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We conducted a short survey amongst our followers in recent weeks, to capture the experiences of both service users and staff within children's disability services, focusing on the area of communication.
As part of the survey we asked participants to rate their experiences, identify the barriers to successful communication and put forward their proposals on how the issues identified maybe addressed by service providers.
Brief Synopsis
71.5% of the respondents have experience with the the service prior to the reconfiguration.
94.32% are family members of a child living with a disability.
3.41% are children's disability service staff members.
7.95% of participants have had no communication since the reconfiguration in 2021. Two thirds of them are living in the South East.
There has been an increase of 33% in participants rating the communication from service providers as poor, post reconfiguration.
Staff stated that communication is both an internal and external issue. The barriers to effective communication are concerning and call for a real need for the service to be more open with service users and their families. Whilst staff shortages are an identified issue and certainly measures are been taken to address that problem. The suggestions to improve communication are certainly within the capabilities of the service, if the will is there. Progressing Disability Services model is a family centred model and communication with families should be a priority.