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We have made changes in our services over the past couple of years, particularly in the way we support people to have more choice, control and flexibility in how they spend their time.
We know from talking to and working with people we support that things are better for many of them – but there will always be more to do.
We also commissioned an independent survey to hear the views of whānau. We randomly selected 542 people we support and, where possible, contacted their whānau. Of these whānau, 359 completed the survey – that’s a whānau member for 16% of the people supported by IDEA Services residential services. This is what the survey told us:
- Trust and confidence in the support workers who provided direct support to their family member: 88% of respondents were positive (satisfied or very satisfied), 4% were negative (unsatisfied/very unsatisfied)
- Involvement in their family member’s decision-making and day-to-day life: 78% positive, 9% negative
- Overall experience and relationship with IDEA Services in providing support to their family member: 89% positive, 5% negative
- The way IDEA Services supported their family member during COVID-19: more than 99% were positive/happy
- Communication with Service Manager: 68% positive, 14% negative. Many said they did not know their Service Manager due to staff changes. We’ll be looking at how we can ensure more consistency with those relationships.
- Overall experience and relationship with IDEA Services in relation to providing support to their family member: 88% positive, 5% negative.
Whānau were asked about the way we handle complaints. A third of respondents had laid a complaint and two-thirds said it had been resolved to their satisfaction. That left 14% of all respondents saying their complaints had not been resolved to their satisfaction. Some of those complaints were historical (up to 20 years ago) but others said that they hadn’t been well listened to or that agreed changes didn’t go far enough. We are looking into this.
Whānau were also asked what we did well, what we could do better and what they valued most about what we do. People wanted better communication, more staff (including more consistent staffing) and more activities for the people we support. They often told us the most important things were keeping people A) healthy (37%), B) happy (28%), C) occupied (25%), D) safe (14%) and E) properly cared for (14%). The most common responses to a question on what they valued most about IDEA Services were trust in the organisation (37%), genuine care for people supported (32%), the Support Workers (28%) and the long-term relationships (22%).
We received these survey results at the end of last year and, naturally, are pleased with some of the results and considering ways to address the areas where we need to do better. We look forward to updating you,
Ralph Jones
This story was published in Strong Voices. The magazine is posted free to all IHC members.
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