Over2You is a project run by South Yorkshire Housing Association. Volunteers seek out the views of people with lived experiences of health and social care services, including mental health services, to find out what people think makes up good quality health and social care. These volunteers are also people who have had experience of using mental health services in the past, or may be a family member or carer or someone who has used a mental health service.
Over2You is a project run by South Yorkshire Housing Association. Volunteers seek out the views of people with lived experiences of health and social care services, including mental health services, to find out what people think makes up good quality health and social care. These volunteers are also people who have had experience of using mental health services in the past, or may be a family member or carer or someone who has used a mental health service.
The main principle of Over2you is to encourage active co-production so that services can deliver, design, evaluate and govern health and social care services with the person at the centre. This engagement and co-production can enable people, and their families and carers, to feel empowered and confident in using health and social care services. Volunteers deliver information sessions on quality standards and people’s rights.
All volunteers receive training and support accredited by the Open College Network and all work towards a level 1 or 2 recognised qualification. Training is designed to develop the person’s core skills to ensure that the person participating is well informed and supported. This includes confidence building, wellbeing, meaningful communication and others. Each volunteer’s role is tailored to meet their needs, objectives and goals.
So far Over2You has contributed to many improvements in the sector, nationally and locally, such as:
A one-page profile tool used for residents with mental health problems, complex needs, or homeless status. This contains information about a person’s personal preferences, such as when they would like to be visited, or situations when they would prefer to be left alone
Improved data collection on the experiences of people with learning disabilities, which led to a redesign of a garden area that was previously not accessible to all people
Improvements to waiting areas in Sheffield Teaching Hospital, including making the signage in the hospital clearer, using plain English in information and having Braille resources available.
