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Consulting properly and meaningfully with service users can take time, effort and energy, along with a chunky slice of resources. So much so that managers can be tempted to treat such exercises minimally, as a way of ticking the "service user consultation" box and leaving them free for their core business of meeting other like-minded managers in other like-minded organisations - something which not only ticks the "working in partnership" box but colours it in as well.

This kind of cynicism is refreshingly absent from an approach adopted by one learning difficulties partnership board. Made up of representatives of those involved across the client group, these boards exist to put into action the Valuing People ideas aimed at improving the lives of people with learning difficulties.

With so much to cover - person-centred planning, direct payments, work, advocacy, and so on - consultants for Buckinghamshire Council recommended grouping everything into four main categories:planning for lives, support for everyday living, life outside the home, and cross-cutting themes. The subgroups (of which there are 19) feed into the main groups to influence the county's learning difficulties strategy.

To give the whole thing organisational credibility, senior managers were nominated to chair each of the main groups, with other named staff taking the lead on each of the subgroups.

To allow service users a say, representatives from Talkback, a user-led, self-advocacy service in Buckinghamshire, were drafted in. "We speak up for other people who find it difficult to speak up for themselves," says Talkback member Peter Bolton.

But despite being involved from the beginning, service users struggled to make sense of it all. "With all the paperwork, I didn't know if I was coming or going," says service user Rob Beattie.

Fellow service user Fred Charman agrees: "It was nice to be asked but we had to be experts at everything and be everywhere - a bit like Superman."

Early on, Beattie was also puzzled by the idea of a partnership board, asking tongue-in-cheek: "What is a parsnip board?" And indeed that is how the board is now known informally.

Service users asked for a slower process. This gave time to introduce the idea of having service users co-lead on the four main groups with senior managers. "This made sure there was one of us up there who knew what it was like," says Stephen Baughan.

But with so much to get through, partnership board meetings were long.

"Now we split the day up," says Peter Loose, head of adult care services in the county. "In the morning we have workshops followed by lunch, which is also used for networking. In the afternoon we have two hours of reports from each of the main four groups; one is detailed and three are short. And we leave space open for what we call 'hot topics' so anything that has become a real issue for users can be raised."


Service users have a strong say in co-led monthly planning meetings and hold people to account. The discussions also throw up new ideas. Baughan asked why, now service users were involved in staff recruitment interviews, they didn't get to contribute to a worker's annual appraisal too. The meeting agreed that perhaps this should happen.

Stuart Mitchelmore, who has overall responsibility for producing the learning difficulties strategy, also suggested that perhaps he should have a service user co-lead for that role. This, too, will be acted on.

"We still have a way to go but we're heading the right way and that's what is so pleasing," says Mitchelmore.

Beattie agrees: "They've got used to us," he smiles.

LESSONS LEARNED

• Move at the pace and understanding of people with learning difficulties. If they are truly to inform service plans they must understand how they can do that and challenge any failure to act on their ideas.
• Everyone involved needs to be kept informed of what's going on. For example, the minutes of the partnership board meetings are summarised in a two-page newsletter and sent to everybody.
• Find ways for people with learning difficulties to express themselves. Talkback members make powerful use of picture stories and video presentations.