We are delighted to announce our finalists for the 2026 National Lived Experience Awards.
We look forward to hearing more about these inspiring projects and people at the exclusive awards on Wednesday, 23rd September, where the winner of each award category will be announced.
The list of categories and finalists is as follows:
Community and Collaboration Award
Women’s Forum
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
This nomination is for the Women’s Forum, an inclusive monthly online space hosted by PROSPECT LPC across six secure wards. Powered by patients’ lived experiences, the forum drives service improvements, resolves practical ward issues, and integrates patient oversight directly into new regional staff training modules to ensure lasting care improvements.
The Get Involved Tournament
Yorkshire and Humber Involvement Network
The Yorkshire and Humber Involvement Network is nominated for organising a wellbeing-focused football tournament co-designed by forensic mental health service users. Bringing together 70 staff and patients across nine teams, the five-a-side event successfully moved engagement beyond traditional meetings, fostering community connection, inclusivity, and meaningful peer collaboration.
Anne Marie & Barry – Stomp Project
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Anne Marie and Barry are nominated for using their lived experiences to champion the STOMP campaign, reducing the over-medication of adults with learning disabilities. They co-created accessible resources, starred in a campaign video, and successfully integrated STOMP training into the university pharmacist curriculum, empowering future clinicians to deliver safer, patient-centred care.
Nicky, Katrina & Tilly – The Family Ambassador Service
Devon Partnership NHS Trust – South West Provider Collaborative
Nicky, Katrina, and Tilly are nominated for transforming family support within the South West Provider Collaborative during Tier 4 mental health admissions. As “Experts by Experience,” they use their personal histories to build immediate trust, translate clinical jargon, and provide vital emotional and practical scaffolding that prevents parental burnout.
Celebrating Diversity Award
Gambinga and Sabreen – SACMHA and SHPU Collaboration
Sheffield Afro Caribbean Mental Health Association (SACMHA) and Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SHPU)
This nomination is for the partnership between SACMHA and SHPU, recognised for bridging trust gaps for racially minoritised communities. As an early adopter of the Patient Carer Race Equality Framework, they created innovative dual roles, like the Race Equity Officer, reducing physical restraint for Black service users and delivering culturally competent, streamlined patient advocacy.
Dev
Priory Group
As a Divisional Lived Experience Partner, Dev embedded patient and carer lived experience into Priory’s Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF). He co-produced PCREF listening circles to provide safe feedback spaces for racially diverse service users, structurally integrating their voices into hospital governance, quality improvement strategies, and service design.
Every Voice Patient Partners – Conducting Trauma & Sensory Informed Environmental Audits
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Patient Partners utilised their lived experience, autism awareness, and trauma-informed training to lead ward environmental audits. By evaluating sensory inputs and consulting inpatients, they secured practical improvements, including quieter alarms, sensory rooms, calmer decor, and a woodland mural, to make ward environments less overwhelming for neurodivergent individuals.
Roots & Reality Group Project
Priory Group
Priory Hospital Solihull’s service users collaborated with the OT and Psychology teams to deliver “Roots & Reality,” a six-week cultural-sharing group. Embedded in the hospital’s Lived Experience Partnership ethos, participants shared their cultural and religious heritages alongside traditional delicacies, boosting their confidence and fostering connection within the rehabilitation environment.
Hope and Positivity Award
Walking Group
Yorkshire and Humber Involvement Network
Initiated by service users across five Yorkshire and Humber forensic mental health services, the YHIN Regional Walking Group brings together thirty participants monthly. Driven by patient councils, members choose and vote on venues. The group provides physical activity, reduces anxiety, and builds supportive, informal peer networks beyond ward boundaries.
Gracie – Distress Tolerance Booklet
Devon Partnership NHS Trust – South West Provider Collaborative
Gracie transformed her personal recovery from a severe eating disorder and isolation into systemic change. As an Expert by Experience, she created a peer-to-peer Distress Tolerance Booklet. Now utilised across South West Tier 4 inpatient units, her authentic resource provides practical emotional tools, bridging the gap between clinical care and vulnerable young people.
Femy
Priory Group
As a Priory Divisional Lived Experience Partner, Femy inspires hope and a culture of kindness. She utilises her personal journey to mentor new partners, reframing trauma into strength. Femy’s impactful co-creation of the Carer’s Corner at Priory Woodbourne provides widespread comfort, successfully shining light into dark spaces for families and colleagues.
Individual Progress Award
Akinsola
Cygnet Health Care
Akin has made incredible personal progress by using the power of music to channel his energy positively. Alongside engaging deeply with his therapy, he has actively driven service developments, including improving the gym and social hub. Akin also continuously supports his peers through music workshops, community meetings, and events.
Laura Ann
Priory Group
Laura Ann has demonstrated incredible personal growth by drawing on her own lived experience to advocate for herself and others. She recently travelled by plane for the first time to evaluate another facility, providing valuable resident-perspective feedback. A passionate advocate, Laura Ann regularly helps peers share their views to improve services.
Charlie
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Charlie has made outstanding progress during his time at his service, working closely with psychology and overcoming long-standing challenges. He has successfully moved toward a lower-security setting and reclaimed personal independence. Charlie now actively participates in art and gardening as he looks forward to the future.
Chloe
Priory Group
Chloe has shown incredible dedication to her personal growth and independence. By actively engaging with therapeutic support, she has built immense confidence, mastered key daily living skills, and now independently accesses the local community. Chloe has rediscovered her self-worth and true happiness.
Vicki
Cygnet Health Care
Vicki has achieved remarkable success during her time at Cygnet. She has channelled her experiences into becoming an actor and a university guest lecturer. Her creative leadership includes co-producing collaborative projects, designing unique games for patients, and single-handedly establishing a staff and patient awards ceremony. Now preparing for discharge, her inspiring journey and immense impact thoroughly merit this award.
Outstanding Leadership Award
Hayley and Lucy – Siblings Pack
Rethink Mental Illness
Hayley and Lucy co-produced the Siblings Pack to support families during Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) admissions, easing maternal guilt and maintaining family connections. Their lived experience secured critical funding for sibling resources and dedicated MBU spaces, delivering a profound, compassionate impact across three units in line with “Think Family” principles.
Julie
Creative Support
Former service user Julie has volunteered at Creative Support’s Recovery Hub for two years, using her journey to inspire others. She created the “Voices of Hope and Recovery” peer group and provides 1:1 support for 10 people, successfully guiding five toward independence while earning her Level 3 peer support certificate.
Andrew – Lead Patient Partner Role
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Former forensic service user Andy has transformed into an inspirational Lead Patient Partner and Governor. He passionately advocates for peers, mentors his team, and combats patient isolation. By channelling unfiltered ward feedback directly to the Executive Board and driving lived-experience employment projects, Andy ensures the patient voice is always heard.
Greg – The journey and impact of a Lived Experience Partner
Priory Group
As a Lived Experience Partner, former inpatient Greg has transformed care at Priory Hospital Arnold. He co-chairs patient forums, reviews safety data, and promotes racial equality as a PCREF champion. Greg also drastically improved patient communication by introducing accessible visual guides and a QR-accessible welcome video narrated in his own voice.
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Inpatients and Every Voice Patient Partners – 10 Ward Round Standards
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
To address patient concerns about power imbalances and unsupportive ward rounds, a project team collaborated with patients to develop 10 new Trust-wide ward round standards. This co-produced initiative empowers patients to lead, prepare for, and invite supporters to their rounds. Staff and patients report more collaborative, safer, and inclusive care.
Social Care Star Award
Blake, Simone, Dan, Kyle and Sarah – Positive Change Through Lived Experience Partnership Group
Priory Group
Priory Adult Care has co-produced a groundbreaking Lived Experience Partner Framework, creating accessible pathways and paid regional roles for residents with complex needs. The pioneering five-member group developed crucial quality assurance resources and recruitment tools, transforming how the organisation approaches quality improvement and giving residents a vital voice in shaping services.
Langdale House Residents
Cygnet Social Care
Langdale House Residents are nominated for fostering deep community roots that empower residents. Key achievements include Courtney volunteering at the British Heart Foundation, Bev and Courtney visiting an older people’s home and a cat sanctuary, Dominic taking horse-riding lessons, monthly tennis club sessions, and strong partnerships with local businesses.
Creative Together
Creative Support
Manchester’s Creative Together is a co-production centre where members completely curate weekly events, ranging from arts and crafts to monthly open-mic sessions and an annual two-day festival. Their recent repurposed-material art exhibition, ‘Seeking Safe Harbour,’ highlighted plastic pollution, showcasing how the centre enriches lives through creativity and community connection.
Donna
Priory Group
Over 14 years at her service, Donna overcame a past of trauma to become a confident community pillar. She volunteered 10 years with the British Red Cross, earning a royal meeting with the Queen, and now drives NHS accessibility policy through Speakeasy NOW, while enjoying financial independence and a vibrant social life.
Congratulations to all of our finalists, and we wish you the best of luck at the awards!