Our job is to provide NHS care to the local community. It’s important we stay in touch with what people want from our services and what they think of them. Recruiting people as members is one way we can do this.
Simply by signing up as a member you will be showing your support for services we provide and the people we care for; the more members we have; the greater the voice to help end mental health discrimation.
Who can become a member?
There are four membership categories:
Service user: people who have used our services in the past five years
Carer: a carer of someone who has used our services in the past five years
Public: anyone interested in our services living in Brighton and Hove, East or West Sussex or other geographical areas where we provide services
Staff: a permanent member of staff, on a fixed-term contract of at least 12 months or social care staff who work at Sussex Partnership
If you use our services, you may choose to be in either the service user or public category of membership. The staff category is only for people working at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Staff are automatically offered membership and don’t need to complete a membership form.
How can I join?
You can join as a member if you’re over the age of 14, use our services or care for someone who does, work here or live in one of the geographical areas where we provide services and have an interest in what we do. You can complete an online application here.
Our Strategy
As the Trust evolved the provision and delivery of services it's important that we remain accountable to our service users, carers, staff and the public. Through using the knowledge of our members and their experiences we have refreshed our Membership Strategy to come in line with our Trust's organisational strategy which focuses on People, Prevention and Partnerships and will assist us to ensure we continue to improve the quality of life for the communities we serve. See our full Membership Strategy for 2020-2025 or for a quick glance we have produced a Strategy on a page.
Annual Members' Meeting
Our annual members’ meeting took place on 15 September 2021; the event commenced with a formal meeting that reflected on the last 12 months and recieved the annual report and accounts. There was also the opportunity for members to ask questions and we discussed the imporatnce of looking ahead with optimism. After the formal proceedings members had the opportunity to join one of three discussion forums focused on the following topics; Eliminating concerns around the restrictions lifting, nature and wellbeing and loneliness. A summary of the event is available to read here.
Virtual Members Meetings
The Governor Role and Election Process: 21 April 2021
Our second virtual members meeting took place during our election campaign and focused on the role of a governor. We were pleased to welcome members who were thinking about Taking a Lead and applying for the role.During the meeting our members heard from current governors both on their reasons for becoming a governor and their experiences in the role. This was then following by an explaination on the election process and how members are able to apply. A summary of our discussion is available here and we would like to thank all our governors and members who joined us for the meeting.
Engaging with our Communities - 06 October 2020
We held our first virtual members meeting as part of Worthing Mental Health Awareness Week. The session was called Engaging with our communities and was themed around our new Membership Strategy for 2020-2025. We were pleased to welcome members, governors and colleagues from partner organisations who helped us consider new ways in which we can adapt our engagament with members and their communities. A summary of our discussion is available here and we would like to thank the organisers of Worthing Mental Health Awareness Week for having us and putting on such a great events.
Our governors will be hosting further virtual discussions throughout 2021 and dates will be available shortly. We hope you are able to join us.
Contact us
Steve Perrott is our Membership Co-ordinator and he is always happy to anwer any queries you may have, so feel free to contact Steve on email ft@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk or by telephone on 0800 015 3357
