The Voice Exchange
Listening to people with experience of using mental health services
In partnership with Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, we’ve been exploring how mental health services could look in the future with the people who need them and those who provide them.
At Listen to Act, we know just how important it is to listen to people over time, in a way that sustains real relationships and understanding, so we were thrilled to launch the Voice Exchange in January 2021.
Project status: 2021 - Ongoing
In partnership with:
The challenge
In December 2020, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust commissioned us to design an engagement programme that would help to identify the fundamental principles needed for effective mental health provision in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea.
What we did
We organised and facilitated a Citizens Advice Panels to listen to residents’ feedback about what inpatient mental health could look like in the future. We gained strategic insights by establishing a Deliberation Group.
Results
In October 2021, we presented our findings to staff at the trust and prepared a report, identifying the key areas to address along with recommendations from the residents involved in the project. The Voice Exchange has continued into 2022 with reflective sessions being hosted for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust staff and the hosting of informative events and summits, to share the learning from the report.
WHO WE’RE LISTENING TO
The Voice Exchange is a unique approach to lived experience engagement and it wouldn’t have possible without the commitment of the group members, who shared so many ideas and insights.
Since its launch in 2021 we have listened to 18 people from a wide range of backgrounds who have experience of using a mental health service within the past three years.
OUR APPROACH
A Citizen’s Group that met once a month in a safe and relaxed environment, made up of people with direct lived experience.
Deliberation Group was run alongside the Citizens Groups and brought together individuals who have extensive experience of representing service users.
Monthly virtual drop-in sessions hosted by Listen to Act, open to everyone, to come along and share their insights.
Alongside this activity, we conducted 1-1 interviews, focus groups, service visits, and conducted virtual drop-in sessions so everyone had the opportunity to share their views.
REPORTING
We found that existing services often don’t work for the people who need them, or for the people providing them and identified five key themes to address, including compassion, accountability, engagement, continuity, and humanity.
In October 2021, we presented the findings to staff at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. Four recommendations were given:
Train and support staff
Embed lived experience
Take a community-wide approach
Keep listening
The people involved in the Voice Exchange commended Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust for commissioning the project, for approaching it in an independent way and for committing to listening to the findings.
NEXT
The Voice Exchange continues in 2023 with reflective sessions being hosted for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust staff. Summits are being held between 2022-2023 to bring together Voice Exchange members, staff from the Trust, and the wider community in a constructive way to look towards the future, together.
“The Voice Exchange is a unique approach to lived experience engagement. Instead of just looking at what’s working and what could be improved, we are asking members to imagine what future inpatient services could look like in a broader sense. It wouldn’t be possible without the commitment of the members, who have embraced the project via online meetings so far, and have already shared so many great ideas.”