Raf Hamaizia has served as the Expert by Experience Lead for Cygnet Healthcare, since August 2016, collaborating with the Director of Nursing to shape and improve the organization's service user involvement structures on both a local and group level.
He has implemented a number of initiatives within Cygnet Healthcare including 'The People's Council', which has been recognised by the Care Quality Commission as 'an area of outstanding practice' and by the Royal college of Psychiatrists as 'an example of good practice'.
Patients undergoing rehabilitation in care services now have access to homely ‘social hubs’. These dedicated areas, away from clinical wards, make use of unused spaces to provide environments where people can relax and socialise as they recover.
Experts by Experience are people with lived experience of using, or caring for someone who has used, health and or social care services. Discover how their insights help provide truly person-centred care.
The thought of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine was a little bit scary to begin with for Cygnet Healthcare's Raf Hamaiza. Like many others, he struggled to make sense of information pouring in from all directions. In this blog, he explains how he found clarity and peace of mind - for himself and his colleagues.