Margaret is a member of the Carers Manchester Lived Experience Panel. In this article, she reflects on her experiences of coproduction.
Last September I heard that Carers Manchester were recruiting carers for a Lived Experience Panel, to help to coproduce their policies and programs. I applied and was accepted. Originally three panel members and staff from Carers Manchester (Emma, Eve, and Yusuf) formed a working group to plan the best ways to arrange meetings which would fit in with carers’ lifestyles. Meanwhile the organisers were recruiting others and introducing them to the panel to widen the range of experience.
We have had mixed success. We have more members now, but we are noticeably short of men and people who live in North Manchester. The panel meets monthly, alternating between online and face to face meetings at various locations around Manchester.
The panel’s membership is open to unpaid carers who want to ensure that carers are listened to when services and strategies are developed. Its purpose is to provide a space for carers to have a voice and share power with professionals, so that their expertise is used to make positive change for carers in the city.
Panel members can get involved in as many or as few projects as they want and can choose which ones interest them. The meeting arrangements for different projects vary in length and frequency. The staff team are there to help with any difficulties.
So far, I have been involved in the working group which was about setting up a system that worked as well as possible for carers. I have also joined the Short Breaks Strategy and the Hospital Discharge Project. Some of you will be aware of the consultation that Carers Manchester have been doing for the Short Breaks Strategy. We have done an online survey, several one-off consultations and the staff team have been visiting some carers’ groups. You might have seen the summary of the consultation and draft strategy on the Carers Manchester website.
Pictured above: the priorities of the Carers Breaks Strategy, which Margaret advised on.
The Carers Breaks Strategy has been moving quickly as it needs to be ready to be presented to various boards on a tight schedule. So, thank you to all of you who have contributed your thoughts already. Staff from Carers Manchester and the City Council who have been doing all the arduous background work are pulling the final pieces together now.
It has been an interesting few months. Some weeks have been busy, while on other weeks there has been little to do. The Carers Breaks Strategy group has been particularly satisfying. Breaks of some kind are provided by several voluntary organisations, but information can be hard to find. Once the strategy has been finished, the next stage is to make sure that carers know what breaks are available and how to access them.
If anyone is unsure about getting involved with the panel, please try it. Particularly if you are a man or live in or look after someone from North Manchester. We are still recruiting, and Emma, Eve, and Yusuf will take good care of you and gently ease you into projects that interest you. Some last for a while but there are some one-off opportunities to start you off. The panel members are very friendly. We are also trying hybrid meetings with some people meeting in person and others online. This is an exciting time for lived experience involvement. Organisations are changing and policies are being decided. It is the people who use the services who really know whether they work or not and can have ideas to make them work better.
