Service User Member Involvement Team – SUMIT
Seeing Better Together
Minutes: Wednesday 24 September 2014
1. Welcome and apologies
Present: Lisa Jones (LJ Chair), Mark Whittle (MW), Sally
Spowage (SP), Paul Smith (PS), Kay Dear (KD), Paul
Baskcomb (PB) and Catherine Norecliffe (CN Minutes).
Apologies: Neana Lawson (NL), Shamaila Kauser (SK) and Stella
Hodgson (SH).
2. Chair for next meeting
Kay Dear, JS to take minutes.
3. Minutes from August meeting
Minutes approved.
Action: JS to publish Minutes on website and place on notice
board.
4. Matters arising;
a) SUMIT membership: No requests for SUMIT membership. two
places available.
Action: Following a suggestion made by PB at the last
meeting, JS has now forwarded SUMIT contact details to
Martha Highton who will contact people in due course
regarding DBS checks.
.
b) Drop in/e mails and suggestion box
Just junk mail on SUMIT email and the suggestion box was
empty.
5. Courtesy calls
Now we have date for the annual general meeting we can start
courtesy calls. To take place over a period of two and half weeks,
mainly on Mondays and Thursdays. CN work with PS and MW to
work with SH.
JS explained how courtesy calls work for the benefit of Sally.
If someone cannot speak on the phone when we make a courtesy
call then offer to give them the information by audio or print and
include all opinions in our record of the call. Encourage them to
attend the discussion forum. To avoid confusion SUMIT decided no
messages are to be left on answering machines like we have
previously.
6. Raising Profile - Open Day update;
PS informed members of SUMIT that it had been agreed on the
sub-committee that the new topic for the discussion forum would be;
the need for more services outside Nottingham and in the north of
the county. The topic would support My Sight Nottinghamshire’s
Reaching Communities funding application from the Big Lottery.
The topic was previously to be a national survey for health and
social care, however, the guidelines for this online survey were 13
pages long and it was considered far too complex and long to be
discussed as part of a round-table discussion when not everyone will
have read the 130-page document and wouldn’t be able to discuss
it. Even if a person could read through all of this information if they
were unable to attend or unable to use the internet it would be
ineffective.
Considering the needs of service users in the north of the county
would be more effective as My Sight will be applying for a funding
bid of the lottery and to apply for this funding My Sight has to have
evidence that they have had a consultation to determine what the
needs are of its service users and part of the bid looks at reaching
out to communities to ask what they are accessing to find out where
the greatest needs are.
This will be a continuation of the feedback gained at last years’
discussion forum hosted by SUMIT, which also shows people
SUMIT is following up on comments made at the previous event.
The amount of the funding bid is not yet identified.
Questions for participants have been drafted and agreed and an
invitation written by JS and sent out to service users.
7. Membership scheme
All comments on the redrafted membership scheme proposal for the
Trust Board should be made to PB via e mail before the deadline
date.
8. Services
Emma is now responsible for managing and monitoring all services.
Before agreeing to develop new services she looks at the viability of
the service, what its main outcome is, what resources will be needed
to deliver it and the demand for it will be. She also confirmed that
due to current economic circumstances, My Sight Notts has made it
a priority to commit to delivering existing services but cannot commit
to developing new ones due to funding.
Thanks were given to PB and PS who are representing SUMIT on
the Transport Working Group. Group members include PB, PS,
Emma and one of the trustees Mark Sheppard.
The agenda will include the issues of how the needs of services and
services users for transport are very different. It is hoped a new
policy will be made that is clear and transparent so that people will
know what is available and what is not. LJ said it was important to
ensure all vehicles providing transport provided wheelchair access.
There are presently services that operate from Ortzen Street but
very few from Nottinghamshire county. The SUMIT consultation with
people at the AGM will form an important part of the market research
to help determine the demand for services; Emma will then look at
the cost and the funding grants available with fundraising.
For the future it is hoped to develop the Young Peoples Services. At
the moment it is in its very early stages, giving help to children with
peer support. It is hoped this can be developed in the future.
Suggestions for a volunteer-led shopping service made at a previous
meeting would have to be assessed for viability, cost and outcome
before the service could be launched.
9. Any other business
Wayne Musson, My Sight Nottinghamshire’s design volunteer had
been asked to design the SUMIT Annual Report, this would be
distributed at the AGM on 24 October along with the my Sight
Nottinghamshire Annual Review Summary.
10. Next meeting
It was agreed that the meeting in December should be the annual
SUMIT Christmas lunch, which would be brought forward from the
last Wednesday in the month to 10 December. It was also agreed
that it should be held at the Orange Tree again as it provided easy
access for everyone. LJ will circulate a copy of the Christmas lunch
menu and pay a deposit. SUMIT members were asked to contact
Lisa by 11 November.
 October 29th 4pm to 6pm
 November 26th 9.30am to 11.30am
 December 10th Christmas lunch at the Orange Tree