Patient or Carer Representatives x 4 – Quality Network for Older Adults Mental Health Services (QNOAMHS)

The Royal College of Psychiatrists is seeking patient and carer representatives to join the Quality Network for Older Adults Mental Health Services (QNOAMHS) as Workers. The successful applicants will have recent lived experience of older adult mental health services or caring for someone with dementia and/or mental illness that have been a patient in an older adult mental health service.

The patient and carer representatives will be integral to the Network working with the project team, to support the various activities of the project and advocating for the patient group.

QNOAMHS works with services to improve the quality of older adult mental health services. We engage staff, patients and carers in a comprehensive process of both self- and peer-review for the purpose of quality improvement and accreditation. We recognise good practice and high-quality care whilst supporting services to identify and address areas for improvement.

You can view our standards and read more about the Network on our webpage:

Read more about the network

Patient representative and carer representative are expected to contribute by attending and contributing to the peer reviews. Opportunities may also arise for involvement with the Advisory Group, Accreditation Committee, standards development, annual conference other events.

Description of the main stages of the Network

Setting standards for specific mental health services: The standards provide a framework on what a good service looks like and are used to measure quality. For example, a standard on patient information might state ‘patients are offered a summary of their care plan’, this standard would then be measured and if a mental health team is not meeting the standard, the network will support them to put changes in place to meet it in the future.

Who decides what goes in the standards?

The standards are developed by looking at existing guidance and by consulting with experts in the field, including staff, patients and carers. This will sometimes involve a large meeting where people discuss what should and should not be included.

• Self-review – at this point services mark themselves against each standard and the project then obtains feedback from staff, patients and carers from questionnaires based on the standards. The team has up to 3 months to complete this.
• Peer review – This involves mental health staff, patient and/or carer representatives visiting another mental health service for a day to look around, interview people and take part in group discussions. People going on peer reviews, whether clinicians, patients or carers, all receive full training and support from the project team. These are day long visits which follow a clear structure and are facilitated by an experienced lead.
• Writing reports – The QNOAMHS project team collate comments and observations from the visits into a report which summarises the achievements of the service as well as identify areas where they need to improve. The reports are sent back to the service so that they can learn from and act on the findings.
• Learning events – The project holds events so that people in particular areas of mental health can share ideas and help each other improve their service and ways of working. Patients and carer representatives are often involved in these events, with the potential for dedicated workshops being run by patient and carers about their experiences and how this can support service improvement.
• Advisory Group – Each network has its own Advisory Group comprising of professionals who represent key interests and areas of expertise relevant to the network, and patients and carers who have experience of using the services the network focuses on. The purpose of the group is to advise and further the work of the network.
• Accreditation Committee – Each network has its own Accreditation Committee which accredits services based on the evidence gathered during the self- and peer review. The committee may request further information or a re-visit to the service if there are concerns about quality.

The patient and carer representative role within the Network:

The views, ideas, skills and experience of people who have used these services are vital in every part of our work. As part of this role, you will be closely involved with the Network and particularly with the project team, to engage the wider membership and partner organisations in advocating for the QNOAMHS patient group.

Successful candidates will contribute to the network by attending and contributing to the peer reviews as patient or carer representatives. Opportunities may also arise for involvement with the Advisory Group, Accreditation Committee, standards development, annual conference and other events.

Please complete the enclosed application form and return with an updated CV and email to HRrecruitment@rcpsych.ac.uk.

How to apply

For more information and instructions on how to apply, please download the following documents:

• Application form
• Information pack
• Diversity monitoring form

We welcome applications from all sectors of the community.

Closing date: Tuesday 16 May 2023 @ 10am

Interview date: Wednesday 31 May 2023 via Microsoft teams

The College is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Charity registration no. 228636

The College is a proud member of the Disability confident employer scheme. A Disability confident employer will offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria (essential) for the job as defined by the employer.

Please see candidate information pack for more information.

No agencies or publications please.