13 July 2023

The inaugural Expert by Experience (EbE) celebration event, organised by the CNWL Improvement Academy and Involvement team, in collaboration with EbE colleagues, took place on Thursday, 8 June 2023 at Bevans, Trust Head Quarters. The theme of the event was 'Collaborating for Success: A Celebration of EbE Involvement in CNWL Improvement Work'. Fifty-seven individuals attended this event, including service users, carers, CNWL staff and a representative from NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI).

The event commenced with the opening remarks delivered by Janet Seale and Sandra Jayacodi, setting the tone for the celebration. They highlighted that the event was aimed at celebrating the outstanding efforts of CNWL staff, service users and carers, who have worked together to improve the Trust’s services. Following the introduction, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Con Kelly, took the stage to share insights from his own improvement journey. He is a big advocate of EbE involvement in improvement work and made sure to stress how crucial it is.

During the event, two improvement teams—the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team and the Information Governance team—presented their improvement work, shining a spotlight on the invaluable contributions made by their respective EbE colleagues, Paul Jones and Sandra Jayacodi. The subsequent Q&A sessions that followed each presentation sparked interesting discussions and showed overwhelming support for EbE involvement in improvement work.

Sandra Jayacodi, then facilitated a panel discussion featuring three panel members. Their discussion revolved around ways of ensuring meaningful engagement of EbE colleagues in improvement work. One key takeaway? EbE involvement is like the secret ingredient in a delicious meal – absolutely essential.

To wrap things up, Trust Chair, Tom Kibasi gave his closing remarks, reminiscing about past experiences that strengthened his resolve to be a strong advocate for the involvement of EbE colleagues in improvement work. As a token of appreciation, awards were presented to twenty-two EbE colleagues, recognising their invaluable contributions towards enhancing the Trust's services.

The event was a success, with 100% of respondents rating it as good or excellent. People also called for more EbE celebration events in the future, suggesting that they be integrated with existing Trust-wide celebrations.