Making use of elephants: lived experience and organisations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the surrounding attitudes, culture and workplace environment in which Oxleas NHS Foundation trust developed a network for staff with lived experience of mental ill health. Design/methodology/approach – Sarah Paynter completed an interview talking about her experiences with a peer, which was recorded, then the authors picked out relevant themes from this which are grounded in lived experience. The paper examines the theme of lived experience in the workplace in more depth, from a personal perspective (Sarah) and from an organisational perspective (Christine). Findings – There is a lack of dialogue about staff lived experience of mental ill health within the workplace. There are compelling reasons from both the perspective of the organisation and staff with lived experience for setting up a lived experience staff network. The authors note that increased dialogue and visibility has added value on both sides. Originality/value – This is a relatively new initiative in the NHS, and particularly in mental health trusts. The authors speak from their experiences in Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. This is of value to organisations looking to start dialogue and therefore improve the experiences of staff and the quality of the organisation.