Medequip is making strides towards co-production in community equipment services with the help of Social Care Future and Community Catalysts. Recently, they hosted a workshop to get feedback from local councils responsible for community equipment provision in their area.
The event gave people a chance to tell their stories and make suggestions on how the provision could be improved. The feedback was incredibly valuable, and reflected many of the Making It Real statements – such as ‘I can live the life I want and do the things that are important to me as independently as possible’.
In order to support this move towards co-production in community equipment services, Medequip has been working closely with experts in the field of social care and support. This includes TLAP, who have created the Making it Real framework to ensure that people accessing services receive good personalised care and support.
So what does this mean for care professionals? It means that they have an important role to play in facilitating change and ensuring that people get access to the equipment they need. A key part of this is making sure that any changes are tailored to individual needs and preferences, as well as exploring ways to simplify the process of requesting and receiving equipment.
To ensure successful co-production in community equipment services, care professionals should consider investing in digital solutions such as apps or other online systems. These can help streamline the process of ordering parts and repairs for ‘specials’, as well as providing timely notifications when repairs or deliveries are due. In addition, professionals should work closely with people accessing services in order to ensure that any new systems are implemented with their needs in mind.
Ultimately, co-production in community equipment services could greatly improve people’s lives, by giving them more independence and control over the care they receive. Care professionals have a key role to play in ensuring that this happens, so it’s important to act now and start exploring ways to make it a reality.
