Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust’s (EPUT) Co-production Conference celebrated the valuable contribution that people with lived and living experience of using health services are making to shape the care we deliver.
More than 120 people attended the event, which was organised by our Co-Production Champions Network and Patient Experience Team and held at Saxon Hall, Aviation Way, Southend, on Thursday 10 October, which was also World Mental Health Day.
Guests included staff, volunteers and senior leaders from EPUT, partner organisations, and NHS service providers and commissioners in Essex.
We were pleased to welcome guest speakers Lady Julie Jaye Charles CBE and Jan Hutchinson, who spoke about how organisations can work more effectively and meaningfully with patients, families and carers to improve services.
Lady Charles is an independent Race, Disability and Intersectionality Advisor, and founder and executive director of Start Change: The People’s Council, formally known as the Equalities National Council, which empowers, supports, and assists disabled people and carers from Black and ethnic minority communities.
Lady Charles, who has advised government ministers and NHS Trusts including EPUT, said “co-production is not just a method, it’s a movement,” which challenges us to rethink traditional approaches, engage meaningfully with diverse communities and use their experience to shape the future of health services.
Jan Hutchinson is Director of Operations at the Centre for Mental Health, a charity which aims to ensure everyone has equitable access to mental health support.
Speaking after the event, she said: “This event was a masterclass in co-production. It was successfully co-produced by a team of people: some with lived experience of mental health difficulties, some of whom are employed to use that experience in community services or the NHS, along with other EPUT employees.
“Together we demonstrated that services have an enormous amount to gain in terms of quality and resource by planning for co-production in a thoughtful, kind and generous way.”
Staff, Lived Experience Ambassadors and volunteers from EPUT also spoke about what drives their passion for helping and improving care for our patients, and examples of how their collaborative work is improving our services.
They included:
- Our Patient Safety Partners, who work with patients, their families and carers, and staff to improve safety and understanding of patients’ needs and concerns
- Our Peer Workers, who work alongside clinical staff in our mental health teams to support patients through their care and recovery.
- Our Lived Experience Education team, who run various initiatives with volunteers who share their personal experiences of living with health conditions to improve how our staff care for patients. This includes the Buddy Scheme, which helps healthcare students learn from people with lived experience of mental health services.
- Psychosis United, a service user network of people want to help to improve care and support for others who have experienced psychosis for the first time, and support each other on their recovery journey.
Professor Sheila Salmon, Chair of EPUT, said: “I hope that everyone who has been here today will get a real sense of our how we are working with people who use our services, their families and carers, to drive and own change in our services and create meaningful and sustainable change.
“Co-production is very much a social movement and I felt that today.”
Mark Dale, Lived Experience Lead for Co-production and Participation, said: “I want to thank the Patient Experience Team and Co-Production Champions Network for their sterling work in putting this event together.
“Also thank you to everyone for attending today, on World Mental Health Day, but also on this fabulous journey, that I hope will continue, of co-production and collaboration.”
Anyone who would like to use their experiences to help other people and improve our services can find out more about the opportunities available on our Volunteering page or email our Patient Experience Team at [email protected]