Our year in review
To support the Trust in learning, improving and delivering person-centred care, service users and carers who are not employed by the Trust can share their lived experience through the Involvement Bank.
The Lived Experience Service manages both the Involvement Bank and the Youth Involvement Bank, providing opportunities for service users, carers and young people—known as Involvement Contributors—to participate in activities that influence meaningful service improvement.
Trust services can request involvement activity, and Contributors can choose to participate in a wide range of opportunities, including:
- Staff interviews
- Research projects
- Staff recruitment
- Hospital inspections
- Working groups
- Sharing personal experiences and stories
The Involvement Banks are valuable resources that support continuous learning, improvement and the sharing of good practice across the Trust. Feedback and insights gathered through involvement activities provide opportunities to strengthen services and ensure that the voices of those with lived experience help shape decision-making.
Working in partnership with service users and carers leads to more informed, person-centred approaches to care and helps services respond more effectively to the needs of the populations they serve.
Making a Difference: Beyond Seclusion
A powerful example of the impact of lived experience involvement can be seen in the Beyond Seclusion Project, led by staff on Lotus Ward at Acklam Road Hospital.
The project focused on reducing restrictive interventions and developing a more trauma-informed approach to supporting young people receiving inpatient care. Staff worked collaboratively with young people and carers to review existing practices and identify opportunities for improvement.
Contributors from the Youth Involvement Bank shared their experiences of being cared for within Children and Young People's inpatient services, including their experiences of a seclusion suite. Their insights played a significant role in shaping the project's direction and outcomes.
As a result of the feedback received and the collaborative approach taken, the team made the decision to permanently close the seclusion facility. This has contributed to:
- A safer ward environment
- Reduced levels of violence and aggression
- A more trauma-informed approach to care
- Sustainable cultural change within the service
The success of the project has also created further opportunities for young people and carers to influence how the former seclusion space can be repurposed to better meet the needs of those using the service.
Find out more
If you are interested in joining the Involvement Bank, you can fill in an Expression of Interest form. A member of the Lived Experience Service will contact you to have a chat about joining the bank.
This article is part of our 2026 Annual Magazine, all around the theme of 'learning and improving'. You can read the rest of the articles here.