Published on: 25 September 2023
A Derbyshire Healthcare mental health and expert by experience worker has won a National Service User Award for her efforts to ensure that young people can participate in their care and in service improvements. 
Leanne Walker, currently working for Derbyshire’s Living Well Programme at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, won the Lived Experience Leader Award for driving mental health projects forward with her lived experience of mental health difficulties and showing the qualities of a leader through inspiring others and making a difference both at service and national level.
Leanne received her award during a ceremony on 20 September at West Midlands Safari Park where she was joined by Sarah Gray – CAMHS Service Line Clinical Lead and Alison Moores CAMHS Lead Parent/Carer Peer Support Worker from Derbyshire Healthcare .
Leanne first accessed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Derby when she was 15. At 18, Leanne attended a participation group to improve the service and this ignited her passion in the field.
Leanne has gone on to do work on a local, national and international level such as giving presentations at national mental health conferences and working with GIFT, a partnership between young people and mental health professionals formerly commissioned by NHS England, to advise on how to shape services nationally. She was also invited to Buckingham Palace in 2017 to recognise this work.
A recent project of Leanne’s – and a key reason for her nomination – is the launch of her new book on the challenges surrounding children and young people’s participation in shaping mental health services, published by Routledge.
Leanne co-edited the book – called ‘Participation in Children and Young People’s Mental Health: An Essential Guide’ – and it is a ground-breaking text supported by contributions from leading experts, including a mixture of lived experience and academic perspectives to explore topics from how to conceptualise participation to more practical advice and guidance on how to do participation.
The book has over 40 people involved and enables young people to describe the importance of participation in their own words, with many of the 15 chapters written by people with lived experience of mental health difficulties.
Before this book, CAMHS professionals could only signpost people to a chapter or article on participation as told by experts by experience, never one central resource. One young person at the launch event said: “I’ve never felt like professionals had listened to me before, but in the book I have a voice and it has been personally impactful for my recovery.”
Ade Odunlade, Chief Operating Officer at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Leanne continues to amaze us with her talent and dedication to mental health services, particularly within children’s services.
“A huge thank you from us all at Derbyshire Healthcare for your continued support to our mental health services, we are very lucky to have you.”
Leanne was overjoyed to have won the award and said: “I feel so honoured to have won this award, I have been on an incredible journey that I wouldn’t change for anything. I’ve met the best and most amazing people along the way.”
“I feel proud of the journey I have been on and what I have achieved in my work. I feel passionate about lived experience voices. It is so important for mental health systems to work together with people, like me, with lived experience, to work towards making support offers the best they can be.”
“Thank you to the CAMHS team for the support they have given me and also for championing mental health services and lived experienced voices.”
