Gathering meaningful service user feedback regarding a community forensic service

Abstract

Purpose – Engaging with people with a learning disability to develop and enhance service provision is central to the ethos of personalisation and citizenship. Despite this there appears to be a lack of research to gather users’ views on how they feel the services meet their unique needs and how these could be improved. A service evaluation was developed to understand service user’s experience of accessing a community forensic service (CFS). The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The questionnaire was conducted by an independent third party experienced in facilitating complex communication, utilising a written format and Widget Rebus symbols. Questions were based on Trust Values, family and friends test and clinical forensic engagement. The samples were service users open to the CFS on 1 July 2014. Findings – Data were gathered from 28 individuals, there was an even spread of ages 17-65. In all, 93 per cent understood what help they needed from the service, there was acknowledgement of who they would go to if they wanted to complain, 100 per cent were happy with how information had been provided, most felt the service was respectful, fair, friendly and they were listened to. Practical implications – The findings suggest that more needs to be done around understanding and engagement in care planning. There are plans to gather information from direct carers and setting up focus groups to further understand some of the issues and ways forward. Originality/value – Asking for feedback from people who have offended, some of whom now experience increased restrictions, is fraught with concern and approached with trepidation. However, the responses received contradict the natural instincts. The results showed promising appreciation of the support received in the context of everyday lives and positive risk taking.