Service User Involvement in Social Services
Friday, October 14, 2005

Service Users Involvement in Social Services was the name of the conference which was held today at the Radisson SAS Bay Point in St. Julian’s, organized by the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity, the Council of Europe and Aġenzija APPOĠĠ.

The concept of service user involvement is still a relatively new concept in Malta, mainly concerning involvement of those service users / clients for whom services are delivered by government and non-government entities, in shaping the quality and nature of these services. Users can be involved in several phases of service provision - those of policy making, planning, delivery and evaluation. Literature in this area argues and experience shows that the more users are consulted on and actively participate in service provision, the more the services will be appropriate to meeting the needs of users.

The aim of the conference is to raise awareness about the critical need to involve the users of services in the development of policy as well as their participation in the delivery of services. Aġenzija APPOĠĠ has taken the initiative to develop a leaflet for professionals and for users of services which spells out how this participation can be put into practice. This information was presented during the conference.

Hon. Dolores Cristina, Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, in her concluding address, emphasised the need for accountability towards service users who have the right of involvement in the quality and type of service that they receive. It is not always easy for users to understand how to access services aimed to help them; active involvement of users in the provision and management of social services could help to bridge this gap. The Minister added that social services should seek to empower their users towards independence and taking control of their lives, rather than making them dependent on systems.

Mr. Gerada challenged service operators about their willingness to involve the users in the delivery of the services. He emphasised that the concept of user involvement works hand in hand with the concept of quality charters and customer care. However, Mr. Gerada said, that the user involvement concept goes even further as it places the client at the centre of decision making and hence holding the operations accountable as well as be a catalyst for change.

This comment was also reiterated by Profs. Brian Munday, Consultant from the Council of Europe, who was the key note speaker at this conference. Profs. Munday asked whether service users are really involved in social services or merely passive recipients. He emphasized that the aim of this conference is to examine policies and practices across Europe to see what may be learned by individual countries.

Other speakers addressing the conference, which was chaired by Ms. Yvonne Mallia, Operations Director of Aġenzija APPOĠĠ, were Hon. M’Louise Coleiro, Spokesperson for the Opposition on Family & Social Solidarity, Ms. Maryanne Gauci, Service Manager of the Adult and Family Services of Aġenzija APPOĠĠ and Ms. Catherine Fleri Soler, Service Manager of the Community and Generic Services of Aġenzija APPOĠĠ.

Hon. Coleiro, in her address, emphasised the importance of service user involvement and sustained this by bringing out the practical perspective by referring to experiences she met personally through her role. Her suggestion was to enhance the already existing legal framework. Ms. Gauci spoke about the concept of service user involvement in the context of social services in the Maltese context, while Ms. Fleri Soler continued with examples of best practice of service user involvement in the local scene. She gave examples of where and how service user involvement has been used within Aġenzija APPOĠĠ and the outcome of these experiences.

Present for the conference were also several service users. All participants discussed various issues in relation to Service User Involvement during the workshops that were, which also resulted in various recommendations.

The two leaflets launched at this conference may be obtained free of charge from the marketing office of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services at 2, Braille Street, Santa Venera. Those interested in getting a copy of the said leaflets can contact Ms. Rosalie Vella Piscopo on 23885118.

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