Job title; Lived Experience Partner, England

My involvement started after I had cancer surgery at St George’s Hospital in South London, in 2018. I was invited onto a local patient group called VOICE, a patient led core team which represents the wider membership of St George’s Lived Experience community. The group organises patient events, raises awareness locally and engages in specific initiatives e.g. setting up a cancer buddying chat line. I participated as the Lived Experience Partner on St George’s project team in Year 1 (2019/20) of the NHS Cancer Improvement Collaborative (CIC) initiative. I was then invited as one of the Lived Experience Partners onto the CIC Steering Group which provided the opportunity to help shape the outcomes as well as provide patient feedback. My professional background is in managing major projects, programmes of work and quality improvements, where there is significant synergy; teamwork, shared objectives and putting the patient/client front and centre.