Lived Experience Partners helping shape our services and the way we work
On Saturday 10 October we mark World Mental Health Day, which raises awareness of why good mental health is so important, and how we can prioritise it in our lives and communities.
The theme for 2026 is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change” (World Federation for Mental Health).
It is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the important role people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, along with their families, friends and carers, play a meaningful role in shaping our services and improving how we work.
Through a growing range of paid Lived Experience Partner roles, we are embedding lived experience at every level of the organisation as we believe the best services are designed with the people who use them.
We now have over 70 Lived Experience Partners who work alongside our staff in a variety of areas, including staff training, recruitment and selection, service improvement work, marketing and communications, and PLACE (Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment) inspections. These paid roles help ensure that the voices and experiences of people who use services, and those who support them, directly influence decision-making and service development.
The most recent Lived Experience Partners currently in recruitment are the HOPE(S) and Human Rights roles. The HOPE(S) model is a human rights-based approach to reducing seclusion and ending long term segregation currently being implemented across GMMH. The Human Rights programme supports the Trust’s commitment to delivering care that upholds dignity, respect, and the least restrictive approach, and is aligned with our Reducing Restrictive Practices agenda.
These new roles help us better understand people’s experiences of our services from multiple perspectives and support a rolling programme of shared learning to improve access, experience and outcomes for the people who use our services, their carers families and communities.
By working together with people who have lived experience, we can ensure our services continue to develop in ways that are meaningful, inclusive and focused on what matters most to the people we serve.
To find out more about opportunities to get involved, contact the Service User and Carer Engagement Team at ServiceUsersandCarers@gmmh.nhs.uk or visit: Roles for service users and carers | Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT
If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out and start a conversation. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
You can also speak to your GP practice about your mental health. They will listen to your concerns, discuss the support available and help you access appropriate services.
If you need urgent mental health support, you can call NHS 111 and select the mental health option for urgent advice and support. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E.
