There are two key parts to my role.

Firstly, working with teams to collect feedback from young people, adults, parents and carers on their experiences of using mental health services through surveys, 1:1 conversations and group discussions and activities.

Secondly, using that feedback to make meaningful and impactful change. Involving people who have experiences of using services to help make those changes is a really important part of our work and an area that I feel passionate about. I work closely with Participation Leads in CAMHS and ED Services and am inspired by their passion and commitment to use the patients’ voice to bring about change. Developing networks with teams and services within and external to Oxford Health is also really important to the way in which I work.

I am a learning disability nurse by background and have worked in the NHS for 35 years. I have experience of working in inpatient and community services, research and development  and education, being a lecturer practitioner on the Learning Disability Nursing Degree Program for 10 years.

On a personal level I love the outdoors and enjoy walking. The pandemic has been a great opportunity to discover many new walks from our house and I have also developed a real interest in birds. I try to keep fit and look forward to getting out on the river in my kayak.

I am hugely passionate about patient engagement and involvement, having been on my own mental health recovery journey. I now consider my experiences of mental health as one of the most shaping, and with the benefit of time and support, one of the most positive experiences of my life. It has given me insight into myself, the ability to connect with others on a deeper level and a thoroughly fulfilling career. A little more about me: Originally from York, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have lived most of my life in two of the world’s most beautiful cities in York or Oxford. The only thing I have not been lucky with is my choice of football team, as I am a huge Middlesbrough fan! Previously to working in this role, I have undertaken a range of voluntary roles with mental health charities and worked for the Oxfordshire Recovery college and CAMHs. My fun fact about me would be that I only cook 12 times per year, (no I am not lazy!) I batch cook month to month. I spend 14 hours in the kitchen and all my food for the month is prepared! If you are interested in putting your unique experiences and skills of being a service user with the trust into shaping the future of how our services work/are developed and run, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, I have quite literally walked in very similar shoes to where you feel you might be right now.

I am the lead for people with learning disabilities. This means that I work with the learning disability services and other services across the trust to help them to make their services more accessible.

I work with individual experts by experience to record their stories, take part in staff interviews or to participate in service improvement projects .

I also work with groups of experts by experience to work on projects like:

• Making becoming a member of the Trust meaningful.
• Making easy read information.
• Looking at how accessible services are.
• Making becoming a Governor of the Trust accessible.

I have worked with adults with a learning disability in Oxfordshire since 1995 as an occupational therapist but took up my patient experience and involvement role in 2019.

I have been both a patient and carer using NHS services and I am passionate about ensuring the patient and carer voice is at the heart of services.

When I am not at work, I enjoy dinghy sailing, walking, baking and crochet!

I am the Carer Involvement Lead for the Trust and I lead on the I care you care, carers strategy with our chief nurse, with the aim to put carers at the heart of everything we do.

I have been part of the NHS family for 19 years now and wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.  Having been a carer for my sister, I know what a positive and rewarding thing it is to do but also how physically and emotionally challenging it can be too. As a carer you don’t put yourself first and  it can start having an impact on your own wellbeing.

I have  passion and enthusiasm for what I do, and my is role is so varied from working with services to help them become more carer aware, facilitating carer focus groups to ensure the carers voice is heard, organising carer related events and developing resources for carers.

It is my ultimate aim to develop a culture across Oxford Health where identifying, involving and supporting carers is done without a second thought.  To ensure our staff see carers as everyone’s business and to treat them as a valuable part of the care team, at the end of the day we all have the patients’ best interests at heart.

In my spare time I love being outdoors, being in my garden, tending to my allotment and walking my three dogs with my family. I also have a passion for yoga, and I enjoy travelling and visiting places I haven’t been before.

After qualifying as a mental health nurse I have worked in a range of both community and inpatient settings. In 2019 I began in my role as experience and involvement lead for Adult and Older Adult Mental Health services. This role is hugely rewarding and allows me to use my passion for engaging and learning from people who use services to hear and act on feedback but also to codesign new and existing services. I am personally committed to embedding coproduction in the way we work and to use the knowledge and skills of professionals and experts by experience to make care collaborative and person centred. I am also an Approved Mental Health Professional and work across mental health services and with other emergency services in this role.

Outside of work I volunteer with a charity who offer counselling and support to people bereaved by suicide, and I like to help with fundraising where I can whether that’s a bake sale at school, a triathlon in the summer or a musical event where my daughters are playing the cello, piano or singing. I have three daughters and we love to go camping and cycling and get outside into nature.