National Co-production Week is back for an eighth year, from 3rd July 2023. It celebrates the benefits of co-production, shares good practices, and promotes the contribution of people who use services. Co-production offers the chance to transform social care and health provision into a model that offers people real choice and control.
At Bright Futures we believe that co-production starts from the idea that no one group, or person is more important than any other group or person and that everyone who is supported by Bright Futures is skilled.
What is Co-production?
Co-production is an approach where we work in partnership with people who have lived experience (of using care services), their support staff, families, and other community members. Co-production is a way of working that involves people who use health and care services, support staff, and communities in equal partnership; and which engages these groups of people at the earliest stages of service design, development, and evaluation.
Why is Co-production important?
Co-production acknowledges that people with ‘lived experience’ are often best placed to advise on what support and services will make a positive difference to their lives. Done well, co-production helps to ground discussions in reality and to maintain a person-centred perspective. Co-production is part of a range of approaches that includes involvement, participation, engagement, and consultation. It is a cornerstone of person-centred care approaches. Person Centred Planning ensures that we put the person at the centre of their plan and make them as fully involved as they can be in its creation. Co-production describes a way of working that is in partnership with the people we support, their families and those important to them, and which gives control to them.
Person-centred planning is a process of constant review, learning, and listening. Person-centred planning focuses on the immediate and the future, considering the needs, thoughts, concerns, and opinions of the individual, and consulting their family and friends and others within their personal network. Taking a person-centred approach helps individuals identify their own aspirations, and mobilises those concerned, including their support staff, families, and other people important to them, to help people to pursue their personal ambitions.
