A partnership service has achieved a national gold award in recognition of its commitment to the open recruitment of people with lived experience of criminal justice.

The Liaison and Diversion service, jointly provided in Staffordshire by Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) and North Staffordshire Combined Health NHS Trust (NSCHT) is one of six pilots nationally to have completed the Lived Experience Charter process, commissioned by NHS England, Health & Justice. The gold award was presented at today’s Lived Experience Charter awards.

The Lived Experience Charter has enabled the service to:

  • Demonstrate its commitment to employing people with lived experience of the criminal justice system 
  • Provide opportunities for people with lived experience
  • Increase job roles for people with lived experience
  • Demonstrate that it has implemented the Lived Experience Charter Values, Standards and Practices 

The Lived Experience Charter process offers organisations the opportunity to:

  • Review their current approach to the recruitment of people with lived experience of criminal justice across their organisation
  • Receive training on best practice approaches, as well as site training and support for the entire organisation, including leadership, human resources, service delivery and lived experience representation
  • Be assessed by a trained, multi-disciplinary team of people with lived experience and health and justice & voluntary and community sector organisations
  • Gain Charter status and be awarded different levels accordingly
  • Be part of a community of good practice with wider Lived Experience Charter sites.

Jane Pulfer, MPFT Service Lead for Liaison and Diversion Service said: “We’re delighted to have been recognised with a gold award at today’s Lived Experience Charter awards for having completed the Lived Experience Charter process. The award demonstrates the service’s commitment to the open and inclusive recruitment of people with lived experience across our criminal justice services and we are proud of the work we do in this area.”

Gavin Hicks, Service Manager for Liaison and Diversion Service, NSCHT said: “Lived experience has been an integral part of our service since 2017, and our peer mentors have shaped the service and given so much to our service users; they role model hope and that things can get better. The Lived Experience Charter has given us space to reflect on how we embed lived experience in what we do and how we drive it forward. We are overjoyed with our Gold award.”

Neisha Betts, Programme Manager for NHS England’s Health & Justice - Inclusive Workforce programme said: “Congratulations to all those involved in this pilot project. Thanks for your involvement and commitment to this important piece of work and for paving the way for a more inclusive and open workforce within NHS services.”

Back to Latest news