best to speak on the subject ‘Recovery Models’, addressing issues such as peer orientated recovery services.
It is my privilege to send out invites to the guest speakers and I must thank David for his prompt reply confirming that he would be pleased to make himself available. We all look forward very much to listening to him on the day.
I have to thank David also for the series of talks that he has delivered in Wales over the last few months. These have been delivered to various levels of those involved with delivering drug and alcohol treatment here in Wales.
Now recovery is spoken about very openly at various meetings that I attend. And with some providers, knowing that I advocate recovery, there is a very real feeling of having a common cause and, whatever differences may arise, with so much positive energy moving toward a common goal these will easily be overcome.
For instance I did voice my concern some time back about the peer mentoring scheme being delivered by providers. I was concerned on two counts. One was that peer mentoring, as a major part of recovery, was being delivered by professionals not peers which is not how it should work. However, at least with one provider that I know, when the scheme is established it is being handed back to those in recovery to operate by themselves. This is how it is supposed to happen surely?
Secondly, those in treatment (that the mentoring scheme will naturally target) are the very same folk that one would expect to be in service user involvement. This has had a major negative impact on user involvement in some areas as I forecast that it would.
However the will seems to be there to use autonomous service user involvement as a means for the strengthening development of the life skills, confidence and focus necessary to move on toward recovery, after which they can move on into peer mentoring with confidence.
This method would help fulfill the providers statutory and human rights obligation regarding user involvement and help both the successful development of the individual within the peer mentoring scheme and their own personal recovery. And of course help improve the delivery and outcomes of treatment.
I was in very poor health for over two months leading up toward Christmas and even now my condition means that I get very little sleep every night. This means that with playing a massive amount of catch up and with the many positive projects that are developing virtually all I am doing is working and recovering my energy levels. So I don’t know when I will have the time (and energy) to blog next.
So I will take this opportunity to congratulate those involved in the forming of the UK Recovery Federation. It does not seem that long ago that we were waiting for ‘Wired In’ to come on line and what has been achieved in such a short space of time is certainly far beyond my expectations. Well done to everyone at ‘Wired’ for their hard work, sometimes in the face of quite heavy problems.
I really do want to attend the conference in Tameside and will bust a gut to make the time available. Hopefully I will get a belated opportunity to visit the ‘Breakfast Club’. I have introduced the idea to the area and it has been very well received. I think that the only thing stopping it moving forward is my lack of time and energy. However we are developing an outreach drop in in a town nearby that has no treatment services. Its mental health and drugs/alcohol, lots of user involvement and very much a recovery focus AND they have a great kitchen in the church we are using!
Something else I would love to visit is Oliver’s NHS voluntary work in the Wirral. Our own group have been working toward acting as volunteers within hospital, particularly as mentors for those going through detox and beyond, hopefully to the point where the peer mentoring scheme takes over. Thus offering continuous support and filling a major gap that exists at present. They have taken things a lot further in the Wirral and I would love to take a look ( a couple of us already have our badges by the way!).
Well I have to get some of that rest I talked about. There is another long week ahead. You never know, perhaps the medication from the ear, nose and throat specialist will kick in. In any event I will be visiting these pages for the unstinting support and strength one gets from the members here!
Brian White
David Clark
Kev
Masha Bennett
Melody
recoactive
Sarah Davies
Stephen Bamber
Tony A