Local Services Wiki for families caring for complex needs children (360G-CR-4926167)

WellChild is seeking to create a UK wide Wiki of local services for children with exceptional health needs. It will rapidly and easily connect parents to services in their local areas. It will also enable parents and healthcare professionals to share their collective knowledge and experience of support available in the local area. Our 2020 scoping exercise consulted over 250 parents and carers and found an urgent need for up-to-date, accurate and readily accessible information especially about local services. 74% of respondents said getting information and guidance was one of the reasons they used our existing Facebook based Family Tree Network, whilst 66% said they used it to find additional sources of support, 59% said their experience would be improved by having access to information about local services. The concept of a crowd-curated database of local services was suggested by parents we consulted. We created a Covid-19 information hub and an archive of wellbeing resources on our website. We will build on this by creating the user-driven Wiki of local services. Whilst much information about local services does exist in the public domain, it is very difficult for families to find. One parent told us: ?things need to be simplified for tired parents. Information needs to be available on an easy interface, something that?s accessible. [?] [Sometimes] I find I give up searching for things on sites because it?s so hard to find them.? Families will be able to add new services, edit information, and leave comments or reviews to let others know about their experiences with a particular service. All information will be moderated by WellChild?s existing Families Team to ensure accuracy. We will involve parents on the development and design of the new wiki before and after it launches. The combination of our ongoing research, and input from WellChild Parent Ambassadors and above all users will help ensure the service has a long lifespan and continues to be an effective tool for families that grows organically as more users contribute to its development.