Development & Training

The development work we do involves assisting the development of new organisations and services, supporting new initiatives, running participative review and planning events, working with service user and advocacy groups towards achieving their aims, building more person centred services, designing and running customised development and training sessions for groups and organisations.

For example:

• Service Users’ and Carers’ Guidelines for health and community care assessors (for the Scottish Executive). A full report of the project ‘Development of tools to measure service user and carer satisfaction with single shared assessment’ can be found on the Scottish Executive website.
• A practical toolkit for including the views of people with cognitive impairment, including dementia, in care home inspections with Dementia Services Development Centre (for the Care Commission).
• ‘Care you can depend on’ – standards for acute psychiatric care based on patients’ and ex-patients’ views and experiences (with service users and staff at the Crichton Royal Hospital, Dumfries).
• Helping the development of new organisations: Advocacy Highland, Lanarkshire Links.
• Development and training sessions for groups and organisations including:  ARC Scotland User Involvement Network, Perth Women’s Aid, Stirling Women’s Aid, Management Development Network Scotland, Edinburgh University Social Work Students, Powerful Partnerships Partners’ Committee, Hartwoodhill Hospital Clinical Management Team, Angus Council Housing Assessment Officers, Mental Health Care and Treatment (Scotland ) Act training on behalf of Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance.
• Long term support in a changing environment to Hartwoodhill Patients Council, a collective advocacy group for people living in Hartwoodhill psychiatric hospital.