All of the courses are co-produced and facilitated by staff and service users and uses the skills and experience of both service users within Cygnet Hospital Derby and those who have previously been in hospital. One guest tutor is Wayne Saville, an Expert by Experience who was invited to the launch to talk about tackling stigma, peer support and life after hospital. In this interview Wayne talks about what motivates him and why he wanted to get involved in the Recovery College.
What is your name and what do you do?
Wayne Saville and I am an Independant Expert By Experience (ExE)
What is your favorite hobby and why?
I love my motorcycles. I ride them, repair them and restore old classic motorcycles with my dad. There’s nothing that compares to the feeling of freedom that motorcycling gives you. When I’ve got my helmet on with the visor down (and the wind blowing through my beard lol), I’m anonymous to the world. I like most sports and anything to do with the outdoors. I was born in Leeds, so Leeds United are close to my heart. I’m also an avid Rugby Union fan after playing the game for many years.
What is the most rewarding thing you have ever done and why?
I’ll give you two answers to this question.
One of the most rewarding things that I have done for myself as a service user, was to attend the regional service user groups at Wakefield. It gave me a greater knowledge and understanding of how our care system works. It also gave me the first opportunity to talk with service users from other hospitals and sharing our stories.
The other most rewarding thing that I have done for others, was to continue attending and supporting the Wakefield groups after my discharge into the community.
With continued support and encouragement from the likes of Ian Callaghan (Rethink Mental Illness) and Mick Burns (NHS Commissioner) I worked on improving my own confidence so that I could stand-up at our Recovery and Outcomes Group and share my experiences with others and encourage them that a new life after secure services is possible.
Why did you chose the subject for your course?
I try to offer hope and inspiration in many of my presentations and try to get the service users to focus on looking forwards.
Why did you want to be part of our Recovery College?
Whilst it is important to recognise how we all ended up in mental health services, the hope and inspiration that I try to deliver is not just directed towards the service user, but also embraces the huge efforts and influences that the support staff play in our recovery. Without a fantastic support team, we wouldn’t have the same opportunities to flourish and improve.
Some service users struggle to get over certain personal hurdles and barriers.
If sharing my experiences can encourage a service user or member of their support team, to try and look at things from another perspective, it might just make the difference between being stuck in an endless cycle of despair, to finding something that makes that individual approach things differently, that result in a more positive outcome all-round.
It’s also important to share life-skills that I have gained, that may help to smooth-out someone else’s transition from secure services back into the community.
Every hurdle or barrier that we can remove in preparation to discharge, can only help in the long run.
What is it like being a tutor and have you got any tips for anyone else wanting to be a tutor?
It’s important to recognise that anyone has the ability to become a tutor.
Lots of us have things that we want to say, but might not have the confidence to stand up and be heard. So I would say that working on your confidence is important to becoming a tutor.
If you need someone to support you, then a member of your care team or a peer can help you to prepare your presentations. Sometimes you might just need someone to write things down for you, or you might just need help finding the right words to use, or make sure that what you want to say is accurate or relevant. You might need them to just stand by your side in case you need some support for the first few times that you talk to others.
Practice what you are going to say. This will help with a smooth delivery, but it will also give you the confidence with the delivery of your message. And, if you are happy to, allow people to ask you questions or offer feedback.
For my presentations, I use visual aids because many service users struggle to remember long speeches which bombard us with lots of information and statistics. I also inject humour into my presentations. If you hear everyone laughing at the right time, you know that they are listening to what you are saying and enjoying it at the same time.
Over time, your own confidence will grow and you will learn new skills that are useful in your new life.