Forum will put service users and carers at heart of mental health improvements | News and events

Service users, families and carers have the opportunity to create a new forum which puts them at the heart of long-term improvement of mental health services.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is setting up a Service User and Carer Council to act as a Trustwide, action-focused forum.

Project Lead for the Service User and Carer Council’s development Lucy North said: “The council’s mission is to ensure that service users and carers are central to all our activities at NSFT through high-quality involvement and engagement.”

The council will include representatives from service users, families and carers with lived experience of accessing or supporting others who access mental health services in Norfolk and Suffolk, who will be involved in discussions around quality, experience, and service monitoring or improvement. 

The forum will tie in with the trust’s new Future Leadership Structure to improve quality, safety and experience across NSFT, and the development of place-based Locality Councils, which will operate as an advisory and action forum for service users and carers in their local area. 

Lucy said: “We would really like to hear what people think the council's key priorities and goals should be, and how best we can support those in joining the council as a member.”

Chief nurse Anthony Deery said it was vital to have service users, their families and carers at the forefront of improvements. “We need to make sure that theirs is the voice we hear when we work towards making NSFT a safer, kinder and better organisation. They are the experts in their own health, and they are the people we need to listen to.”

There are seven positions open to any resident in Norfolk or Suffolk receiving mental healthcare services, either currently or within the past five years, or people with experience of supporting a person receiving or having received mental healthcare services within the past five years. 

Applications close at 11.59pm on Sunday 11 August. To apply, complete this short form: https://forms.office.com/e/BuE02nJ6gu  

People can also leave feedback using an online form accessed via this link https://forms.office.com/e/m7aJxXKy75 

If you would like to find out more information about the Service User and Carer Council, email Councils@nsft.nhs.uk or visit Service User and Carer Council | Norfolk and Suffolk NHS (nsft.nhs.uk).