Joshua Tapp, Hospital Manager at Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke, has been named a finalist in the Outstanding Contribution to Social Care category and Raf Hamaizia, our Expert by Experience lead, is a finalist in the Co-production category.
The outstanding contribution award will be presented to the individual whom the judges believe has made a long-term outstanding contribution to social care.
Josh started his career in the care sector as a support worker 13 years ago. Since then he has worked his way up, becoming a Registered Mental Health Nurse and gaining the clinical skills needed to become hospital manager at Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke, a five-ward mental health hospital for men and women.
Nominated by his Kewstoke team, the nomination statement read: “Josh’s impact at Kewstoke has made such a difference in all levels. His commitment to the health and social care sector goes far beyond expectations. He is dedicated and hardworking in all that he does. His contribution, ambition and leadership skills towards the health and social care sector has been incredible.
“Josh has an immovable stability and a sheer determination to make the service the best it can be, he is forever coming up with new ideas and ways of improving the service. Josh always goes above his job role and leads wherever he is needed.
“Josh is happy to interact and get feedback from all individuals whether it be staff members, family members and service users. He lets everyone have their voice heard. Alongside all of this, he ensures the wellbeing of service users is the priority at all times.”
On being named a finalist, Josh said: “It’s a huge honour to be nominated for this award which is a testament to not only the work I do but a reflection of the fantastic team of staff working hard every day to improve the lives of our service users at Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke.
“I have the pleasure and privilege of being surrounded by outstanding colleagues who work day and night to deliver the best possible safe, effective and compassionate care for our patients. I strive every day to transform lives for the better and knowing the work we do at Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke makes a positive difference is hugely rewarding and gives me great job satisfaction.”
“Whatever the outcome of the awards, I feel extremely proud to have been named a finalist and will continue to work progressively to ensure people get the treatment and support they deserve on their road to recovery.”
The Co-Production award recognises the value of co-production in designing services. It recognises those with lived experience who have gone above and beyond to ensure services are shaped to improve quality and outcomes, and care professionals who adopt partnership working to ensure that people who use services have a voice.
A former mental health inpatient, Raf has been the Expert by Experience Lead for Cygnet since 2016, where he is instrumental in running Cygnet’s EbyE programme, championing People’s Councils, supporting advocacy, devising the organisation’s co-production strategy and embedding the concept of co-production at every level.
In 2019 he launched Music2Empower, an initiative showcasing positive and therapeutic benefits of music on mental health recovery. He supported the introduction of Cygnet’s first co-production artist to help bring creativity to service environments. He oversees Co-Sustain to encourage service users to be more environmentally friendly and he has informed the design and layout of mental health settings to better respect patient needs.
His experience of working on both a strategic and local level within Cygnet has been recognised as ‘an area of outstanding practice’ by the CQC and a number of other external organisations. He is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences about the value of co-production. Thanks to Raf, Cygnet is one of the UK’s leaders in true service user involvement. He has driven the agenda to ensure service users are involved in care planning, staff recruitment, training, planning and improving service quality.
In Raf’s own words: “I listen to individuals and ensure that they have a voice at the very highest levels of the organisation. I have walked in their shoes and the implicit trust between us means they feel safe to talk to me; they know I am on their side and my presence shows that it is possible to get better, that recovery is real and that there is hope.”
On being named a finalist in the awards, he said: “I am really pleased to have been shortlisted for such an amazing award. Being part of an organisation that is so supportive of co-production has made this achievable.
“I would like to give a big shout out to the co-production team and all peers, experts by experience and the senior team that have supported with this work on the ground. This includes those behind the scenes who help us raise awareness and champion lived experience.”
Winners will be announced on various dates throughout November, depending on their region. We wish Josh and Raf the best of luck.