Team Sessions (Knowing Me, Knowing You) (KM, KY)
Team Sessions (Knowing Me, Knowing You) (KM, KY)
The third KM, KY Team Session took place April 2021 and focused on chronic pain as a hidden disability. This included discussing some of the challenges of journey planning and travelling with chronic pain and the impact disruptions and extended journeys also had on managing chronic pain. MACS members shared their personal experiences and the mechanisms they used in their pain management strategies. It was agreed that it would be beneficial to have some more in-depth conversations on this issue at the next session and with some external input from more "experts by experience" to complement the issues and strategies shared by MACS members.
The fourth KM, KY Team Session took place in August 2021. This session focused on raising awareness about the needs of people with dementia and mental health problems, and returned to the topic of travelling with chronic pain, including how this affects access to transport and possible solutions.
Guests included Go Upstream, and See Me Scotland, and again MACS members sharing their experiences of living with chronic pain.
The session was very productive and well received with suggestions that MACS could reframe our conversations to talk more about journey experiences (including journey times and the impact of extended journeys on some conditions) rather than by modes of transport. Following the session MACS followed up with the CTA an inquiry regarding mental health being recognised as a disability and therefore individuals being given access to dial-a-ride bus services and similar facilities. The CTA confirmed that mental health is recognised as a disability by them (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) and hence people requiring support for these reasons should be given access. The information was fed back to See Me who thanked MACS for addressing the issue.
After the two KM, KY Team Sessions, the Convener invited committee members to put forward suggestions on topics for the Team sessions for 2022-23. Through committee agreement it has been decided to focus on:
- A session on inclusive communication (written and verbal)
- A session on "framing conversations and messages"
- A follow-up session on traveling has currently been parked due to other priorities.