The directorate was established in July 2022 with Paul Binfield as service director.
The change will help the PP team further develop its role in empowering service users and carers to share their experience and providing opportunities for people with lived experience to shape and develop improved care across the organisation.
The directorate will also lead on developing volunteering opportunities within the Trust and the communities it serves.
People Participation is seen as one of the foundations for continuous improvement across ELFT, alongside Quality Improvement (QI).
The directorate team will ensure service users and carers are involved in all recruitment, ensure co-production is embedded in everything we do as a Trust, bring lived experience to the heart of all staff training and promote lived experience experts at the heart of service improvement.
Another priority will remain to support service users and carers through their recovery journey and into successful lives, in whichever way works for them.
The PP team has grown from three PP Leads in 2008 to more than 140 including PP Leads, Peer Support Workers (PSWs), People Participation Workers (PPWs), befrienders and admin support.
“This further demonstrates the Trust’s absolute commitment to the incredible value and insight that people who use our services can provide in understanding how we shape and develop patient-centred care,” said PP Director Paul Binfield.
“PP also remains absolutely committed to providing genuine and meaningful opportunities to help and support people on their recovery journeys.”