Diary room tells tale of adult support services in Shropshire

‘Real-life’ views of people who use adult support services in Shropshire are playing a part in the work to improve how services are delivered in future.

A series of diary room films were recorded as part of the “Personalisation: Our Stories” event held recently at Shirehall, when people spoke about what worked well and what could be better about their support.

A variety of points were raised, ranging from positive stories of meeting new people and experiencing new things, to the difficulties of accessing services due to a lack of transport.

People also explained what life had been like following changes to services, such as doing different things following the closure of a day centre.

John Morris, who supports Chris one day a week, said there were benefits to having a more flexible way of accessing services, such as being able to arrange trips to meet friends.

But he said transport could be a problem because people lived in different areas and could not always arrange a lift or a taxi.

He said:

“We have started doing our own thing, so once a month we meet up with a group of friends and that’s working reasonably well; except, if you don’t have transport or can’t get a taxi it fouls up – we’ve been out six or seven times in the last few months.”

Other people who took part in the diary room included Grace, 20, who is recovering from a serious road accident when she was 17.

She said a personal budget allowed her to socialise more with friends, but also said transport was a difficulty which sometimes made it harder to do things.

The diary room was part of the “Personalisation: Our Stories” event which took place in April 2014, and highlighted the variety of support available across the county, often provided by voluntary and community groups and charities.

Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult services – transformation and safeguarding, said:

“The event was a great success and very well attended.  I think people found the information about the services on offer very useful, and it was a great chance to meet people and find out what support is out there.

“The diary room gave people the opportunity to talk about their experiences of using adult social care in Shropshire.  What works?  What doesn’t?  How can things improve?

“We are very grateful to the people who took the time to use the diary room.  These real-life views will form an important part of our continuing work to give people more control and choice over their care.”