We want to hear from those caring for people with MS

A few months ago, we told you about Project Mead, our service transformation project. You can read more about the project here. Since then, we’ve been working to understand people’s experiences of accessing our services by undertaking interviews and surveys with the MS community. We look forward to sharing the insight we’ve gathered with you soon.

Our Service Innovation Team is working alongside Project Mead to evaluate and enhance the services we offer. One area we’re starting to focus on is the support available for carers, families, and friends of people living with MS. So. we’re keen to hear from members of our community about their own experiences.

We know that many of our volunteers are in this position, or know people who are. We’re therefore asking for your help in gathering these insights — by sharing this opportunity with your networks, or in your group’s newsletter.

Hearing from you

The insights we receive will be crucial in helping us understand how we can better support our community. We want to listen, learn, and work together to improve our services.

The first stage of this process (where we are now!) is us talking to the MS community over the next six weeks. Once this initial stage is complete, we’ll build a coproduction group to act on what we’ve learnt. This group will be responsible for progressing the project using a process called the Double Diamond, which you can read more about here.

We’re looking to:

• speak with anyone with lived experience as a carer, or who has a loved one living with MS

• conduct 30–60-minute conversations over Zoom, before Tuesday 1 October

Flexible timing within the working week is available. We can arrange shorter or longer sessions if needed, and a short survey will also be available as an alternative to a Zoom call.

• hear from people from all backgrounds, especially those from under-represented and marginalised groups (including young people)

• engage with both those who’ve used our services and those who haven’t

If you’d like to share your experiences, or have further questions, please contact us at [email protected] .

Please share this opportunity across your channels with anyone who may be interested. Thank you for helping us improve how we work alongside, and for, our community.