The Co-production Group will be made up of people with lived experience of a person centred approach to health and social care. They will help deliver and shape the Greater Manchester Health and Care Partnership’s programmes, including personal health budgets and broader person and community centred initiatives.
Person and Community Centred Approaches Programme: Strategic CoProduction Group
At the heart of the devolution plans to take charge of health and care in Greater Manchester, is a commitment to a new relationship with the people living here. All health and care organisations across the region have signed up to enabling more people to take control of their own health and wellbeing and to help others within their communities to do the same. This includes a whole range of ways that people can stay healthy and independent, and live as good a life as possible. This might mean being part of groups to get more confidence and knowledge about managing their health, having better conversations with health professionals, or to designing their health or social care support using a ‘personal budget’.
A programme is being set up across Greater Manchester to help make these changes happen. As part of this programme a Co-production Group is being set up to help make sure that all the changes are developed with people with lived experience. The group will be made up of people with lived experience of a person centred approach to health care, including first-hand experience of personal health budgets and/or other ‘person centred’ approaches. Invitations are now open for members to join this new group which will be made up of people from across Greater Manchester.
More details
The Co-production Group will play an important role in the development delivery of Greater Manchester’s Person and Community Centred Approaches programme and in helping make it happen. Specifically the group will:
1. Have a leadership role and champion approaches to health and care that put the person at the centre – such as person centred planning, selfmanagement and personal health budgets;
2. Ensure that what people are being offered through the programmes is clear, empowering, outcomes-focused and makes sense to them;
3. Promote what is important and what works for people with ‘lived experience’ regarding health and care services;
4. Enable a feedback loop to the Greater Manchester programme, plus national programmes working in this area so that they are more aware of how things are going ‘on the ground’.
It’s been an incredible journey working within a supportive team who are equally passionate and genuine about helping shape future policy around personalisation, never losing focus on reminding everyone involved that it's about people." – Mel, Member of the Strategic Co-production Group, Lincolnshire
Who can join?
Greater Manchester Health and Care Partnership is inviting applications from people with lived experience of a person centred way of working for themselves or a family member they care for, such as having been part of a peer support network, having taken part in person centred planning or having a personal health budget or personal budget for social care.
Co-production Group members will be involved in the thinking about how this change is supported across health and social care in Greater Manchester. This might include getting involved in the design of ways of doing things; working with health and care community teams; speaking at events or talking to other people who use health and care support. You will connect to other important co-production groups, such as the Learning Disability Confirm and Challenge group, or local Healthwatch organisations, to help build up strong relationships and a stronger voice for people with lived experience across Greater Manchester. There will also be the chance to be involved in work beyond Greater Manchester, with a link to a national co-production group.
Members need a range of experience, skills and abilities, including experience of having taken part in a person centred way of getting health and care support. This could be having a personal budget for health or care (or supporting a family member with one), having experienced self-management or self-help, or benefitted from having a really good person centred planning conversation. Members will need self-awareness, good listening and analytical skills, and an understanding of the challenges of making these kind of changes to the health and care system.
Members are expected to attend the national Peer Leadership Academy that will be held in Loughborough in September, Co-production Group meetings every six weeks, big events every six months and read relevant materials. Members may also get the chance to speak at events and input to other programme work on a voluntary basis.
Members will be reimbursed for their time and travel and have support to arrange travel to any meetings outside of Greater Manchester (and their personal assistants). This opportunity is for people who live in Greater Manchester, this includes:
“The Co-production Group has been about ensuring that the voice of those of us in seldom heard groups are shaping the work that the NHS is focusing on to make a real difference to peoples’ lives. The Strategic Coproduction Group is about action and not just words.” – Isaac, Member of the Strategic Co-production Group, London
How can I join?
If you would like more information about becoming a Co-production Group member, you can email Jo Fitzgerald (jo.fitzgerald [at] nhs.net) or Oliver Benson (oliver.benson [at] nhs.net)
Application forms can be requested by emailing Oliver Benson or Jo Fitzgerald and the deadline for completed applications is 21 August 2017.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview in central Manchester on 7th September
More Information
If you require more information about the Peer Leadership Academy, the national personal health budget and Integrated Personal Commissioning programmes, please see People Hub website (www.peoplehub.org.uk) and NHS England website (www.england.nhs.uk)
(GMCDP does not necessarily support or promote any organisation, individual or website mentioned in this post.)
