Get involved: Participation

Participation

Join us on our interview panels

People who use our services and their carers and families have the chance to sign up for training to be involved in recruiting new staff.

The values-based recruitment training is being held to give service users and their families the skills to be involved in interviews and shape the future of NSFT.

We are committed to involving people who use mental health services and their carers or families through the People Participation.

Sessions are capped at eight people so spaces are limited, and they will be booked on a first come-first served basis.

The training will be via Microsoft Teams and anyone who has difficulties accessing this or needs further support can email people.participation@nsft.nhs.uk.

New training dates can be found below:

Wednesday, 15 January, 10:00 — 13:00
Thursday, 13 February, 13:00 — 16:00
Tuesday, 11 March, 10:00 — 13:00

To sign up go to https://forms.office.com/r/HSEfWeW0Sp.

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) information session for Young People.

Are you 18 or under and live in Suffolk?

Do you have a diagnosis or suspected diagnosis of ARFID? We would love to invite you to an online information session to tell you about our new Under 18s ARFID team in Suffolk and to see if you would like to be involved in developing this.

It’s important that your voice is involved so we can develop a service that is right for you!

When and how to join us

16 December 2024
19:00 - 20:00

Online via Microsoft Teams

You do not need to have your microphone or camera on to attend and can join for as little or as long as you would like.

If you are interested in being part of this, but the date isn’t suitable or you would prefer not to attend a group session, then please contact People Participation Lead, Sophie Davies, on Sophie.davies@nsft.nhs.uk for other arrangements.

MOMENTS Together Group for over 60s

Our Moments Together Group for the over 60’s is in the community and open to older adult service users, carers and supporters to come together and connect with likeminded people in a relaxed and safe environment.

The group offers a safe space in which service users, carers and supporters can come together, provide support and insight to one another through the sharing of their lived experiences and take part in a weekly wellbeing activity and information session.

For more information please contact PeopleParticipationEastSuf@nsft.nhs.uk.

The group meet every week on a Thursday afternoon between 13:00 – 15:00 at The Royal Oak Community Hub and Ipswich County Library Café – please view schedule the schedule below:

The Royal Oak, 175 Felixstowe Road, Ipswich IP3 8EB

January 9 and 23 — 2025
February 6 and 20 — 2025
March 6 and 20 — 2025
April 3 and 17 — 2025
May 1, 15 and 29 — 2025
September 4 and 25 — 2025
October 2, 16 and 30 — 2025

Ipswich County Libary Café, Northgate St, Ipswich IP1 3DE

December 19 — 2024
January 2, 16 and 30 — 2025
February 13 and 27 — 2025
March 13 and 27 — 2025
April 10 and 24 — 2025
May 8 and 22 — 2025
June 5 and 19 — 2025
July 3, 17 and 31 — 2025
August 16 and 28 — 2025
September 11 and 25 — 2025
October 9 and 23 — 2025

Inpatient Working Together Group

This Working Together Group, which is focused on inpatient care, is a safe space to have your say, share your experiences and ideas and work together to create positive change across NSFT.

The group is open to:

Service users
Carers
Family of people who have stayed in inpatient settings
Staff

When?

The group meets on the third Thursday of the month

Where?

Charing Cross Centre, 19 St John Maddermarket, Norwich NR2 1DN

Contact us

To find out more you can email:

Early Intervention Service, Norfolk and Waveney Focus Group

We are a friendly group of Early Intervention service users, previous service users, and staff in Norfolk and Waveney. We look at ways of improving the Early Intervention (EI) Service. Service users and staff have worked together to change and achieve things they have felt are important such as:

Telling us what they think about the Early Intervention Service.
Changing the way people are discharged by the team.
Changing the way letters are written.
Developing a feedback leaflet.
Taking part in interviews for new staff.
Quality Improvement projects.

Feedback from people involved in the Focus Group:

"Having participated in the EI focus group and representing service users in the interview process when recruiting new team members has given me a sense that EI as a service is inclusive and outward looking and takes a systematic view of recovery. I feel valued as a service user and feel that although what I have been through was difficult, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as my experiences of the service and views of it could help shape its future."

“I just wanted to share my experiences with as many staff as possible to say that the EI Focus group has been a really positive part of my experiences of the Norfolk EI Team and that communicating with those that are new to the service is MASSIVELY important, sign posting service users and their supporting family or friends to useful groups and good quality resources like books, websites and support groups could be the defining factor between a good recovery or a suicide.”

The group meet every third Wednesday of the month, both online via Microsoft Teams and in person, mainly at 7 Unthank Road, Norwich but also at other Early Intervention Service bases.

Anonymity is assured if you wish, and the team are happy to meet with you beforehand.

Email: EIFocusGroup@nsft.nhs.uk

Call Lucy Corrigan: 01603 671901

Call Craig Mackie: 01493 337929

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) - Suffolk

Are you, or is a loved one, affected by Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)? Do you live in Suffolk? If so, we would love to hear from you!

NSFT’s Suffolk ARFID team is establishing a pathway to support under 18s who are impacted by ARFID. We would value the input of young people, families, and carers in developing this pathway, and are also offering peer support groups for parents/carers affected by ARFID. Your expertise by experience will help us shape the Suffolk ARFID pathway, to ensure it best meets the needs of the community it serves.

Getting involved will offer you the opportunity to:

Share your ideas, expertise, and experience.
Shape the Suffolk ARFID pathway via co-production.
Support and connect with other parents/carers with similar lived experience. Share tips, experiences, and understanding with others.

If you’d like to get involved in NSFT’s ARFID co-production and peer support group, or if you’d like to share your ideas or experiences, please email AskSuffolkARFID@nsft.nhs.uk We look forward to collaborating with you.

Additional Information

ARFID is an eating disorder characterised by avoidant or restrictive eating which significantly impacts an individual’s health and wellbeing (e.g. nutritional deficiency, lack of energy, weight loss or impeded growth in children, reliance on nutritional supplements, impaired social functioning). Avoidance or restriction of food for individuals with ARFID is not driven by weight/ shape concerns.

For more information on ARFID, please visit:

BEAT: The UK's Eating Disorder Charity - Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)
ARFID Awareness UK: ARFID Awareness UK

Join our Learning Disability and Autism Being Together group

The Being Together Group is for adults, with a Learning Disability and/or Autism, carers or others who are interested in our services in Suffolk.

We need you to share ideas and help shape services.

The group meet on the first Tuesday of the month from 10:30 — 11:30 Meetings are held face-to-face in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich, and also on Teams.

Support with transport can be provided.

Email beingtogether@nsft.nhs.uk for more information.

Coffee Crawl

Join us on a Wednesday morning at 10.30am-noon for a cuppa and a chat.

Just turn up and meet like-minded people in a relaxed, informal chat setting, meeting at a different Ipswich coffee shop each week.

December 2024

4 — Honey & Harvey 4-6 Queen Street, Ipswich IP1 1SS
11 — St Lawrence Church Café, Dial Lane, Ipswich IP1 1DJ
18 — Christmas Lunch at The Woolpack, 1 Tuddenham Road, Ipswich IP4 2SH 1-4pm

January 2025

8 — Coffeelink Ipswich Waterfront, Neptune Marina, Neptune Quay, Ipswich IP4 1AX
15 — BB’s Coffee & Muffins, Sailmakers Shopping Centre, Ipswich IP1 3BE
22 — Cosy Club, Buttermarket Shopping Centre, Ipswich IP1 1DT
29 — The Mix Café, James Hehir Building, University Avenue, Ipswich IP3 0FS

For more information please contact Deborah Atkinson - People Participation Co-ordinator PeopleParticipationEastSuf@nsft.nhs.uk

Help to find mother and baby for observation

My name is Jane and I am a Parent infant therapist based in an NHS Community Perinatal team in Norwich.

I am studying for the Postgraduate Diploma in Infant-Parent Psychotherapy.

As part of the training, I need to find a mother and baby to observe.

Please could you help me to find a mother who is in the later stages of pregnancy, who may be interested in taking part in this.

What an observation involves:

I am required to observe a baby awake or asleep, playing, feeding, eating, or interacting with mothers or other family members.

The observation takes place once a week for one hour until the baby’s second birthday.

It’s an opportunity to learn first-hand about the physical and social development of a baby, which forms the foundation of the training to be a parent-infant psychotherapist.

Please let me know if you or someone you know would be interested in this. I am happy to talk to people who may be unsure but would like a bit more information before making a commitment.

Contact Jane

Email: Jane.M.Hughes@nsft.nhs.uk

Telephone: 07879 657685

EOI - Eating Disorder Service Young Person and Carer forum

If you are under the age of 25 with a lived experience of an Eating Disorder, or care for someone under the age of 25 who does, we would like to invite you to join our Young Person and Carer Forum with our Norfolk and Waveney Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Services.

The forum will bring together staff and those with lived experience to help improve and develop the service.

We value your views and ideas, and are looking for people who are interested in supporting us with suggestions and feedback to enhance our new and existing services.

The forum will work together to consider areas such as:

Development and Feedback on projects
Co-producing training materials
Reviewing and producing service literature

Other ways for people to get involved in participation are:

Speaking with our service manager and lead clinicians
Speaking with our People Participation Lead
Supporting us with staff interviews - Values Based Recruitment (VBR) training is offered to support this process
Carer feedback events
Co-facilitating groups e.g. carer support groups.

To find out more about participation, you can visit the teams webpage: www.nsft.nhs.uk/participation

If you decide to get involved and are currently receiving support from our service, this will not affect the care you or your loved one is receiving.

If you are interested in getting involved, please complete this form.

Alternatively, you can contact us on 01603 421127 and ask for a call back regarding participation or you can email the team at Caeds.participation@nsft.nhs.uk.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Co-production of DIALOG+ and Care Plans focus group

This is a focus group about Care Plans and the DIALOG+. It is open to both service users and carers to join.

Care plans need to be produced collaboratively and be person centred. This group looks to effect change and improve the experience of service users and carers and to improve co-production and the training staff receive.

You might be keen to share any experience you have of care plans regardless of whether or not you have completed a DIALOG+ questionnaire.

We really value your views and opinions and feedback about your experience of Care Planning. You may have some experience of DIALOG+, or you may be curious about how this approach is used when care planning, and what might be the benefits for you or the person you care for.

The meetings are held on Microsoft Teams on the second Friday of each month 1:30 - 3pm. Please contact —elizabeth.doolan@nsft.nhs.uk if you have any enquiries about the focus group If you want to join the focus group, please complete the form below.

Note: by completing this form you give permission for us to hold your contact details for as long as you remain a member of this focus group.

Focus group sign-up form.

Get involved in our Hellesdon Rivers Centre project

We are asking service users and carers with recent experience of our inpatient wards to help us design new wards. This will further improve quality and safety at Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich. Hellesdon Rivers Centre

Find out more about this opportunity.

Join Particip8! A group looking to improve services for young people

Would you like to be involved in improving our mental health services for yourself and others? Your voice deserves to be heard!

Particip8! are a group of people with a personal interest in mental health for young people and a passion for improving mental health services.

Whether you’d prefer to be part of a group, have one-to-one sessions, or share your ideas and experience by email, Whatsapp or phone, we would love for you to join us.

You can be involved as little or as much as you would like and with the things that are important to you.

Using lived experience, we have led on projects such as:
The language of letters and ensuring these are young person and carer friendly
Interviewing staff
Sharing our experience of crisis services
Art projects
Development of educational courses and many more.

To find out more, email Sophie.davies@nsft.nhs.uk. You can also text or call 07342 066589 or use Whatsapp.

Experiences of Particip8!

Grace from Particip8! has shared her experience of participation and Particip8! in particular. You can read Grace's Particip8 Participation Story [pdf] 77KB

Particip8! podcasts

Our Particip8! group have made a range of podcasts for the Mental Health and You Podcast. Below are some links directly to episodes available on Spotify and other platforms:

Website Working Together Group

Are you under the age of 25?

Are you a parent/carer of a young person under the age of 25?

Do you like designing things?

We are developing a new website to improve mental health services for Children, Families and Young People and we want to hear what is important to you.

For more information: Contact Andrea Bland, People Participation Co-ordinator People.Participation@nsft.nhs.uk

Armed Forces

Veteran's wellbeing support group

Our Veteran's wellbeing support group is designed to stop social isolation and give veterans a sense of belonging, similar to the close bond they had whilst serving.

These events will be taking place in a non-clinical environment but Veteran's are welcome to discuss any mental health concerns they may have.

Please see below for locations, times and the days of our wellbeing support group:

Norwich: Monday 11:00 - 13:00, The Matthew Project 70 – 80- Oaks Street Norwich NR3 3AQ, Tel: 07584316272
Sudbury: Monday 11:00 - 13:00, Sudbury/Toast Café (Winter) or Long Melford Country Park (Summer), Tel: 07584316272
Bury St Edmunds: Tuesday 11:00 - 13:00, Combat 2 Coffee , Con Club, Guildhall Street, IP33 1PR, Tel: 07584316272
Ipswich: Wednesday 11:00 - 13:00, Combat 2 Coffee , Whitton Clinic, Meredith Road, IP1 6ED, Tel: 07584316272
Thetford: Monday 11:00 - 13:00, Steam, Tanner Court, Tanner Street, IP24 2BQ, Tel: 07584316272

You can watch a video, featuring some of our service users, who have used the service and their thoughts on it below.

Listen to their podcast episodes on spotify below:

Women Veteran’s Pathway

Background

Firstly, we are looking at hosting a Women Veterans only forum as a social safe space for women to come to and use however they wish. This will be an online coffee and catch up. It maybe that we can get people in to give talks around support and specific areas of interest etc.

Secondly, we are developing a Women Veterans only stabilisation group which will consist of sessions around psychoeducation and techniques tailored to what women would feel they would benefit from. The sessions could be looking at PTSD, anxiety, moral injury etc. Is there a specific theme they would like the sessions to cover? The sessions will be every week via MS Teams at a time and day that is suitable for them.