Coproduction in Action: Partnering with Unpaid Carers Across Gloucestershire
September 17, 2025Posted by:
Coproduction in Action: Partnering with Unpaid Carers Across Gloucestershire
In Gloucestershire, unpaid Carers are not just recipients of support they are active partners in shaping the services and systems that affect their lives. Through a diverse and inclusive approach to coproduction, Carers are helping to rethink healthcare, social care, and community support in ways that reflect real experiences, real needs, and real voices.
Listening Deeply: 1:1 Conversations
At the heart of this work are individual conversations, whether by phone, online, or in person, where Carers share their stories, challenges, and ideas. These deep dialogues offer a space for reflection and honesty, helping professionals understand the lived reality of caring. Each conversation is a building block in a more responsive and compassionate system.
Writing as Connection: Letter Activities
Letter writing has emerged as a powerful tool for Carers to express themselves in their own time and words. Whether handwritten or typed, these letters provide insight into personal journeys, frustrations, and hopes.
Meeting Carers Where They Are
Coproduction doesn’t wait for Carers to come to formal meetings. Instead, it reaches out to existing groups, joining coffee mornings, peer support circles, and community gatherings. Sometimes these visits include focused activities; other times, they’re simply open conversations. The goal is always the same: to listen, learn, and build trust.
Open Participation: Community Events
From Carers Cafés to NHS buses and Carers Week celebrations, open participation events invite Carers to engage in ways that suit them. These informal settings allow for spontaneous feedback, creative ideas, and new connections. They also help raise awareness of coproduction and encourage more Carers to get involved.
Focused Workshops: Hospital Experiences
Recognising the importance of hospital care in the Carer journey, online and in-person workshops have been held to explore Carers’ experiences with hospital stays, discharge, communication, and support. These sessions are designed to be practical and solution-focused, with Carers and professionals working side-by-side to identify improvements.
And there are still more workshops to come! Carers or professionals from Gloucestershire who would like to take part or learn more are warmly invited to email [email protected] for details and upcoming dates.
Extending the Conversation: Stakeholder Collaboration
Coproduction in Gloucestershire goes beyond Carers and service providers. It includes meetings with NHS professionals, local authorities, voluntary organisations, and decision-makers. These wider collaborations ensure that Carers’ voices influence not just frontline services but also strategic planning and policy development.
A Shared Future
Coproduction with unpaid Carers in Gloucestershire is not a one-off initiative, it’s a growing movement. By embracing multiple methods of engagement and valuing every contribution, the county is building a more inclusive, responsive system of care.
Whether through a quiet conversation, a heartfelt letter, or a lively workshop, Carers are helping to shape the future. And that future looks brighter because of them.
September 17, 2025Posted by:
