The Peer Led Brokerage Service offers free, independent advice and practical help with putting together Self Directed Support (SDS) packages for individuals, which are funded by their direct payment personal budget from Kirklees Council. PBS is designed and delivered by people with experience of mental health difficulties and mental health services. We help people to choose the kind of support they want and to work out what’s best for them and their recovery.
During the past 12 months we have worked with a total of 102 individuals in receipt of a Kirklees Council direct payment and six individuals who are ‘self-funders’. One of our key aims is to improve and streamline the process from initial assessment to the point that a support package is delivered. During the year we have worked with council colleagues, the community mental health teams and support providers to ensure that the process is as efficient as possible. This means more people get access to better support, more quickly.
Co-production again plays a huge part in everything we do. Service users, carers, peers, volunteers, staff and our external partners have all been involved in reviewing and improving the redesign of all of our processes, paperwork and how we manage and deliver the service.
We are really proud of the outcomes we help people to achieve – look at their average self-assessment scores for the year below:
- Confidence 29% improvement
- Choice 25% improvement
- Information 23% improvement
- Satisfaction 31% improvement
- Control 33% improvement
- Independence 30% improvement
Touchstone Annual Review 2015-2016
