The purpose of this paper is to outline the work of a service provider, service user and carer group created to develop a strategy for service user and carer co-production.
A reflective narrative account is given of the process through which the group formed and began to develop a working model aimed at shaping a cultural shift towards more co-produced services. The paper has been co-produced and includes the collaborative voices of service users, carers, multi-disciplinary staff, third-sector representatives, managers and colleagues from associated services.
The model developed outlines three stages for services to work through in order to achieve meaningful and sustainable co-produced services. The importance of developing associated policies related to such areas as recruitment, payment, support and training is also outlined. Challenges to co-production are noted along with suggested approaches to overcoming these.
The ethos of co-production is relatively new in the UK and so knowledge of the process and model may help guide others undertaking similar work.
