Carers in Milton Keynes praised as team consult service users

Carewatch Milton Keynes has consulted its service users on how to improve its services and care for the elderly and two people seized the opportunity to put their views forward and provide positive feedback.

Yvonne Driscoll, from Milton Keynes, suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal damage and a blood disorder. She has been wheelchair bound for a number of years and considers her care workers to be “her angels.”

Jayne Young, head of learning and development at Carewatch, introduced Yvonne to Anna Murphy, specialist trainer for MS who also offers courses on MS to service users’ families and friends. Yvonne has provided great insight into what MS patients go through on a day to day basis.

Yvonne, who has offered her expertise on the recruitment panel, is also nominating her care workers for the iCARE awards.

Yvonne said: “Their heart is in it. If they find anything on my body like a sore, they sort it out and report it straight away. They’re my angels, I have a good laugh with my care workers.”

Another service user, Hazel Dean, says she owes her life to her care workers when they called an ambulance when she was unconscious.

Hazel’s care workers put together a small notebook and continue to write reminders as she suffers from memory loss, and this has been hugely helpful to Hazel. She said: “We wouldn’t be able now without you. My care workers are wonderful.”

Milton Keynes is the latest stop on Carewatch’s year-long mission to offer every one of its 10,000 service users and 5,000 staff across the UK the chance to feedback how they can improve delivery of care across nearly 60 offices. Service users range from elderly people to those living with physical or cognitive considerations.

Jayne aded: “It’s vital that our service users can contribute their views and have a greater involvement in the shaping of our services.

“We are grateful to our service users in Milton Keynes for their kind words and we are looking forward to implementing their ideas and seeing the impact on future care across the UK.”

By August 2018, the learning and development team – Jayne Young and senior trainer Dawn Haggar - plan to have visited every office in the country.

Visit: www.carewatch.co.uk