Lived experience

People with lived experience of the support we provide offer an invaluable insight on what it's like to receive care.

By sharing those lived experiences you can help us identify where we could make improvements and help to make a real difference to other people who are in the same position as you were.

Current lived experience roles

All of our lived experience roles below are available as paid (Agenda for Change Band 4) or volunteer positions.

We are offering you a choice on whether your role will be paid or not because of the implications of taking on paid work if you claim certain benefits. This helpful document explains some key things you need to bear in mind if you would like to apply for a paid role.

Whether you choose a paid or volunteer role, you will be given the same training and support from our lived experience team.

If you would like to apply for one of these roles please complete this application form and email it to engage@shsc.nhs.uk

Find out more about each role here:

Lived Experience Member - Mental Health Legislation Committee (one post)

This role would suit an individual who has an interest in mental health legislation and its use in NHS services
The role requires the individual to read papers that are presented for assurance as part of the Trust governance assurance processes
This role may suit someone who has experience of attending committees and understands the function of assurance
The role requires pre reading of a number of a papers for the committee, this may take up to one day in preparation before the meeting - the meeting itself takes three hours
The role will require the person to ask questions and to test out the quality and validity of the papers
Individuals who represent persons with protected characteristics are most welcomed to apply for this post
The candidate needs to be able to reflect on a range of topics related to the mental health act, mental capacity act, human rights and restrictive practices. Their role is to seek assurance that the views and/or experience of people who use our services have been included (or will be included) in the experience of subjects presented
Communicating with SHSC employees (including, but not limited to, Engagement and Experience Team, Occupational Therapists, Ward Staff) and service users
Exercise good personal time management, punctuality, and consistent reliability
Being able to record/write down and pass on information collected from these conversations.
The time commitment is one and a half days every month to pre read and attend the meeting. Pre-meeting briefings will be offered to support induction and understanding of the role and requirements of attendance.

To find out more about this role email jamie.middleton@shsc.nhs.uk

Lived Experience Member - Clinical Quality and Safety Group (one post)

This role would suit an individual who has experienced care in the Trust and is keen to advise on the patient experience related to safety and quality of services. The group has presentations from clinical services, reviews information about incidents, investigations and a range of other information to understand safety and care. The aim of the group is to learn in order to improve lived experience.
The role requires attendance at the meeting and an understanding of what safety and quality mean to people who use our services and their families/carers
The role will require the person to read a number of papers prior to the meeting
The role will require the person to ask questions and to test out the quality and validity of the papers
Individuals who represent persons with protected characteristics are most welcomed to apply for this post
Able to discuss potentially traumatic subject matter and remind/focus the group on lived experience of receiving care in the Trust
Communicating with SHSC employees (including, but not limited to, Engagement and Experience Team, Occupational Therapists, Ward Staff) and service users
Exercise good personal time management, punctuality, and consistent reliability
Being able to record/write down and pass on information collected from these conversations
The meeting occurs once every month
The time commitment is one and a half days every month to pre read and attend the meeting.

To find out more about this role email vin.lewin@shsc.nhs.uk

Lived Experience Member - Lived Experience and Co-Production Assurance Group (one post)

This role would suit an individual who has an interest in ensuring that the voice of people who use services and their families and carers are represented in the Trust.
We would welcome applicants from communities marginalised by race or ethnicity.
There are a number of vacancies to ensure wide representation from mental health, learning disability and community services for people of all ages.
The role requires the individual to read papers and listen to presentations for the purposes of assuring the Trust that the experience of people who use services (and their families and carers) are being heard, listened to and acted upon with respect to the quality, service design and delivery.
The role requires thoughtful debate and challenge to ensure that all services are challenged to report on experience and engagement
This role may suit someone who has experience of attending meetings and understands the function of assurance.
The role requires pre reading of a number of a papers for the committee, this may take up to half a day in preparation before the meeting - the meeting itself takes three hours.
Individuals who represent persons with protected characteristics are most welcomed to apply for this post.
Communicating with SHSC employees (including, but not limited to, Engagement and Experience Team, Occupational Therapists, Ward Staff) and service users.
Exercise good personal time management, punctuality, and consistent reliability.
Being able to record/write down and pass on information collected from these conversations.
The time commitment is one day every three months to pre read and attend the meeting. Pre meeting briefings will be offered to support induction and understanding of the role and requirements of attendance.

To find out more about this role email teresa.clayton@shsc.nhs.uk

Lived Experience Member - Co-Chair for Sun:Rise group (one post)

Base: Sun:Rise group, Sheffield Flourish, Windrush Way

To co-chair a monthly SUN:RISE group
To report on a monthly basis to Service User Support and Engagement Group (SUSEG) the key issues arising from SUN:RISE
To liaise with visiting speakers as appropriate
To liaise with other service user groups as appropriate

Communication	Demonstrate effective communication skills with sunrise attendees, including mental health workers and agencies and other related statutory and non-statutory organisations. Demonstrate a high standard of face to face communication and interpersonal skills Demonstrate a willingness to further develop skills in communicating Share and present new ideas and information to sunrise and SUSEG attendees and others both formally and informally Be willing to develop presentation skills in a variety of settings Promote awareness of SUN:RISE within the Trust
Ethics	Comply with SHSC policies and procedures with regard to volunteering, confidentiality, etc Respect the individuality, values, cultural and religious diversity of SUN:RISE attendees and contribute to an atmosphere that is sensitive to these needs
Supervision and appraisal	Review and reflect on own practice and performance through effective use of supervision and appraisal
Training staff and students	Participate in the education and awareness-raising of staff and students attending SUN:RISE
Service development and delivery	Participate in the planning, evaluation and audit of SUN:RISE as appropriate Participate in the strategic development of sunrise as appropriate
Professional development	Apply skills and knowledge in order to demonstrate competence as a SUN:RISE chair Demonstrate ongoing personal development through participation in internal and external development opportunities as appropriate.
Clinical governance, quality, standards	Contribute to SHSC’s, and SUN:RISE’s clinical governance arrangements Demonstrate an awareness of clinical governance and risk management in the sunrise context
Management	Exercise good personal time management, punctuality and consistent reliable attendance

Person specification

	ESSENTIAL	DESIRABLE
TRAINING		Evidence of study relevant to SUN:RISE
EXPERIENCE	Lived experience of a mental health condition Attendance at a minimum of three SUN:RISE meetings	Work experience (voluntary or paid) in other work/service situations of chairing meetings Work experience (voluntary or paid) of working with people with mental health conditions
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS	A clear understanding of the value of service user engagement, involvement and coproduction, and an ability to communicate this to others. Ability to engage with SUN:RISE members, demonstrating sensitivity to their experiences and needs Ability to engage with SUSEG members, clearly communicating important issues relevant to service user experience arising within sunrise meetings. Team working skills Effective written, oral and computer communication skills Ability and willingness to reflect on work practice and be open to constructive feedback Ability to manage own stress Understanding of the issues and concerns of mental health service users Knowledge and commitment to service users rights	Knowledge and experience of working/volunteering in service user engagement, involvement and coproduction Group work skills Experience of working with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures Understanding of team dynamics Training and presentation skills Knowledge of the principles of Clinical Governance Understanding of the impact of stigma and discrimination

To find out more about this role email Mia.Bajin@shsc.nhs.uk

Quality visits (ongoing recruitment)

These roles would suit individuals who may have had lived experience of being an inpatient, however this isn’t essential as training and support will be given
These visits form a suite of standards visits that are undertaken to ensure that staff, service users and others work together to identify improvements that can be made to enhance the patient experience
You will have an eye for detail and ideas of how different areas could be improved
You will be able to write down/record and share the information received.

Being part of an interview panel (ongoing recruitment)

It is important that SHSC invites both service users and carers to be a part of interview panels, as your lived experiences are invaluable
You will be confident being with other people and can share your views
You will be able to both read and write in English and can share your ideas with the other panel members
You will have good time management skills, and can work in a professional manner adhering to the Trust's strict codes of confidentiality.

Expert by Experience - Bank Quality Advisor (one post)

The post holder will work with the Quality Directorate to oversee clinical quality and safety projects as part of the assurance team for SHSC
The postholder will link in with key members of the quality directorate to ensure the delivery of safety and quality improvements and innovations for clinical services
The postholder will bring a lived experience lens to the information and stories shared to ensure that outcomes are focused on a good experience for people who use services, their families and significant others
The group meets every other month for 2.5 hours. You will also be required to read papers and presentations in preparation. The post holder will need to be confident to speak up and to ask questions of presenters in order gain understanding and assurance
The postholder may hear distressing or traumatic information related to learning and improvements. This is a risk of this post to people with lived experience
The post holder will be expected to participate in a pre-meet and post meet with other quality colleagues to support robust assurance.

To find out more about this role email sue.barnitt@shsc.nhs.uk

Expert by Experience - Peer Complaints Reviewer (one post)

The post holder will work with the complaints team to support the compassionate and appropriate response to complaints from people who use SHSC services
The post holder will link with lead investigators for complaints prior to the investigation commencing to ensure the key areas of the complaint are identified and that introductory calls have taken place with the complainant. The postholder will review the complaint response on completion to ensure that the concerns have been responded to in a compassionate manner and that the response is in plain English
The postholder may support the investigator in developing the response and the learning/improvements to prevent recurrence where issues relate to a service-wide delivery issue
This role is an adhoc bank role which enables the postholder to choose their hours of work. Once committed to a complaint response it is expected that the postholder is reasonably available to complete the work
The minimum time to support a complaint would be one hour within a four week period.

To find out more about this role email luke.billings@shsc.nhs.uk

Expert by Experience - Eating Disorders Pathway

Post holders will have lived experience of eating disorder services or caring for someone who has, and a knowledge of issues and varying needs of people with eating disorders
Post holders will be working with team SHSC and be interested in supporting the Trust in our improvement journey with eating disorders
This role would suit someone who is confident and outgoing, keen to engage in conversation with people and able to discuss lived experience in a way which engages colleagues from around the organisation and supports people to learn together
This role would suit someone who is able to use their own initiative, is friendly, approachable and has good communication skills
Post holders will have a willingness to understand the work that Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust does and of the development journey we are making, to promote involvement opportunities to other service users Post holders will need to be able to work with people from diverse backgrounds across Sheffield and sometimes wider including professional staff, advocates and people who use services and their families and carers. The post holder will need to be able to listen and acknowledge the views of others and be able to bring together views from a range of people.

To find out more information about this role email Teresa.Clayton@shsc.nhs.uk

Other things you need to know

Here are a few more details about our lived experience roles.

What you can expect from us

Nominated person to go to if any problems occur
Adequate training to carry out the role including volunteer or paid induction and any other training that they and the group leader deem to be appropriate to the role
Signposting to the relevant policies e.g Volunteer Policy, Social Media Policy or Code of Conduct
Support and supervision from SHSC Engagement and Experience Team – including specific support from other Lived Experience Practitioners if necessary
Reimbursement of expenses (e.g travel) with proof of receipts
A brief and debrief prior and after the meeting if both parties deem this necessary, including any useful information to be shared prior to the meetings.

What we expect from you

To conduct yourself in the same professional high standards expected from staff
To understand that as a member of staff (paid or volunteering) you are representing the Trust and its values
To be open and honest about any difficulties you may encounter
To maintain communication with supervisors and our Engagement and Experience Team.

Meetings

Currently meetings take place via Microsoft Teams, however, where a suitable candidate is unable to access Microsoft Teams within their usual home setting we can arrange that they attend the meeting alongside a Trust colleague on Trust premises subject to the COVID-19 guidance. We will actively support anyone who needs technological support to attend meetings.

Downloads

Lived experience roles - application form.docx