When patients, carers and families are involved in decisions about care, outcomes improve, and lives change.

We’re committed to making sure everyone has the opportunity to shape the services they use. We recognise and value the unique contribution of our patients, carers and families, and we’re always looking for new ways to involve them meaningfully.

Our Lived Experience Service leads involvement across the Trust. They coordinate opportunities for patients and carers to influence service design and delivery, and ensure training and support are available so everyone can take part with confidence.

Our peer supporters are central to making involvement happen. They use their own lived experience to offer empathy, encouragement and practical support to others. 

Our work is guided by our Together Service User and Carer Strategy, which sets our commitment to effective and meaningful involvement. We collaborate with patients, carers, third sector and communities to improve service design. 
 

What is the Involvement Bank?

The Involvement Bank is for service users and carers, who are not paid employees of CNTW, to have their say in shaping services. 

People who join the Involvement Bank are known as Involvement Contributors. They can take part in different activities such as:

  • Staff interviews
  • Research projects
  • Staff recruitment
  • Hospital inspections
  • Working groups
  • Sharing a personal story

The Involvement Bank has helped build my confidence, see my worth and most of all made me feel included, welcomed and heard. It gave me so many opportunities I would never in a million years have believed could be possible for me to be a part of. - Involvement Contributor

How can I join the Involvement Bank?

If you are interested in joining the Involvement Bank, you can fill in an Expression of Interest form.  A member of the Lived Experience Service will contact you to have a chat about joining the bank.

We are able to offer a recognition payment of £40 for up to four hours of support in involvement activities. 
 

The Service User and Carer Reference Group is a service user and carer-led forum. It's made up of service users, carers, statutory services and community groups. They work towards continuous improvement of mental health services. 

The Reference Group were fundamental in developing CNTW's Together Strategy.

We are currently making some changes to how our the Reference Group works - please check back soon for more information. You can also join the group's mailing list by emailing ReferenceGroup@cntw.nhs.uk.

What is a Peer Supporter?

A Peer Supporter is someone who uses their own lived experience to support someone else. They have ‘been there’ and moved on in their lives so they embody recovery and messages of hope. 

Peer supporters have been through similar crises. They know how important it is to have someone who believes in you, takes you seriously and gives you time and space. 

The role of a Peer Supporter

Support Service Users during their care and treatment:

  • Draw on their own experience to share insight, understanding, compassion and empathy.
  •  Supporting carers and supporters to champion hope and recovery.

Challenge stigma, promote hope and recovery:

  • Peer Supporters act as the voice of service users. 
  • Help staff in understanding what it is like to be a service user and the potential challenges of this.

Visible: letting all service users and carers know this support is available. 

Direct: work with service users to focus on their individual strengths, hopes and goals.

Introduce WRAP (Wellness Action Recovery Planning) when a service user can have a meaningful contribution to the process. 

Be involved in care planning.

Recovery:

  • Working into Recovery Colleges to provide recovery and wellbeing programmes and courses.
  • Group work to help service users take their next steps. 
  • Champion hope and recovery in the wider community.