Almost 70 people have graduated from SaTH’s People’s Academy

30 October 2018

Since the launch of the People’s Academy, 68 people have graduated from the programme that encourages community engagement with Shropshire’s two acute hospitals.

The People’s Academy was launched by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) in January 2018 as a way of giving people more information about the NHS and how it works in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales.

Many of the graduates have gone on to become volunteers or Public Involvement Champions at the Trust, allowing them to get involved in improvement work, become part of a group that monitors SaTH’s performance or support the recruitment of staff.

Of the 68 people to graduate, 31 of those have come through the Young People’s Academy – a condensed version of the course for people aged between 16 and 25 – while plans are under way to develop a bespoke Academy for Adults with Learning Disabilities.

Kate Ballinger, Community Engagement Facilitator at SaTH, said: “The success of the Academy demonstrates how passionate people are about their local hospitals.

“People want the voice of their community to be heard and valued within the Trust, so I am delighted that the Academy is providing people with an opportunity to make a difference. By taking part in the four week course, people are developing their understanding of SaTH and the NHS, and becoming actively involved in our hospitals to help us improve patient care.”

Kate recently gave a presentation about SaTH’s community engagement work to NHS colleagues from across the region at a networking event in Birmingham.

She said: “The presentation went down really well; it was great to hear healthcare professionals from other organisations have so much enthusiasm for what we are doing here at SaTH. One person even went as far as to describe our work as ‘truly extraordinary’.

“We want to be the best hospital Trust in the country for involving the community and making sure they feel part of our journey.”

For more information about the People’s Academy, the Young People’s Academy and how you can get involved please visit www.sath.nhs.uk/working-with-us/academy or email kate.ballinger@nhs.net