NELFT Director of Involvement contributes to national discussion on mental health emergency services

Dr Sophie Bagge, NELFT's recently appointed Director of Involvement, was delighted to accept an invitation from Lord Sahota to join a convening of politicians and senior leaders from health, social care, and policing to discuss "Addressing the Mental Health Emergency in Frontline Services."

Having joined NELFT in June, Sophie attended the event at the House of Lords, Palace of Westminster, on 12 September. She was invited to contribute to discussions in the Attlee Room on the challenges facing emergency mental health services, examples of good practice, and potential solutions. Drawing on both NELFT's services and her own lived experience, Sophie highlighted the Trust's commitment to relational care, lived experience involvement and co-production.

[Dr Sophie Bagge, Director of Involvement, NELFT, Attlee Room, House of Lords, Palace of Westminster]

During the discussions, Sophie showcased examples of innovative practice, including NELFT's 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Hub at Goodmayes. Reflecting on the event, she said:

"All speakers brought different views and recommendations. The conversations were grounded in the real challenges facing services while also focusing on practical solutions. As a lived experience leader, having the opportunity to influence discussions at this level of Government gives me hope for a better future for emergency mental health care."

Curia will produce a report informed by the discussions and submitted evidence and will be published by Politics UK in due course.

Sophie also spoke about the personal significance of participating in the event:

"As someone who lives with a serious mental illness, and who has received support from many of the services represented at various points in my life, it was a privilege to contribute to these discussions and help influence future directions in emergency mental health care. I was particularly encouraged that throughout the evening the focus remained on how we can make things better together through co-production with people who use services, their families, supporters and our frontline staff."

[Left: Raf Hamaizia (Head of Coproduction at Cygnet, Centre: Dr Sophie Bagge, Director of Involvement, NELFT, Right: Alexia Quinn, Manager of Restraint Reduction Network and Autism and human rights lived experience campaigner]