Participation opportunities

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.

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

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.

April 2026

• 8 April - Marinero Lounge 15 Saint Peter's Wharf, Ipswich IP4 1GF
• 15 April - Honey & Harvey 4-6 Queen Street, Ipswich IP1 1SS
• 22 April - The Crafty Fox Café 15-17 Thoroughfare, Ipswich IP1 1BX
• 29 April - Café at the Dancehouse, Jerwood Dancehouse, Ipswich IP4 1DW 

May 2026

• 6 May - Bon Bon 19 Buttermarket, Ipswich IP1 1BQ
• 13 May -  Geek Retreat 41a Upper Brook Street, Ipswich IP41DU - Wear green for Mental Health Awareness Week
• 20 May - The Key Ipswich 15 St Margaret's Plain, Ipswich IP4 2BB
• 27 May - Isaacs Coffee Tavern 7 Wherry Quay, Ipswich IP4 1DU

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

Come and join us at our monthly carers group.

When:

Second Wednesday of the month, 10am - noon

• April 8, 2026

Where:

Poppies Lounge at Carlton Court Hospital

Informal gathering aimed at offering carers support. Come along for a cuppa and a chat with experienced staff and people in the same situation as you.

This is also a great opportunity to tell us what you think about the services we provide to help us improve.

We invite guest speakers on a variety of topics you may find useful and informative.

Come and join us. All are welcome.

When:

Last Wednesday of the month, 10am - noon

• April 29, 2026

Where:

Community Café, Carlton Court Hospital, St Peter's Road, Carlton Colville, NR33 8AG

For more information:

Call 01502 527495 Mon-Fri.

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.

Contact us for more information or ask your care co-ordinator.

Email: EIFocusGroup@nsft.nhs.uk 

Call Lucy Corrigan: 01603 671901

Call Craig Mackie: 01493 337929

 

We want to hear your experiences

We want you to help shape the future of the drug and alcohol system in Norfolk. We are looking for people who have engaged with support as well as those who haven't, and their friends and families.

This research is being led by a team of people who have experience with recovery from substance misuse. We are passionate about helping to shape the future of the system and want you to join us.

What's involved?

You can share your experiences by talking to a researcher or joining a small group discussion. We can meet you face to face, online, or talk on the phone.

Would you like to have a say in shaping the future of Norfolk's Drug & Alcohol System?

Want to Learn More?

For an informal chat contact us at: Jamie-Barnes@together-uk.org 07521 430272 or visit www.together-uk.org for more details.

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.

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.

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 Monday of each month 16:00 - 17:30. 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.

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 particip8@nsft.nhs.uk. 

Help promote the group

If you'd like to support us you can download and display our  Particip8! poster [pdf] 2MB. 

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: 

• Experiences of Participation - Today the group share why they got involved in participation, what their experiences have been like and how you can get involved with Particip8! and participation.
• The Mental Health Music Takeover - This week the group share their own experiences of how music has supported them through difficult times and the launch of the Mental Health Music Takeover Playlist.
• Participation at NSFT - This episode focuses both on experiences of services and getting involved with Participation through Particip8! If you're interested in learning more about getting involved, it's a great place to start to learn more. 
• Self-esteem and belonging - This week the group discuss what self-esteem is, the effects school can have on self-esteem, the difficulty of comparison and expectations, social media and more.
• Disabilities and mental health - This week the group discuss mental health and disability, sharing the effects that different types of disabilities can have on mental health, as well as some misconceptions of how they can affect each other.
• Social media and mental health - In this episode the group discuss their personal experiences of social media, how it's effected/effecting their mental health as well as some top tips on how to deal with social media.
• Living with Anxiety - In this episode the group share their experiences of living with anxiety and ways they've learnt to manage and live with it.

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.

The groups are as Follows:

• Monday 11:00 - 13:00 Mumma Ds Café, Innovation Centre, Thetford, Norfolk  IP24 1JD
• Tuesdays 11:00 - 13:00 The Newbury Community Centre, 1 Charles Place, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 6TD
• First Wednesday of the month, JPUH 11:00 - 13:00, Louise Hamilton Centre, Lowestoft Road, Gorleston - on - Sea, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 6LA
• Last Wednesday of the month 11:00 - 13:00, The Bridge for Heroes, 52A Clough Lane, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1SE
• Thursday 11:00 - 13:00, Toast, 10 Old Market Place, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 1TL, (This is under review)
• Last Friday of the month 10:00 -12:00, Norwich City Community Sports Foundation, The Nest, Holt Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 3AQ

Last Friday of the month 10:30 - 12:00, The Hall of Fame, Ipswich Town Football Club, Portman Road, Ipswich Suffolk, IP1 2DA

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: 

• Growing the Veteran's support service
• Leaving the Armed Forces and Mental Health

Background

Providing a social space and network for female veterans of any rank or length of service in Norfolk and Suffolk to build relationships with others. We meet virtually on Microsoft Teams and every other month in person at Norwich Army Reserve Centre, 325 Aylsham Road, Norwich, NR3 2AB. We will also be looking to hold within these groups the opportunity for other services to give talks around support and specific areas of interest. 

Face to face groups meet on the following dates: 2 February 2026 8 April 2026 1 June 2026 3 August 2026, 10.00-1130

Criteria

Characteristics - Women, served in UK Armed Forces, currently live in Norfolk and Suffolk 

If you are a women veteran, or know someone who would like to take part, please contact vicki.bailey@nsft.nh.uk.