Lois Edmunds, Elysium’s Regional Expert By Experience (EBE), will present at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare later this month, sharing her important perspective on the vital role lived experience representation has been providing in mental health services.
Lois, who is based at Thornford Park and works as Regional EBE across the South, will present at the international conference in Utrecht from May 21st to 23rd.
Elysium’s Senior Governance Manager South, Gareth Taylor, will join her. Their session, Experts by Experience, Leading The Way, promises to be an insightful session which explores the importance of lived experience representation within senior management teams and its impact on the quality and relevance of patient care.
Delegates will hear how the innovative recruitment of Lois into the senior management team as an Expert by Experience has significantly improved patient involvement and overall care quality.
The session will be interactive and explore key outcomes, including enhanced patient participation in clinical governance, successful Quality Improvement (QI) projects, balanced corporate policies, and reduced restrictions fostering positive risk-taking.
Lois has undertaken her role as EBE at Elysium for almost three years, drawing on her own experience of inpatient care over five years in different settings.
She said, “I was the first Expert by Experience at Elysium, and the role has evolved. It takes many different forms, but everything I do is aimed at making sure the voice of the people we support is heard and acted upon at every level of the multi-disciplinary teams I work with across the services I represent.
“I spend time with the people we support, gathering their feedback and thoughts and sharing those. I ‘mystery shop’, explore the culture of services, and I am involved in the rollout of trauma-informed care. It’s very varied, but it’s all about understanding – and acting on – the things that are important to people we support.
“I hope that in our presentation we can help others understand the importance of the EBE voice in leadership roles and the difference that can make for everyone in a service, those who are supported there and the staff teams working with them.”