Personal assistant Joanne Liversidge explains why she is excited about self-directed support.
I have worked with Enable Scotland for two and a half years as a support worker in the Glasgow area, and i’m about to become a personal assistant.
I support two people. Within Glasgow, Enable Scotland is quite far down the road in terms of personalisation. The people I support recruited me onto their teams and I have in turn also helped one of the people I support with the recruitment of a new team member.
The whole recruitment process was personalised, we had lots of discussion and feedback as part of the process. The people we support are 100% in control – that’s what it is about – the people we support and ensuring they are in control.
I am feeling really positive about the changes, as it will mean everyone will be undertaking the same role to deliver personalised outcomes for the people they support. I also believe it will mean personal assistants will have a sense of responsibility for the role they play.
It will bring about more opportunities for personal assistants to come together to share ideas and stories – to learn from each other and think about how to do things differently. The training I have been on has really inspired me.
This also creates a strong team around the person we support, meaning people know who is coming in to support them and we can join them on their journey.
For me there is nothing negative – it is all good and getting better all the time. The fact that we have had excellent communication from our managers and all our questions have been answered has made me positive.
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