Service User Network

The Service User Network (SUN) is a group for people to meet and use their experiences to influence service developments at the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT). SUN members are people with lived experience of using mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services or people who care about someone that does. The SUN enables people to share their views and experiences, look at what works well at LYPFT and give feedback. All of this helps develop LYPFT's services. The SUN meets every month and members can get involved in different projects that help develop better mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services at LYPFT.

Join the SUN and get involved!

LYPFT learns from your lived experience when you get involved. There are a wide range of projects where you can work with other people, for example to:

- Help recruit staff.
- Co design and implement new services.
- Create information for service users, relatives and carers.
- Co design and co deliver learning sessions for staff.

To find out more email the Patient and Carer Experience Team or come to the next SUN meeting on Wednesday, 5 March 2025 at 1pm until 2.30pm on MS Teams.

You can be involved as much or as little as you want, it’s always up to you.

To find out more information about our current projects:

Email the Patient Experience Team to find our more

What is the SUN?

The SUN’s main focus is on improving LYPFT’s mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services. The network brings people together to express their views, share their experiences, explore what works well in our Trust and provide valuable feedback to help develop our services. SUN helps to empower and inspire people through getting involved, sharing their views and giving the opportunity to have their voice heard. This can help with personal recovery and positive health and wellbeing.

Members of staff are also very welcome to attend SUN meetings. The SUN Group is co-chaired by facilitators with lived experience and supported by the Trust’s Patient and Carer Experience Team

Why should I get involved?

Connect, be active, give, keep learning, take notice Your experiences and feedback can make a difference! Getting involved will:

help you to understand why things happen in a certain way
support you to gain new skills
increase your confidence
help you to speak out on behalf of others without a voice
support you on your journey to recovery and maintain your wellbeing
help you connect with other people
enable the Trust to learn from your experiences

What happens at the network meetings?

There is a SUN meeting on the first Wednesday of every month between 1pm-2.30pm. It’s a friendly meeting and everyone is welcome to attend. The meetings take place either face to face or online.

There is usually a guest speaker, and news and updates about involvement opportunities with different services at LYPFT or at other groups in Leeds. SUN members can also bring their ideas or concerns about any Trust service to the SUN meeting. They can discuss how to work together with staff and SUN members, what the next steps may be and get regular feedback.

We have a SUN mailing list to let people know about involvement opportunities at LYPFT. There are many different ways you can be involved and you can do as much or as little as you want to. This could be:

giving your views
being part of a project group
coming to a SUN event
filling in a survey
being on a recruitment panel
taking part in a workshop or discussion
helping to plan or deliver staff practice development
co-chairing a group.

To join our mailing list, please email the Patient and Carer Experience Team or call 0113 855 6840.

How else can I use my lived experience?

There are other ways to get involved at the Trust and use your lived experience.

Become involved with Leeds Recovery College.
Join the Help from Experts by Experience for Researchers (HEER) group.
Become a volunteer at the Trust.
Work with the Learning Disability Involvement Team.
Have Your Say .
Join the Trust’s Council of Governors

Expenses and Payments

LYPFT values the time people give to being involved with our Trust. Each activity you take part in will be at one of three levels. We will tell you which level it is before you decide to take part.

Level A – No involvement payment and no repayment of ‘out of pocket’ expenses.

Level B – Repayment of travel and out of pocket expenses.

Level C – An involvement payment is offered along with repayment of travel and out of pocket expenses.

Please see the attached Summary of Payment leaflet for more details

You can contact the Patient and Carer Experience Team:

By Telephone 0113 855 6840 (Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm)

By Email: patientexperience.lypft@nhs.net

In writing: Patient and Carer Experience Team
Becklin Centre c/o PALS Office
Alma Street, Leeds
LS7 9BE

Page last updated: 31st Mar 2025 2:13pm