Published on: 31 July 2023
A Derbyshire Healthcare mental health and expert by experience worker has been shortlisted for a National Service User Award for her efforts to ensure that young people can participate in their care and in service improvements.
Leanne Walker, currently working for Derbyshire’s Living Well Programme at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, is in the running for the Lived Experience Leader Award for driving mental health projects forward with her lived experience of mental health difficulties and showing the qualities of a leader through inspiring others and making a difference both at service and national level.
Leanne will learn if she has won when she attends the National Service User Awards ceremony on 20 September at West Midlands Safari Park.
Leanne first accessed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Derby when she was 15. At 18, Leanne attended a participation group to improve the service and this ignited her passion in the field.
Leanne has gone on to do work on a local, national and international level such as giving presentations at national mental health conferences and working with GIFT, a partnership between young people and mental health professionals formerly commissioned by NHS England, to advise on how to shape services nationally. She was also invited to Buckingham Palace in 2017 to recognise this work.
A recent project of Leanne’s – and a key reason for her nomination – is the launch of her new book on the challenges surrounding children and young people’s participation in shaping mental health services, published by Routledge.
Leanne co-edited the book – called ‘Participation in Children and Young People’s Mental Health: An Essential Guide’ – and it is a ground-breaking text supported by contributions from leading experts, including a mixture of lived experience and academic perspectives to explore topics from how to conceptualise participation to more practical advice and guidance on how to do participation.
The book has over 40 people involved and enables young people to describe the importance of participation in their own words, with many of the 15 chapters written by people with lived experience of mental health difficulties.
Before this book, CAMHS professionals could only signpost people to a chapter or article on participation as told by experts by experience, never one central resource. One young person at the launch event said: “I’ve never felt like professionals had listened to me before, but in the book I have a voice and it has been personally impactful for my recovery.”
Ade Odunlade, Chief Operating Officer at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Once again we are blown away by Leanne’s fantastic work ethic and her dedication to mental health services, particularly children’s mental health services.
“Leanne remains a glowing example of someone who goes above and beyond to put those in our care first. No matter what the challenge may be, Leanne finds a way to overcome this and her book is a testament to that.
“On behalf of everyone at the Trust, a huge well done to Leanne and we look forward to hearing the news in September.”
Leanne was in shock to find she had been shortlisted, and she said: “I don’t do this work for recognition but it is extremely rewarding to hear that my work of improving mental health services has been recognised nationally.
“This role means everything to me. It has allowed me to use my experiences to be a positive voice, to help those struggling with their own mental health and enable those with lived experience to have a voice to create change.
“I owe a lot to CAMHS as without them I would not be able to do the job I love or have the fuel to want to make mental health services better for all.”
Winners of the National Service User Awards will be announced in a ceremony at the Treetops Pavillion at West Midland Safari Park in Worcestershire on Wednesday 20 September.
