Service users play key role shaping mental health culture of care
Patients, carers and NHFT colleagues have been working closely together to make the Trust's adult mental health inpatient wards safer, kinder, fairer, better and more inclusive places for all.
The work is all part of the NHS-wide Culture of Care programme, which has provided a powerful example of how people with lived experience of mental health care can work closely with healthcare professionals to improve ward culture for both patients and staff.
The Culture of Care framework, including its 12 principles of care, is underpinned by three key foundations for inpatient care and care environments: ensuring those who have experienced trauma are not re-traumised (trauma informed), understanding and adapting environments for people who are neurodivergent, and being actively anti-racist. All of this is undertaken with an overarching theme of true co-production.
At NHFT, four adult and older adult inpatient wards at Berrywood and St Mary's hospitals were involved in the Culture of Care programme. It was co-produced, co-designed and co-owned by improvement teams of patients and carers, carer peer support workers, lived experience advisors and trained staff, with everyone's voice mattering equally.
Feedback from inpatients at Kingfisher ward in Kettering was listened to and acted upon by the improvement team. Patients said they often had little to do in the evening and at weekends, while ward rounds (regular meetings between patients and professionals to discuss their progress) could feel overwhelming.
Culture of Care gave improvement teams a structure to turn feedback into meaningful action and to keep track of progress, leading to a range of improvements on the ward.
These included weekly community meetings giving everyone the chance to share ideas and views, and more groups and activities for service users, including some run by trained lived experience volunteers. Ward rounds are now better planned and held in calmer spaces, and service users have easier access to speak to ward staff when they need to.
The influence will continue to grow
"We now have a culture where responsive improvements are continually made, based on the voices of those using the service. Our weekly community meetings have become the epicentre of weekly positive change and there has been a feeling of empowerment as inpatients witness the suggestions they make turn into action."
Adam Richards, Ward Manager, Kingfisher Ward
"At its best Culture of Care promoted genuine co-production between staff and those with lived experience, informed by the voice of current service users, to explore change ideas that fostered a ward culture of continuous improvement, consistently supporting recovery and improvements to both patient and carer experience. Co-production has had a positive impact and the influence will continue to grow as we keep listening, learning and improving together."
Andy Willis, Lived Experience Lead
"The change idea that was implemented regarding the ward rounds I feel has had the biggest positive impact for patients, carers and even staff. Changing the room, limiting the number of staff in the room and bullet-pointing the post-ward round information for patients are some of the change ideas that we made."
Rachel, Lived Experience Advisor