The overwhelming mental health crisis brought on by COVID-19, lockdown and social isolation means NHS East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) has had to keep service users at the core of improving the care delivered to those suffering from mental health issues.

ELFT has been adapting its approach to mental health in Newham and other boroughs under its care, recognising and taking into account all aspects of a person’s life that affect mental health, including work, accommodation, family and overall physical health. Rather than waiting for someone to reach a point of crisis, these social factors can be highlighted and tackled early to prevent a situation which could result in further distress and a longer recovery time.

This project is one of many launched by the People Participation (PP) team at ELFT. Its goal is to empower people to help shape the way their care is delivered. Through PP, people are actively encouraged to take part in staff interview panels and numerous service improvement projects within the Trust.

PP Lead for Newham Rose Muchoki is a champion of service user and carer involvement. She said: “Service users and carers are not just used as a tick box or to simply receive feedback, they make vital and important changes to our service”. As the PP lead it is Rose’s responsibility to identify and address the Borough’s priorities and to represent service user and carer involvement in developing the services required to meet those needs.

As a response to the government’s social distancing guidelines, Rose has moved all activity online. After an initially challenging adjustment period, this has allowed a number of service users and carers to remain connected and continue to shape the service. PP also provides a number of online groups to combat loneliness, including poetry, art, cooking and even online exercise classes. Unfortunately, not everyone has online access for a host of reasons but ELFT are working hard to address this with projects such as the Telephone Befriending Service for people who cannot access services online.

Looking forward to the end of lockdown, Rose knows it will take some adjustment for people to reconnect with each other in a physical world. “It may take some time for people to comfortably interact with each other, there may still be some fear around COVID-19 but this is normal and to be expected”. ELFT and PP recognise that recovery takes time and keeping service users at the heart of the conversation is the key to their success.

If you currently access ELFT services in Newham and would like to know more about People Participation, please speak to your clinician about a referral.

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