In 2024, the Royal college of Psychiatrists were contracted to deliver a new national audit, the National Audit of Eating Disorders (NAED). The NAED has funded Beat to organise and facilitate a Service User and Carer Advisory Group (SUCAG), that will provide collective feedback on key decisions across the audit’s lifetime.
The overarching quality improvement objectives of the all-age eating disorders audit are framed within the key areas of quality care namely that services are safe, effective, patient centred, timely, efficient and equitable.
By collecting, linking, analysing and reporting data on eating disorders access and treatment, the eating disorders audit seeks to drive improvement of the identification and appropriate management of eating disorders and the quality and consistency of services for children and young people (CYP), adults of working age and older adults.
The Service User and Carer Advisory Group (SUCAG) will work alongside the NAED’s Patient and Carer Advisors to shape the audit. The SUCAG will feed into the audit’s Steering Group via the Patient and Carer Advisors. Collaboration between the SUCAG and the Steering Group will ensure active and meaningful dialogue between clinicians, third-sector leaders and those with lived experience. This is crucial to successfully delivering the audit in a way that is impactful for service users and carers.
The SUCAG will discuss topics and pieces that are of relevance to the NAED. The board will feed back to the audit during biannual meetings held in advance of Steering Group meetings, so that the perspectives of people with lived experience of eating disorders are represented throughout the NAED’s decision-making.
Advisory board members will work together to:
Becoming a Service User and Carer Advisory Group member is an exciting opportunity to make positive change to the care and treatment of eating disorders across England.
By becoming a member, you will receive:
We are looking for people with lived experience of having an eating disorder or caring for someone with an eating disorder, over the age of 16 years, based in England. Board members will have recent lived experience of eating disorders services in England, either as a patient or a carer for someone who has used an eating disorders service.
We want to make sure that our advisory boards are fully representative of the diverse communities across the U.K., and so we are particularly keen to hear from people from people who identify with any of the following:
As with all our work, we are also committed to representing the full range of eating disorders, including the ‘lesser known’ ones. This includes anyone who may not have a formal diagnosis, and inclusive of both long- and short-term eating disorder experiences
As part of the Service User and Carer Advisory Group you would meet with fellow panel members as part of a group of 10 people. There will be two 3.5-hour panel meetings a year between November 2024 and July 2027, all conducted via Zoom.
Beat Co-Production staff will facilitate meetings and there will also be dedicated staff available to provide any support needed. Beat and clinical staff will also be available for support before and after meetings.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists and Beat want to acknowledge the valuable expertise those with lived experience will bring to this project, so all panel members will be paid for the time they contribute. Payment for participation in sessions will be £25 per hour in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) benchmark: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/payment-guidance-for-members-of-the-public-considering-involvement-in-research/27372#citizens-advice-bureau-cab
The above information is also available in an easy read version.
If you would like to become an advisory board member on the Service User and Carer Advisory Group, we would like to invite you to join us at an online information session.
Our information session will be a chance for you to find out more about the advisory board, what will be involved, support available, meet staff members you would be working with and ask any questions you may have!
We will be having our online information session on:
To register for an information session please complete our sign-up form below.
If you cannot attend an information session but would like to know more about the project, please contact Beat’s Co-Production team at coproduction@beateatingdisorders.org.uk.