“Isn’t consultation brilliant!!”, says Jane Mindar, Independence Wellbeing Manager at SLH, on talking about how residents have been involved in a major re-paint at Edgecombe Court in Kendal.
“I love interacting with our Independence residents and find it inspiring – even when I am being challenged!
Consultation and resident involvement are key to the work which my team and I do and so I love to be out in the community talking with people as this influences the way we move and transform our service into something which is co-produced, evolving and valuable!
Recently I have been consulting with Edgecombe Court residents on a major re-paint of the scheme, using a dementia friendly colour palette (developed from our brand colours) which is used in a DDA compliant* way.
I want to develop friendly, warm and modern spaces through refreshing our schemes and this is the start! But this has to be driven via resident involvement with meaningful conversations – and we have had three sessions so far with a follow up session this week to see how people are finding the changes so far.
*DDA compliant, refers to meeting accessibility standards formerly under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, now largely covered by the Equality Act 2010. It requires service providers and employers to make “reasonable adjustments” to ensure public buildings, services, and workplaces are accessible to disabled people, covering ramps, toilets, signage, and doorway widths.
The good news is that the overall response is positive and the residents I spoke with like the way that the lounge feels brighter and they are now excited about getting a new carpet and furniture.
I think this consultation has raised aspirations and promoted their appetite for involvement and improvement in terms of the environment and the service offering.
It is a start of this journey towards more innovations and modernisation – and I think it is an exciting place to be with our inclusive vibrant new SLH culture which wraps beautifully around what we do as Independence! Watch this space!“
Here is Jane consulting with another SLH resident at Birthwaite in Windermere.
You can find out more about Jane and our Independence at SLH service, which specialises in offering housing for people over 60, here.
