Shaping the lived and living experience peer support offer for Wales

Published 04/02/2026

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) is thrilled to continue working in partnership with NHS Performance and Improvement (NHS P&I) on shaping the lived and living experience peer support offer for Wales.

In April 2025, Welsh Government introduced the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy for 2025–2035 along with the Delivery Plan for 2025–2028. Within this, Vision Statement Four outlines a clear and important ambition: to create joined‑up, person‑centred mental health services so that people can access the right support, first time, in the right place.

To help achieve this, the Strategic Programme for Mental Health is developing a new ‘Open Access’ support model, based on the Stepped Care 2.0 approach. The model sets out the core principles, components and planning framework needed to make sure a wide range of support options are available for people across Wales, ultimately improving access and quality of care.

HEIW and NHS P&I are working together to build on the excellent practice already taking place across Wales. By drawing on the expertise of peer leads and colleagues with lived and living experience, they are shaping a clear and collaborative programme of work that will create a strong, meaningful and sustainable peer support offer for Wales.

Engagement with stakeholders across Wales

To inform the direction of this work, three engagement events were held with stakeholders across Wales, including NHS health boards, health and social care professionals, third sector partners and people with lived and living experience.

These conversations have been vital. Hearing directly from those delivering services and those using them has ensured the work reflects real experiences, workforce needs and the opportunities that peer support brings.
 

Engagement Event Three: North Wales

The third event, in North Wales, brought together 25 attendees, whose insights played a key role in shaping what the lived experience offer should look like in practice.

Building on the insights already gained, key areas for development were identified, including career progression, partnership working, compassionate cultures, the use of digital technology and the integration of peer support throughout the whole model of care, rather than it being considered in isolation.

Throughout the day, several keynote speakers kindly shared their experiences of working across peer support in North Wales. This was insightful and allowed the audience to hear first-hand, the positive impact of these roles on patient care.

The recovery college and lived experience peer lead at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board shared insights from their first year in post. Communication emerged as a key theme, from openly asking questions and learning from approaches already taken by other health boards, to adapting practice to meet current needs. The importance of sharing personal experiences and vulnerabilities to provide compassionate support was also highlighted. Collaboration with community services and organisations was emphasised and this has been a clear takeaway across all three engagement events.

Peer leads from Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB), presented their experiences of working as peer leads. The positive impact on patient care was evident, with patients reporting the value of the support these roles provide.

Finally, representatives from Tektology, an Australian-based organisation, joined the event to discuss the potential use of digital technology to support peer roles. While feedback highlighted significant potential, it also identified important considerations before this could be taken forward, including GDPR, skills and professional boundaries.

Dr Chris O’Connor, Clinical Lead in the Strategic Programme for Mental Health stated:

“The engagement events held across Wales have been an excellent opportunity to learn together about some of the lived/living experience peer support work taking place across Wales and hear from a range of individuals about how we can build on this moving forward. The learning from these events is going to be incredibly valuable in shaping the development of the draft strategic plan for lived experience peer support. We are extremely grateful to everyone who has given their time to attend the events.”

Further information on next steps will be available soon, if you have any queries, please contact the HEIW Mental Health Workforce Plan Team. Information on the wider work on the Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan for Health and Social Care is available on the HEIW website.