The Tees Valley Community Mental Health Transformation programme aims to improve the lives of people with mental illness and the way people are supported in their local communities.
Working together with people who have experience of living with mental illness and their families and carers is so important in getting this right.
Below, one of our involvement members shares how she is playing an important role in supporting the development of the Tees, Community Mental Health Transformation Programme and why she would encourage others to get involved too.
“I found out about the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme through the trust Involvement and Engagement team. I wanted to become involved in the programme as it sounded like an exciting opportunity to use my experience to help influence positive change.
“I’m passionate about using my experience to help others, improve services and raise awareness of mental health. I feel it’s important that service users/carers have a voice, our involvement is key to help drive transformation, as we have experienced these services first hand and understand what needs to be improved.
“As part of the programme, I attended an event which was held at the Riverside Stadium, where I was able to be involved in the design of the new model for community mental health services. It was a really great event in which everyone worked collaboratively, really focusing on the patients’ needs. Everyone made me feel welcome and I was able to openly share my experience/feedback without any judgement. It felt really good that my feedback was taken onboard and incorporated.
“I’ve also joined the programme board and the Tees Community Mental Health Transformation Programme Manager, Maxine Crutwell, has been really supportive, made me feel welcome and appreciated for my contribution. I was also nominated, with others, for the Leading Change award at Healthwatch South Tees Star Awards, which I am proud to say we won.
“It’s a great experience and I look forward to watching the new Community Mental Health model being successfully implemented in order to meet the needs of local people in the community. I hope we can continue to co-create and make positive changes. I’ll certainly continue to support with its implementation and will continue to attend monthly meetings with the programme board to see this through.
“I’d strongly recommend getting involved as a Trust involvement member to anyone, it’s a great opportunity to have your say and influence how services and programmes work in future. Only by working together can we make really effective change and I’m happy that the trust offers this opportunity.”
If you would like to find out more about involvement opportunities contact:
Email: tewv.involvementandengagement@nhs.net
Phone: 01642 516468
