Involvement
Getting involved with NHFT
If you know of a patient, service user, carer or parent that would like to be involved in helping to improve services, please contact the Involvement Team.
What is Involvement?
Involvement is about people using their life skills, knowledge, own lived experience and time to influence how services are planned, delivered, developed and evaluated. Involvement and Co-production is achieved through working together and is at the heart of all we do. This ensures we have a diverse, inclusive and innovative organisation which strengthens links and enables us to shape our services to meet the needs of our local community.
Get in touchBack upFor more information about being involved or to register, contact the Involvement Team on 03000 273 873 or email: involvement@nhft.nhs.uk
What does involvement mean to me?Back upWe asked some of our service users and carers what involvement meant to them.
This is what they had to say:
"Hope that future mental health services will listen and act on service user, and carer views and experiences to improve services."
"Being able to share my expertise and experience."
"Activity beyond my home. Constant learning opportunities. Feeling of self-worth and esteem."
"Involvement gives me a purpose and offers me value. It feels great to help others too and improve services gradually."
"Involvement is getting your voice heard (and acted upon)."
"Having a voice and being equal to health professionals."
"An opportunity to share my knowledge of mental health services."
"A chance to experience NHFT services."
"Involvement for me is a chance to assist in the recovery of people with mental health/addiction problems."
"Communication with others. Using knowledge to help improve services. Learning. Confidence building."
"Taking part in something worthwhile to myself and others from start to finish, where I can feel like I have achieved."
Involvement opportunitiesBack upOpportunities at NHFT include:
- Patient and involvement stories - this can be an important part of understanding what has happened to a patient and can be a part of a patient's recovery
- Membership of working groups - this is related to the quality, service development and improvement that have been set up for a patient, service user and carer to involve themselves in the overall debate
- Staff recruitment and selection - involves interviewing new staff candidates, recruitment training will be provided
- PLACE inspections - visiting Trust sites to assess the quality of the care environment
- Staff training - various types of training for staff where patients, service users and carers can relate their own experiences
- Quality focus groups - participation in small groups to voice your thoughts about the quality of services
- Becoming a member of NHFT - stay up to date with local NHS care
- Bespoke project groups - from time to time there are several short-term groups set up to address a particular issue
- Volunteering with NHFT.
Group co-production charter and principlesBack upNHFT and Leicestershire Partnership Trust, have come together to develop shared foundations for lived experience co-production. By working collaboratively, we have a shared commitment to strengthening co-production and ensuring it meaningfully influences services and decision-making.
- What is co-productionBack up
NHS England define co-production as:
"Co-production is a way of working that involves people who use health and care services, carers and communities in equal partnership; and which engages groups of people at the earliest stages of service design, development and evaluation.
"Co-production acknowledges that people with 'lived experience' of a particular condition are often best placed to advise on what support and services will make a positive difference to their lives. Done well, co-production helps to ground discussions in reality, and to maintain a person-centred perspective. Co-production is part of a range of approaches that includes citizen involvement, participation, engagement & consultation."
- Trust and respectBack up
We recognise that all forms of patient, public, involvement, participation and engagement have value and can be utilised to strengthen or better inform co-production initiatives.
We will be clear when we are and are not doing co-production.
To strengthen our co-production commitment, we will refer to our co-production policies in conducting our roles and activities at every level.
- Every voice mattersBack up
In co-production every voice matters.
We commit to:
- Proactively looking for opportunities to co-produce positive change and raise awareness of its value across the organisation and beyond
- Modelling co-production in our action, ensuring it becomes part of our foundation for continuous improvement
- Encouraging and supporting people impacted by our decisions to be involved in co-production
- Our principlesBack up
- Equal partnership - We will work in collaboration and unite our strengths to achieve better outcomes together.
- Growing through learning - We will use our knowledge and experience to learn from each other and grow together to make the best decisions and outcomes.
- Trust and respect - We will be transparent about what we do, honest about what we say and treat each other with respect.
- Everyone's voice matters - We will work together to ensure everyone feels included and that their contributions are recognised and valued.
- Clear understanding - We will work together for a shared agreement of what goals we are working towards and the impacts we are looking to make.
- Communication - We will make communication clear and accessible, so everyone can be involved.