Putting lived experience at the heart of EADP decision-making:
In common with many other bodies and organisations in the area of drug and alcohol use, the ADP has a longstanding commitment to making people’s lived and living experience of drug and alcohol use the central guide to its decision making. In common with most of those other bodies, the ADP cannot claim to have fully achieved that goal but has made some good progress.
In February 2024, the EADP Executive agreed a programme with the ambition that : families and people with lived or living experience are at the heart of the development and delivery of services. This programme includes six workstreams:
1. Lived-and-Living experience panel (working title!): A representative community panel, supported by an employed facilitator with a core steering group and links to the wider recovery community. A feasibility study, including development of a local model was undertaken in 2023-24 by EVOC. The document can be read here: (Guidance on developing a Lived and Living Experience Recovery Community Panel in Edinburgh Jan 2024) This work included very substantial engagement with lived and living experience (at least 80 individuals ) which itself provided a huge amount of insight. A contract for facilitation of the agreed model is being commissioned by the EADP in 2024-25.
2. Edinburgh Living experience panel: A regular community panel, facilitated by a national organisation (Scottish Drugs Forum)aiming to engage those still in active drug and alcohol use and to capture their experience and needs. This is now running jointly with the Salvation Army and other partners
3. MAT experiential data gathering process: this is a rolling programme of interviews of undertaken BY people with lived experience who work in services WITH people who use the service. They are part of the evaluation evidence for the MAT standards and informed the Co-production work on the EADP strategy. These were greatly expanded in 2023-24, with 47 interviews with people who have themselves used treatment services and a further 5 interviews with loved ones of people who have. A further 9 interviews took place to inform the DTTO review process. The interviews were extremely high quality and the findings have been shared with managers and decision makers.
4. Ellipsis: A narrative change programme collecting and analysing people’s stories which will generate new insights to directly influence and change health and social care for people in Edinburgh: this was commissioned in 2023-24 and is currently developing its processes.
5. Independent Collective advocacy: Facilitated bringing together of people who have a common interest. It aims to provide a supportive environment in which a group can explore this interest, identify goals and seek possible solutions. This has been commissioned from the Patients’ council and is still developing.
6. Other ADP processes: More general consultation and coproduction exercises. This year, these included Feasibility studies Safer Drug Consumption Facility and Drug Checking Services (who interviewed 39 people with lived and living experience and 9 family members), coproduction of eh EADP strategy ( participants in all aspects of which had lived experience of their own or other’s use and specific Ad hoc activities (e.g. all commissioning activities include L/LE representation)
The ADP will publish regular updates on progress with this important work. If you have any comment or input on this area, please contact the ADP via eadp@edinburgh.gov.uk