We have long championed and valued co-production across our services, using the voices, views and insight from service users to provide the very highest standards of care. In 2018, Cygnet became the first independent provider of healthcare services to invest in a full-time Expert by Experience Lead.
Our Experts by Experience help ensure the opinions of service users are heard and considered across the organisation and that feedback is actioned upon to improve our services.
“It brings hope, having somebody helping you who has been an inpatient, who can empathise and understand but also be that advocate for you.”Natasha, Expert by Experience
In the summer, the NHS Confederation visited two of our services – Cygnet Alders Clinic and Cygnet Hospital Taunton, to meet two former service users who have gone on to become Experts by Experience; Natasha Lowe and Lee Millington-Millar.
They also spoke with our Group Clinical Director, Dr Jon Van Niekerk, and our Expert by Experience Lead, Raf Hamaizia, to understand how we have fully embedded co-production across our organisation and the vast benefits that service user involvement brings to the quality of care we offer.
“It is empowering to know I could be responsible for improving their care and getting their voices heard. It helps me and give me a sense of meaning and purpose too.”Lee Millington-Millar, Expert by Experience
We are honoured that the NHS Confederation has produced a series of videos all based on our Expert by Experience programme which will be shared with its many members by way of promoting best practice and innovation in health and social care.
Jim Palmer, Head of Member Communications at the NHS Confederation said:
“It was a pleasure to visit Cygnet Alders Clinic where I got to meet two Cygnet Expert by Experiences, Tasha and Lee, as well as Raf Hamaizia and Jon van Niekerk. Hearing first-hand about how former inpatients have been recruited to improve care for patients on mental health wards, across different services, was inspiring. I was certainly in awe of Tasha and Lee’s stories and how they have managed to so positively turn around their experiences in order to help others who are in a situation they can both empathise with.
“I was also really interested to hear about how feedback of the Expert by Experience programme at board level has been positive, with new processes feeding insights back to directors, informing decision making and learning at different levels.
“At the NHSConfed we want to champion best practice and promote how things can be improved by our members. That is why we are pleased to have been able to conduct interviews with Tasha, Lee, Raf and Jon and share how Cygnet is leading the way with Experts by Experiences with other organisations across the NHS Confederation. I am confident our members will learn a great deal from how Cygnet is operating and how the organisation is embracing and embedding a culture of co-production.”
Dr Jon Van Niekerk told us: “The programme has allowed us at board level to hear the patient voice and really act on any issues that come up. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle – this is how people want to receive their care and my advice is to really invest in this or you will be left behind.”
After hearing the real impact that co-production and lived experience is having on an organisation like Cygnet, I’m sure other leaders across the NHS and independent providers will be echoing Jon’s sentiments.