James Dudman – Service User Governor, Suffolk

Term of office started 1 February 2025

I have suffered with mental ill health in the past, as have friends and family. Through my experiences and hearing the experiences of others, I want to do my best to improve our mental health services for everyone. 

I have listening, verbal, writing and analytical skills as well as my own experiences of mental health services. 

I am passionate about helping service users move in a positive direction so we can all feel more empowered by the services provided. 

The Particip8 group has given me a lot of positive experiences with the Trust. It has been a first-rate place of support for when I was at my lowest. I understand it is not everyone's perspective and I also have my not-so-positive experiences. This is why I'm going to use those experiences to help improve services.