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Celebrating a decade of learning and dedication to sharing lived experience

A scheme that helps healthcare students learn from people with lived experience of mental health services has celebrated its 10th anniversary.

The Buddy Scheme, run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) in partnership with local universities, sees students paired with service users and carers to learn from their experiences so they can provide the best care as they begin their careers.

The scheme is hosted by EPUT’s Lived Experience Education team and is just one example of how patient and carer involvement is driving the transformation of mental and physical health care services at the Trust.

The Buddies are among more than 250 Lived Experience Ambassadors working alongside clinical teams to ensure patients have a voice and that families and carers are fully involved in the care and treatment of their loved ones.

The Buddy Scheme allows nursing and Allied Health Professionals (AHP) students to have one-to-one conversations with the volunteer Buddies and to ask questions, giving them the chance to reflect and appreciate what it’s like to receive mental health care.

The volunteers openly discuss their experiences of accessing support and share examples of when they have received high quality care and where there has been room for improvement.

EPUT’s Lived Experience in Education team, students and buddies gathered at Rochford Hospital recently to celebrate 10 years of the scheme which began in 2014 and has gone from strength to strength since.

Each of the buddies shared what being part of the scheme means to them.

Mark, a volunteer Buddy and Lived Experience Lead at EPUT, has taken part in the scheme for a number of years. He said: “Changing and enlightening the perspective of students about mental health experience is a valued asset in their development as clinicians, establishing total mutual respect.”

Annelies, another Buddy, added: “I valued the opportunity to speak to students about what happens to carers and how mental health affects the family.

“I appreciated the flexibility of the Buddy Scheme and being able to talk about the need to understand the support for those who find themselves in a supporting role (partners, parents, siblings and children).”

Heidi Cox, AHP Workforce Lead at EPUT, said: “The volunteers’ input enables us to embed lived and living experience into AHP education. We really value this coproduced initiative and their experiences are developing our future workforce. The buddy day sessions really add to the AHP students’ experience of being on placement with EPUT.

“The Lived Experience in Education team, on behalf of EPUT, would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time over the last 10 years to take part in the Buddy Scheme. Its success is all down to you.”