In this role, you will be working alongside the Adult Mental Health Policy team, fellow lived experience colleagues and clinicians. We are collectively responsible for delivering the commitments set out in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and NHS Long Term Plan. As these plans come to an end, we are about to begin the process of shaping the priorities of the developing major conditions strategy.
We are responsible for a broad scope of work, which includes:
- Community mental health care for adults and older adults with serious mental illness (SMI)
- Adult and older adult crisis and acute mental health care
- Suicide prevention and bereavement.
- Gambling, Rough Sleeping, and Dual Diagnosis
By involving and coproducing with people who use and or support others using NHS services, we can focus on what matters to them. The Adult Mental Health Lived Experience Advisory Network was established in late 2021. Over the last few years, the network has developed to form part of the team that helps deliver on shared priorities. This is being achieved through a model based on co-production, which aims to place equity, equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do.
We know that experiences within services are not equal and that individuals from Black, Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, those with a co-existing physical disability, learning disability or autism and those within LGBTQIA+ communities experience discrimination and poorer care, so we would encourage people to apply from these groups. To support with specific projects and ensure the group cover a range of priority issues we are also keen the group includes greater representation of:
- Older people
- Young adults
- Transgender people
- Those with experience of Early Intervention in Psychosis services
- Those with experience of using Individual Placement Support services (employment support)
- Those with experience of gambling harms
- Those with experience of an eating disorder
- Carers of someone with mental ill health.
The network meets regularly to discuss key issues and advisors are also embedded within policy areas that are important to them, so they can get more closely involved in the team’s work. Hours vary depending on what you can do and different projects – we try to work flexibly to support different people and their situations. Most of this work is remote, but there also some opportunities to meet which tend to be in London.
These are paid opportunities, you will be paid £75 for a half day, this is up to 4 hours of time spent on network business and £150, for a full day this is anything over four hours spent on network business.
If you are interested in becoming a Lived Experience Advisor for Adult Mental Health, you will need to complete an ‘Application Form’ and an ‘Equal opportunities Monitoring Form’ and submit them to england.adultmh@nhs.net by 4 August 2023
We intend to run drop-in sessions for you to be able to find out more. These will take place on:
- 26/07/2023
- 27/07/2023
To register for a drop-in session, please send an email to england.adultmh@nhs.net.
Interviews will be held on the week commencing 21 August 2023. Please also contact england.adultmh@nhs.net with any questions.
Please note that we will support reasonable adjustments required for applications and interviews.
