Exemplar Health Care has celebrated the impact and achievements of its Service User Council in 2023.

Over 20 Service User Ambassadors from across Exemplar Health Care’s homes gathered for a Christmas party at Rotherham United’s AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Sophia Feurtado-Jackson, service user engagement manager at Exemplar Health Care, said: “From humble beginnings with just a few members to now having over 50 Ambassadors, I am overwhelmed with pride and joy at what we have achieved with the Service User Council.

“The broad range of business areas the Council has engaged with shows our real commitment, passion, and investment in placing the opinions and perspectives of the people we support at the organisation’s centre and encapsulating our values in action.

“We hope others in the sector will follow suit and implement similar initiatives because we’ve found the Council’s input to be invaluable, both in terms of creating services and policies that work well in our homes, but also in making sure we are personalising the care and support we provide at every level.”

This year, the Council has had a clear focus on co-production, supporting Exemplar Health Care’s decision making on a wide range of business areas, from marketing and home building, to training and recruitment. This includes:

• Advising Sheffield Hallam University to help shape the evolution of the University’s social work and nursing curriculums
• Co-creating a new recruitment campaign that will launch in the new year
• Advising on the organisation’s marketing materials to enhance accessibility
• Co-producing  videos for colleague induction and training to help new starters better understand the perspectives of the people living in Exemplar Health Care’s homes, how they like to be supported and what life is like living with certain conditions.

Looking forward to 2024, Exemplar Health Care will continue to enhance and develop the role of the Service User Council, including establishing a new ‘Regional Ambassador’ role to participate in meetings with regional directors of operations and home managers. Two other Ambassadors will be appointed to engage directly with the executive management team on behalf of the Council and all people living in Exemplar Health Care homes, further placing the voices of residents at the heart of the organisation’s decision making.