BWC has an active research culture and hosts a number of groups that can support public involvement activity. They include:
Young Persons Advisory Group (YPAG) is a youth engagement and advocacy group made up of young people aged 11-19 including patients, ex-patients, siblings and members of the local community who are interested in helping shape healthcare services and making them as young person-friendly as possible.
They meet twice monthly online or in person at the Children’s Hospital to discuss current projects, and often have special guests attend. This group of inspiring young people have made a real difference to research and service delivery, and are the perfect group to approach if you are looking for young people to be involved in your research project.
Contact – bwc.ypag@nhs.net
Think4Brum is the youth advisory group for Forward Thinking Birmingham (FTB), a 0-25s mental health service. T4B gives young people, especially those who have used mental health services, an opportunity to get directly involved in FTB, helping to shape the design and delivery of services. It provides members with the support and encouragement to have their say, as well as offering training opportunities and the chance to get involved in lots of different activities. This group has experience of being involved in research both within the Trust and with external partners.
Contact – think4.brum@nhs.net
Community Engagement Council – made up of individuals and organisations across Birmingham who work in partnership with the Trust to help focus its work on addressing inequalities across the city. The strategy aims to tackle the “avoidable and unfair differences in physical and mental health outcomes between individuals or groups, and work with local communities to strive for equity”. The group’s chair and vice-chair also sit on the Trust’s Health Inequalities Programme Board to ensure a strong link to Birmingham’s communities and hold the board to account in terms of health inequalities work. Although this isn’t a research-focused group, it offers insight and views from a range of community organisations.
Contact – Mark Hiller, Senior Patient Experience Manager, markhillier@nhs.net
Maternity and neonatal voices partnership – an NHS working group of service users, commissioners, community organisations and health professionals (midwives and doctors) who work together to review and contribute to the development of local maternity care, covering Birmingham United Maternity Partnership (BUMP) which includes all maternity units in Birmingham and Solihull. Although this group isn’t focused on research, there are opportunities to share research updates and involvement opportunities with its membership.
Contact – bsolmnvp@gatewayfs.org
NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) Young research champions group (YRC) – this group of 8 to 18-year-olds meets every six weeks at the Children’s Hospital offering young research champions the opportunity to make research the best it can be for other young people. The group works alongside doctors, nurses and researchers to gain confidence, and attends conferences related to research and development.
Contact – carly.tibbins@nihr.ac.uk
For general guidance and support with public involvement, please contact Mark Hillier, Senior Patient Experience Manager, markhillier@nhs.net