Service User Policy

Aims and Principles
West Lindsey Domestic Abuse Service (WLDAS)’s aim is to achieve the highest standards of service provision,
WLDAS recognises that assessing and fulfilling the needs of women, men and children fleeing domestic abuse are one of the primary objectives of the organisation. To achieve this end, the views of the individuals accessing our service, either via Refuge, Floating Support, Our main Centre and our Children’s Service will be heard, recorded and acted upon in a number of ways to facilitate the provision of an effective service.
WLDAS is committed to encouraging service user participation, and encourage clients to come forward with ideas to ensure service users’ needs are appropriately met.

Directors Meetings
• Refuge residents and Floating Support service users are informed of Annual General Meetings via publically available literature. They have the opportunity to attend and put forward their views or any specific issues.
• Alternatively service user’s can request any views/issues are put forward via their key worker.
• Refuge residence and Floating Support service users participate in Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) process.

Meetings
• Meetings can be held on request following Service user group identifying the need.
• Dates of any forthcoming meetings are displayed in the WLDAS Centre and service users have the opportunity to attend.
• Service users may chair meetings with the workers acting as facilitators. Service users will be encouraged to participate in recording the minutes of meetings.
• Refuge clients can request house meetings where any current issues can be discussed and addressed.

Children
• There is a children’s board situated in the children’s play room ‘Fishes for Wishes’ Children are encouraged to write down their wishes, this may also include ideas and suggestions for the service.
• Children complete evaluation forms and these are reviewed by staff and funders on a quarterly basis.

Health and Safety
Regular Health & Safety checks are completed on a monthly basis at the refuges. Refuge clients are invited to participate in being proactive in identifying faults or safety measures which need to be taken with regards to the refuge accommodation. Refuge clients are given a specific ‘on call’ telephone number as a means of contacting us in any kind of an emergency.
Service users are also informed of fire procedures and the location of fire extinguishing equipment, information is clearly displayed in both refuges and the WLDAS Centre.

Progression & Satisfaction Questionnaires
• Service users and residents are asked to complete a progress questionnaire reviewing the support they are receiving from WLDAS. At the point at which the support ends service users are encouraged to complete an exit Evaluation Questionnaire and return it in the envelope provided. The questionnaires can be completed anonymously.
• The completed questionnaires are kept in a file in the office and analysed by the Administrator on a quarterly basis. This analysis is then reported to the Project Manager and Directors, appropriate action will be taken where necessary.

Individual Safety/Support Planning
• The Individual Support Planning process will be used as an opportunity to listen to the views of service users on the services and support they are receiving. This will include women, men and children as there is a support plan process for both of these groups.
• Feedback gathered as part of this process will inform individual service delivery and, if necessary, issues raised or ideas that need wider action will be taken to the staff team and Project Manager or Directors for discussion and/or action where necessary.

Suggestion Box
• A Suggestion Box is located in the Refuges and the WLDAS Centre. Women, men and children are encouraged to place their suggestions in the box at any time, anonymously if they so choose.
• Suggestion Box’s will be checked on a monthly basis by the Project Administrator in line with Health& Safety checks
• Appropriate suggestions will be dealt with directly by Project Workers. Where this is not possible or appropriate, suggestions will be discussed in a team meeting and/or taken to a Directors’ Meeting for decision.

Thank you Cards

• As a form of user feedback, thank you cards from service users are dated and kept in a scrapbook in the office.
• The scrapbooks are available for inspection by the Directors and funders as part of their assessment processes.

CLICK HERE To provide us with your comments and opinions on this policy. Your suggestions and comments are valuable to us.

Please send completed form to us at :-

West Lindsey Domestic Abuse Service
Unit 2
9 Lord Street
Gainsborough DN21 2DD

Or email your response to: info@wldas.org.uk