Inspirational Human Services

As some of you may know, I am currently doing a Masters Degree with the University of Ulster - an MSc in 'Innovation Management in the Public Sector'. I know the title is somewhat oxymoronic, but it is a very interesting course, particularly as I am the only non 'public-servant' on the course! We have 3 day intensive residentials every couple of month, and have to submit an assignment in the intervening period. The students are half from Northern Ireland and half from the Irish Republic.

Anyway, on our latest course we had a presentation from folks at Oldham Council in England, who have revolutionised the provision of services for people with support needs due to issues related to their health or disability. In their old system, social workers and others would do an assessment of the needs of an individual and then offer support based on available services. This model is problematic as there is often a mis-match between the services available and the needs of the individual, or certain services may not be available when needed. For example, one person talked about being given 3 wheelchairs by different parts of the system, each to be used for particular activities - when what they needed was one good chair that met their needs.

The solution was simple, but radical. They put the patient in the driving seat, and each one designs their own support plan, based on their own needs. For example, Gavin - who was diagnosed with MS - was able to get funding for a season ticket for someone to accompany him to football matches to see his beloved local team. As his vision is affected by his condition, his escort not only helps him to get to the matches, but can provide commentary when he is having problems seeing the action. They have a stack of examples of these plans on a website Gavin - a former social worker - has put together to tell the stories of this new service. Check it out here.

In addition to the obvious benefits to clients, the new approach has had an enormous impact on the staff involved - developing amongst them a strong sense of civic purpose, and re-energising workers who were burnt out and cynical. I found it truly inspiring and challenging - there is so much others can learn from the approach adopted in Oldham.