The importance of lived experience representation when providing inpatient services was a key subject discussed by delegates at an international conference last week.
Elysium colleagues Lois Edmunds and Gareth Taylor took to the stage to share their perspectives on the vital role played by Experts By Experience with colleagues from around the globe. 
The pair presented at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, held in Utrecht. The presentation ‘Experts by Experience, Leading The Way’ explored the importance of lived experience representation within senior management teams and its impact on the quality and relevance of patient care.
Lois is Regional Expert By Experience at Elysium. She was appointed to the Senior Management Team three years ago and has significantly improved patient involvement and overall care quality. In her work, Lois draws upon her own experience of inpatient care over five years in different settings.
In their interactive session, she and Gareth, Elysium’s Senior Governance Manager South, also explored key outcomes, including enhanced patient participation in clinical governance, successful Quality Improvement (QI) projects, balanced corporate policies, and reduced restrictions fostering positive risk-taking.
As well as sharing their experience, the event was an opportunity to share best practice and learn from other delegates.
She said: “In our ‘Experts by Experience, Leading The Way’ presentation, we were seeking to 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.
“We had really positive feedback and good conversations with others working in healthcare, including a physiotherapist keen to treat the whole person and to consider the patient voice more in his work. We also spoke with a peer support worker, who wanted to understand more about how to develop her role into a leadership role. We also heard from amazing presenters from around the world about how they are developing peer and critical friend systems – learning we’re eager to bring back to Elysium.”
Gareth added: “This was an important opportunity to not only share the message about the highly valuable role Experts by Experience play in services, but a chance for us to learn from colleagues from across the world and share ideas which ultimately helps us continually innovative and improve our services for the people we support.”