Welcome to the East of England Citizens’ Senate
The Citizens' Senate has been operational since 2014 when it was part of the NHS Strategic Clinical Networks. In April 2017, following the dissolution of the Strategic Clinical Networks, the Citizens’ Senate commenced a partnership with the Eastern Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN) now known as Health Innovation East (HIE).
We are valued for our collaborative involvement on programmes across the regional health economy to achieve radical transformation to improve patient and carer outcomes. The Citizens’ Senate offers patient and service user experience and insight to develop patient-centric and personalised services.
The Citizens’ Senate operates independently and retains its neutrality through its volunteers, sponsors and grant-based activities to instil confidence and gain trust and acceptance from those we represent. The Citizens’ Senate aspires to extend the public voice through a larger cohort of diverse Patient Leaders with training and mentoring as a key part of its development and provision.
Onche Godwin Daudu - Member
The Citizens’ Senate welcomes people with similar interests and who are keen to have a voice in our ever-changing health and social care landscape. We have regular opportunities for individuals to be involved in condition specific projects, but also wider involvement in national programmes, including research.
Supporting Public Involvement
The Citizens’ Senate (CS) is a resource pool and source for informed public involvement and participationi in research. It provides the Clinical Networks and other regional healthcare structures with insight, information and views about services and proposed redesign or service change from the perspective of patients and carers. Members of the CS live with long-term conditions or are caring for others with debilitating illness. They have current and relevant experience of services and are therefore considered ‘experts by experience’. They are actively involved with informing programmes and projects, together with reviewing health and social care policy and guidance.
Patient and carer involvement has always been the ambition of the NHS. It is built into the NHS Constitution and was given legal force in the consolidated NHS Act 2006. The Health & Social Care Act 2012 makes it a duty in law to involve patients and carers in the design and delivery of our health and social care services. There is now greater emphasis than ever on patient and carer participation.
Patient and Public Involvement in health and social care is a process that involves patients and carers as stakeholders, advisors and shared decision makers. Patient Involvement means more than just simply engaging people in discussions about services. Involvement means having the public perspective heard at every level of the service. The public voice should be heard during the commissioning of health and social care, during the training of health and social care personal and in the regulation of services.
Join Us
The Citizens’ Senate meets virtually every week. We invite guest speakers to share relevant and topical information to support us to engage effectively with the health and social care system. We also create a safe space for members to share their involvement experience with the rest of the participants - we feel this is an effective way to share information and learn and support each other.