The meetings take place on a monthly basis within health care sites and quarterly within social care sites. The Peoples Councils feed into the group Co-Production Board which comprises of stakeholders (i.e. Advocacy), experts by experience, staff and members of the Executive Management Board.
The meetings promote discussions on how services can make quality improvements as well as wider decisions around the service, local protocols and group policy. The People’s Council also gives the opportunity for the sharing of best practice and lessons learned across the organisation.
The People’s Council has been recognised as good practice by the Care Quality Commission, Royal College of Psychiatrists and NHS England.
Raf Hamaizia, Expert by Experience Lead explains:
“The Peoples Council has transformed the way we operate as an organisation. Giving a voice to people at every level through harnessing the power of lived experience and peoples assets to create meaningful and positive change.”
During a Well-Led review carried out by the Care Quality Commission on Cygnet Health Care, the review noted:
“In a number of inspections of services, we found established people’s councils and evidence of improvements being made to services as a result of the work of the council. The advocacy service reported to senior leaders that the people’s council meetings established in hospitals had strengthened the service users say in how they want the units they live in to be run.”
A recent report by Cygnet Health Care’s independent advocacy organisation (Advent Advocacy) further noted:
“The People’s Council Meetings has strengthened the advocacy partnership and given service users a say in how they want the units they live in to be run. Service users have told our Advocates the meetings are not only an ‘informal way of getting things done’ but are also an opportunity for their family and friends to attend the unit and have their say.”
The People’s Council has and continues to pioneer exciting projects for the organisations with Music 2 Empower, Smoke Aware and Co-Sustain to name just a few. To learn more about the People’s Council please see the video below.
For more information on the People’s Council please contact [email protected].