Service user advisory group

"I had a short course of CBT self-help sessions. It was very helpful and I have a toolkit for taking things forward. It was a very useful investment of my time."

“The Service User Involvement group, or SUAG for short, is a warm and welcoming group where all ideas and input are welcome. You are able to share your ideas without judgement and get involved with the service. SUAG thrives of off the new ideas and feedback that only Service users can provide. One such Example is the service wide event, where we were able to share what the group was about and the things we did. As a result, we had staff members ask us many questions on how they can improve how the service is received by the users. They were very keen to know how they can best improve their care for the service users. Another example would be our feedback towards the social media page that was set up to help outreach to the young person’s group, and those who use social media. We also helped support various workshops and assisted with research projects and website design. SUAG is a great place to have your voice heard and to make a difference.”

“The service user group gives me a chance to really understand what clients want from our service. It gives us a chance to hear about what we do well and what we can do better. I have worked with service users on workshops and have received very useful feedback when developing projects and am very grateful for the input.”

“I've not been involved with the service user group (SUAG) very long, I'm still finding my feet. Everyone has been great and welcoming. I felt if I could contribute something it would be giving a little back. After all the aim is to improve the service and what better way by gathering the opinions and thoughts of people who have used the service.”

“Being part of the Service user group is so important as it embeds what we do right and how we can improve, what is even better is having the groups thoughts before we start new projects, improving the chance of getting things right, from the beginning. To work together and collaborate or hear the stories of others is empowering and gives a greater understanding to staff and a better sense of why we should continue to do the best job we can. The group has come a long way since it started and supported in so much it is a pleasure to see the growth and to be one of the members.”

“SUAG (Service User Advisory Group) welcomes all Service Users who feel that improvements ought to be made to the Services and would like their voices heard. The role of the Group is to hear what these improvements are and work towards improving the system. It is very important that Service Users attend the meetings, if only, to sample the atmosphere and contribute what they feel about the Services as well as to see how the Group functions. The meetings take place every 4-6 weeks or thereabouts and every person's home and personal circumstances are taken into account. The meetings are very cordial and everybody's view/opinion is taken into consideration when discussions take place on any issues put forward to the Group for discussion. No person is forced to have a view or opinion if they don't have one. The Group makes efforts to reach a decision by consensus so that everyone feels that they have made a contribution. It is vitally important for Service Users to participate in the Group to ensure any changes made are effective and that future Service Users can use the Services with confidence.”

“I have always enjoyed working with Service Users, so being part of the Service User Working Group to get their feedback on how to develop the service and get more service users involved to make changes and a difference to the service.”

“I was inspired to join the Service User Working Group after hearing from the Service User members at one of our staff meetings, I was incredibly inspired by their stories and passion for improving the experience for future service users. I enjoy working together to explore the ways we can develop and continue to provide the best service we can!”