We are looking for people from the Murrumbidgee community to be part of our 15 Steps Challenge Walkaround Team, as part of a new project to review and improve the physical spaces of our Community Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol services.

Walkaround Team members will have a lived or carer experience of mental health issues and/or substance use, or identify as a First Nations person. We are looking for three representatives from each of our six communities that have a Community Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol service across the Murrumbidgee region. Representatives will be paid for their time participating in the project.

About the Project

The 15 Steps Challenge is drawn from an NHS England initiative, which was created from a comment made by a person reflecting on her family’s experience of hospital care. She said:

The 15 Steps Challenge is a quality improvement tool which aims to look at service environments through the eyes of people accessing them. It focuses on the first impressions that people get upon walking into a service and how reassured, confident and safe the physical space makes them feel.

Action plans are then created to act on the observations gathered and take steps to improve the first impressions that people get when entering the service.

MLHD Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol services have adapted the original NHS 15 Steps Challenge Toolkits to be relevant to Community Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol and Safe Havens.

To guide us in what features create a welcoming and safe environment, we have mapped the prompts from the original 15 Steps Challenge toolkits and combined these with guidelines from the Australian and local sector.

This has led us to the following five domains which will be measured through the 15 Steps Challenge in MLHD:

1. Accessible and Inclusive

The service meets diverse needs and facilitates family and carer participation (including family groups).

2. Informative and Organised

People are kept informed about the service by staff and through display of relevant information materials.

3. Inviting and Functional Spaces

The environment is well laid out, comfortable and non-clinical with elements of nature and the outdoors.

4. Safe and Calming

The environment and staff interactions encourage a feeling of safety.

5. Welcoming and Caring

  • The environment and staff interactions feel warm and welcoming.
  • The cultural beliefs and practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are recognised.

15 Steps Walkaround Team

The Walkaround Team are an essential part of the project and are responsible for:

  • Visiting Community Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol and/or Safe Haven services;
  • Reflecting on their own impressions and observations of the service and documenting these in the Observation Guide;
  • Completing the Checklist with their walkaround team colleagues;
  • Discussing their observations and impressions with their walkaround team colleagues to create a feedback report for the Service Manager and Executive Sponsor;
  • Reviewing the improvement Action Plan created from the completed 15 Steps Challenge Walkarounds.

The community representatives are an equal and valued member of the Walkaround Team alongside staff representatives. They play a vital role in reflecting on their own impressions of a service and how this uniquely makes them feel.

What to Expect

Community representatives on the Walkaround Team are asked to make themselves available for each stage of the project. This includes:

  • Project kick-off meeting (2 hours)
  • Service walkaround in your local community (2 hours)
  • Action planning review meeting (1-2 hours)
  • Evaluation and planning meeting (2 hours)

These stages will take place between August 2024 and January 2025.

We will make every effort to schedule meetings and activities at a time that is convenient for members. If you have a request for a particular day or time that works best for you, you can let us know.

We value the involvement of our community representatives and the time they will give to this project. Representatives are entitled to receive a payment for their time spent participating in scheduled activities. Payment rates are outlined in the NSW Health Consumer, Carer and Community Member Remuneration Guideline.

How to Apply

If you are interested in being part of the 15 Steps Walkaround Team in your area, please tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in the form below.

If you need some help with your application, have questions, or would like to express your interest a different way, please contact us on mlhd-mhda-experiences@health.nsw.gov.au

We are still looking for First Nations people to take part in this project. Applications will be open until Monday 11th November.