Co-production in the real world in Worcestershire

Challenge

Both organisations faced a potential barrier to full Co-Production due to a fixed timescale outside their control.

Key to successful co-production

Both concluded that the most important element of successful Co-Production was clear communication, both with internal staff involved and with people who would use the service externally.

Worcestershire Adult Social Care has recently launched a Co-Production forum called Building Together. The forum will include a paid Board of 10 people with lived experience and carers, as well as a peer network.

• Co-production Week 2023
• Worcestershire: Building Together through co-production

At the recent Building Together launch event there was emotion and applause in the room when the Director of Adult Social Care, Mark Fitton, signed a pledge to Co-Production on behalf of the council. The trauma informed pledge was created by the People with Lived Experience Advisory Group of the West Midlands Social Work Teaching Partnership. Worcestershire Adult Social Care is the first local authority to commit to the pledge and it is already changing practice.

Carrie Lewis, New Possibilities visual practitioner, captured the voices of people who shared their experiences at the launch event. We are using the visual tool to focus on what people told us Co-Production means to them and how we can work in a true partnership approach. The focus on clear language which people understand is already changing what language we use as an organisation.