Experts by experience needed

Thursday 19 October 2023

People with lived experience of mental health services are being recruited to join a new team helping to deliver the Bailiwick's mental health strategy.

Published earlier this year, the strategy is aimed at improving wellbeing for everyone, so that the risk of people developing serious psychiatric illness is minimised.

Published in September, the strategy was drafted following feedback accrued through reviews of local services in 2018 and 2022.

The Clinical Director for Mental Health and Adult Disability across the Bailiwick is Dr Dominic Bishop. 

"We want to help, we want to work with people to improve their lives because we know how difficult it can be," he said at the time the report was published. 

Dr Bishop said he wanted to encourage better levels of engagement with mental health services at all levels as early intervention is key to improving wellbeing.

Pictured: Dr Dominic Bishop is the Clinical Director for Mental Health and Adult Disability for the Bailiwick.

Throughout the five year lifespan of the strategy, experts by lived experience will be asked to help out, on a paid adhoc basis, by supporting service development and improvement through attending and contributing to meetings.

The roles will pay between £11 and £14 an hour as a bank role, employed through the Adult Specialise Mental Health Service.

Lived experience can include people who have lived through mental ill health themselves or those who have seen the experience of close family or friends.

When appointed, the post holder will work alongside staff delivering the strategy.

One of the most crucial components of the role will be the expectation to "advocate on behalf of service-users across island-wide mental health and wellbeing services where appropriate".

Pictured: The new mental health and wellbeing strategy was published in September. Read more about it HERE.

The strategy was drawn up following discussions with a steering group which included people with lived experience as well as professionals across a number of sectors.

That steering group considered a number of issues such as where are there any service gaps, is better signposting needed, or can service deficiencies be met in other ways suitable for the small community.

The strategy's success will be measured through annual reviews over its five-year lifespan with those assessments leading into development plans for the future of the strategy beyond that initial five years.

LISTEN:

In September, Dr Bishop, Dr Nicola Brink and Jo Cottell from Guernsey Mind discussed the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and how lived experience is key to its success.

You can listen to that interview in full below: