Drawing from the K303 materials critically discuss the issues, challenges and benefits in involving the service user to shape and develop services.

Involving the service user in shaping services continues to be an important activity within government policy. Drawing from the K303 materials critically discuss the issues, challenges and benefits in involving the service user to shape and develop services.

Introduction
Health and social care services strive to maintain, increase people’s wellbeing and provide the best care practice to individuals and the community. However, discrepancies arise because generalisations about what people need and how services should operate is still an everyday issue that affects the provision of services. People’s circumstances and opinions differ from one another despite having similar needs on the surface. Therefore, different kinds of support are expected. That is the main reason why people need to become participants in designing and shaping care services. When it comes to user’s involvement, policies have shaped the way social services are delivered as they represent an essential framework to the implementation of consistent and quality practices. As a result, it is utmost for frontline managers and healthcare professionals to adhere to them. However, this process is not straight forward and difficulties emerge (Book 1, pp. 27-28). This essay will explore the issues, challenges and benefits of engaging service users in shaping and developing services. In order to do this, I will attempt to define the terms policy and service user involvement. Subsequently, I will identify the barriers faced by managers; discuss ways to overcome these challenges. And finally, the benefits of service user involvement will be identified.

Policy and Practice
Policy can be defined as a plan of action adopted by a person, group or government (Collins Language, 2011). In the history of health and social care, service providers have been influenced by the legacy of paternalism that developed in Victorian times. However, it was only until the 1970 s when emphasis on participation and service

References: Collins Language (2011) [online] http://www.collinslanguage.com/results.aspx?context=3&reversed=False&action=define&homonym=1&text=policy (Accessed 3rd November, 2011) Department of Health (2007) Mental Health Act 1983[online] http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/publicationsandstadistics/legislation/Actsandbills/DH_4002034 (Accessed 17th November, 2011) Stallard, D. (5th November, 2011, 14:07) ‘Block 1Forum Activity’, forum message to K303 2011. The Open University (2003) K303, Managing Care in Context, DVD 1, Band 2 ‘A meeting of Minds’, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2003) K303, Managing Care in Context, Chapter 2, ‘What service users say about services: the implications for managers’, Unit 2.1 ‘Introduction’, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2003) K303, Managing Care in Context, Chapter 2, ‘What service users say about services: the implications for managers’, Unit 2.2 ‘Policy and Practice’, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2003) K303, Managing Care in Context, Chapter 2, ‘What service users say about services: the implications for managers’, Unit 2.4 ‘Issues and Challenges’, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2003) K303, The Managing Care Reader, Chapter 3, ‘Involving Service Users in Management: Citizenship, Access and Support’, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2003) K303, The Managing Care Reader, Chapter 4, ‘Consultation: Plan of Action or Management Exercise’, Milton Keynes, The Open University. SCIE: Has service user participation made a difference to social care services (2011) [online] http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/positionpapers/ppo3.pds (Accessed 4thNovember, 2011)