An excellent opportunity to draw on your own experiences in order to make a difference in the lives of people using mental health services. This role will enable the person to support inclusion and co production within the Hospital Service as well as being a vital link between the patients and the clinical and management teams.
You will lead our approach to sharing and valuing lived experience, and our approach to carer and family support. You will be someone who has your own lived or living experience of health and/or social care services and will bring that experience to the role.
This is a new post therefore although having clear parameters and expectations there will be opportunities to positively shape and influence the role and build and develop important relationships with stakeholders and partners.
Key responsibilities
Working with the Senior Management Team (SMT) to achieve the following core objectives:
- You will work with people from admission to the unit to discharge.
- Helping patients/carers understand the inpatient system and processes – be a source for high quality information that is easy to understand.
- Working proactively with the allocated inpatient units you will support communication processes between the clinical unit and patients; enabling units to create a compassionate and responsive approach to patients and where appropriate their carers.
- Empower patients to access information and to be part of planning
- Have knowledge and networks of the local area to support people with information and signposting
- To be a point of liaison with the Unit on patient matters, specifically quality improvement initiatives to enable more robust and inclusive engagement.
- Help patients raise concerns where necessary and take action to escalate those concerns if necessary
· Represent the Patient/Carer voice on service critical meetings such as Clinical Governance, Patient Forum, Carers Forum, Clinical Improvement committee and Restrictive Practice Reduction among others
Person Specification
Ideally you should be able to demonstrate/fulfil the following:
- Good communicator; this role will often involve working alongside persons experiencing mental health crisis or on their journey to recovery
- Be confident to present to a room with a number of meeting participants in both in a professional or peer setting
- A good listener – able to hear others views and give them space to express themselves without judgement or opinion
- Good working knowledge of word and email systems
- Work in a way that promotes dignity and respect
- Feel confident to challenge others professionally during meetings or on a 1:1 basis
- Complete occasional audits/surveys and present the results
- Contribute to service planning and delivery by ensuring the patient voice is heard; this may include seeking patients/carer opinions prior to meetings or supporting others to attend meetings
- Advise on hospital policy reviews
- Must have inpatient mental health experience in the last 5 years either informally or having been detained or,
- Be the main carer for someone who has had an inpatient admission in the last 3 years