People’s experiences of Self-directed Support in Dumfries and Galloway

The ALLIANCE and Self Directed Support Scotland have published a report on people's experiences of social care/SDS in Dumfries and Galloway.

This report is part of a suite of Local Authority reports collated during the largest direct consultation of SDS to date – My Support, My Choice: User Experiences of Self-directed Support in Scotland (MSMC). The national report and the five thematic reports have been quoted in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care and provided key evidence for Social Work Scotland’s trialling of the new Self-directed Support (SDS) Standards.

My Support My Choice: People’s Experiences of Self-directed Support and Social Care in Dumfries and Galloway highlights evidence of good practice and where improvements can be made in Dumfries and Galloway. We hope it can assist in the strategic planning and delivery of future SDS and social care.

The Easy Read summary of the report is available here.

The views expressed by research participants and analysis of the findings have led to a number of recommendations, many of which echo other independent reviews of SDS:

• People need good access to publicly available, high quality information about SDS/ social care, in a range of accessible and tailored formats.
• Sufficient time must be allocated for needs assessments and review meetings, to allow for detailed questions and consideration of the four SDS options.
• Further information and training for professionals is required about the four SDS options and supported decision making. 
• People benefited when travel costs were included in their SDS budgets.
• Independent advocacy, independent advice and support organisations, and local peer networks and resources should be encouraged and supported. 

The report also includes a response from Dumfries and Galloway HSCP, who said:  

“Dumfries and Galloway Council and Health and Care Partnership welcome the My Support My Choice research and findings as valuable and informative. It is encouraging that most people said in their responses that Self Directed Support had improved their lives and we would want to identify and continue good practice to this end. We have considered the recommendations and the range of feedback on people’s experiences in our response. […] We accept that we need to make improvements in the information we make available more generally and ensure the four options are fully explored with people, supporting them to make their own informed decisions. This requires adequate time to be allocated for meetings and we need to make sure that our staff have sufficient time to do this. […] We look forward to further opportunities to engage with individuals and communities to inform the ongoing improvement in the consistent delivery of Self-directed Support across our Region.” 

The research team are organising an online feedback session with key stakeholders from Dumfries and Galloway on Thursday 11th November from 11am – 1pm. The event will start at 11.02am to allow people to observe Remembrance if they wish.

Please register for the free session and join the conversation as we explore the delivery of SDS at every stage of the process, from first contact, to assessment, establishing eligibility, allocating resources, support planning and reviews.  To register, please visit the SDSS Eventbrite page (this link will take you away from our website).

The input of those living and/or working in Dumfries and Galloway is very valuable in discussing next steps.

If you have any questions about the research, please email Dr Hannah Tweed, Senior Policy Officer at the ALLIANCE (hannah.tweed@alliance-scotland.org.uk) or Mark Han-Johnston, Membership Development Executive at SDSS (mark@sdsscotland.org.uk).

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