Carer Council

We are a group of carers who represent different experiences of mental health and service provision. We come together once a month to:

• Seek to assure that the Trust has appropriate mechanisms in place to capture our experiences and those of other carers.
• Shape service development and improvement using our experiences to help inform and co-produce service improvements and new developments.
• Advocate for carers involvement in service provision by influencing policy development and practice.
• Connect with other forums - we connect in with local service user and carer forums to ensure that we represent as many voices as possible.   

To learn from the lived experience of carers to support the Trust’s improvement journey.

We work alongside the Trust to represent the voices of other carers. We are keen to make good connections with other carers at a local level.

We work closely with the Trust to improve services for both carers and communities.

We are passionate about reflecting on the experiences of carers who support people accessing Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH).

We will act as a critical friend to the Trust and make sure it is listening to and acting on our experiences.

"After some bad experiences with the Trust, I engaged with the Engagement Team to share my experiences. 

"Later I was asked to use those experiences to get involved with the Carer Council. I urge anyone with good or bad experience to get involved.” 

“It’s important to me that my lived experience as a carer is heard at the highest level in the Trust. By getting involved, your story could help others on a similar journey.”

“Representing the lived experiences of both a carer and a service user helps to drive meaningful change throughout GMMH's transformation.

"It's gives purpose to the challenges we've faced, turning difficult experiences into opportunities to improve services and move towards more preventative, compassionate care.”