During October and November 2010, we ran a consultation about the way in which Sense supports people who have Usher.
We were delighted with the level of response. We received 44 completed questionnaires and one written group response. We also had a very good focus group meeting in London in November.
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who responded to the consultation. There were lots of really useful comments and suggestions and you had obviously given our questions a lot of careful thought. Your time and effort have been greatly appreciated.
Some of the feedback we received from the consultation is that Sense should:
- Prioritise social and emotional support, as well as information and advice for people who have Usher.
- Raise awareness of Usher.
- Set up a national Usher group and also provide Usher support at a local level.
- Create a new research role that will focus on Usher.
- Encourage professional and peer support.
- Train staff to understand Usher better.
By way of an update, we have written a report (word, 83kb) that summarises the responses that we received. We have also written notes from the focus group meeting (word, 60kb) which was held on November 2010. You can view the report summary in BSL version.
Individual copies of the report are also being sent directly to everyone who responded to the questionnaire.
If you have any further comments or questions, please contact me directly at peter.cheer@sense.org.uk, or by calling 0121 415 2720 (voice and textphone).
Finally, my thanks again to all those who responded.
Peter Cheer
Group Director of Operational Services
Report summary in BSL version
