Jess Wade, SDSS Manager: Reflecting on 2019.
The SDSS team can hardly believe it is that time of the year again, here are my highlights from 2019, and what a year it has been!
A huge highlight for me was seeing SDSS take Stirling by storm with SDSS National Voice 2019 in March. This was our second national event, and this year we were delighted to be joined by guest speaker Jeane Freeman, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. We hope you will join us for #SDSNV2020 which will take place on March 11th 2020 in Glasgow.
Talking of events we recently had our AGM for 2019, it’s always brilliant to catch up with our members old and new and to see them working together to achieve positive change in SDS implementation and this year served as an opportunity for us to celebrate hitting (and exceeding) the 50 members mark! I think we can all agree that Lewis Carroll’s performance was absolutley breathtaking, and a perfect way to close an event titled ‘SDS at centre stage.’ Thank you again to Lewis for joining us and sharing your SDS story.
As always it’s not hard for us to think of highlights from the year when we reflect on the work we have done with our members. There are a couple of key points that stick out for me; firstly the work we have done and continue to do with our members regarding The Care Inspectorate’s SDS Thematic inspections. Since these reports have been released, our members in the relevant areas have held successful events with input from the Care Inspectorate, bringing our members together with their Local Authorities to discuss moving forward, with more of that to come in the New Year. Secondly the work that our Membership Development Executive, Mark, has been involved with alongside The Borders Forum. Earlier in the year Mark delivered some training on Participation Requests, and with his support the Border’s Forum successfully submitted a Participation Request to discuss the use of payment cards in their area which has led to them entering a formal process to look at the impact of this introduction, to ensure that local people can have their say. Well done to all involved!
Other key highlights include being involved in the early stages of the SDS Collective and watching it’s continued growth. If you would like more information about the SDS Collective please visit the Facebook page here.
Lastly a call to action for all SDSS members and wider stakeholders as the #MySupportMyChoice19 research deadline approaches (14th February 2020). So far our research has reached 550 people from across Scotland and we want to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to have their say on their experience with SDS. (Please note the survey has now closed).
All the very best for the festive season and beyond.
Jess.