We Can Talk

We Can Talk is using co-production to improve the experience of children and young people who attend hospital due to their mental health and the staff who support them.

Welcome to We Can Talk online, our free forever (yes, forever ever!) open-access online home for training, resources, events and a community of practice dedicated to creating cultural change!

If you are a nurse, HCA, doctor, receptionist, security or any role working in an acute hospital and want to improve the experience of children and young people in mental health crisis, welcome, you’ve come to the right place.

Working together to create change

We Can Talk, led by People Unlimited, is working with more than 50 NHS trusts to improve staff’s knowledge, skills and confidence in supporting young people in mental health crisis.

Hospital staff working in acute care settings consistently report a lack of confidence and competency in caring for children with mental health needs and research shows too many young people have negative experiences of presenting to hospital due to their mental health.

We Can Talk is a co-designed and co-delivered project to kickstart a process of cultural change in order to transform the experience of children and young people who attend hospital due to their mental health and the hospital staff who support them by providing training and supporting community-building and quality improvement initiatives. We encourage Trusts (and senior leaders) to find out about joining the project and all NHS staff can sign-up for a free account to access training, resources and events for free (yes, free free).

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust

South Tyneside And Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Aneurlin Bevan University Health Board

Barts Health NHS Trust

Isle Of Wight NHS Trust

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

Test Trust

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn. NHS Foundation Trust

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Of Leicester NHS Trust

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Whittington Health NHS Trust

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

We Can Talk

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals of North Midlands

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

View all hospitals and trusts we work with

Hear about the project from hospital staff and young people themselves!

Can't watch the video?

Video transcript

Keshia: We Can Talk has definitely been more than a project. It’s more of a way of practice, a way of functioning, a way of just being a better human, even though we are focused on children and young people, it’s a better way to understand those around us, wherever it is somebody passing you in the corridor or somebody you work with, it gives you a better idea of looking beyond the person and seeing beyond what their emotions could be, the whole iceberg, what’s underneath. It just gives you a whole new way of thinking and reflecting on things. And that’s something that you’ll have with you for life.

Laura: Over the past few years, we’ve seen a massive increase in children with mental health coming into hospitals. And we just don’t have enough knowledge. We don’t have enough skills to effectively care for these patients. And I think especially what we’ve learnt from the project is that, you know, what the experience that that patient has when they come into hospital can completely change their outlook on hospitals in general, and on their stays and really affect them going forward and on discharge and how they respond. So I think, the more people can be educated and can have that knowledge and that skillset to care for these patients. Like we said before, even if it’s just a case of, you know, making small changes, I think is really, really important. And I think really beneficial for patients and for staff, it will make our experience of these patients and how we care for them a lot more positive, and I think personally, you’ll feel a lot better about the care you’ve provided, if you’ve got that knowledge and skillset to do so.

[END OF VIDEO]

Can't watch the video?

Video transcript

Liv: Well, the We Can Talk project just means so much to me. I think it’s just something I couldn’t even imagine was real. When I look back at me being in a bad place, I could never imagine doing what I’m doing now and sort of telling my story in a way. And I think it just gives me a lot of closure about a lot of things. And I think at the time when I’d be in hospital in a mental health crisis, I’d just think literally everyone was against me and everyone thought I was this, this and that. And then I think being part of the We Can Talk project, having talking to hospital staff and like being in a co-produced project and working with hospital staff, it’s just been like amazing, ’cause it made me realise like people weren’t judging me or people weren’t trying to make things worse for me, people just don’t always get it. And it’s just so amazing to like try and help staff understand what young people are going through and like meeting so many other amazing young people and just feeling like not alone and just feeling like all of what I was feeling was like valid, and that I wasn’t the only person feeling like that. And just literally being like part of a little family and yeah, I just love it.

Stuart: So I got involved because I think it’s really important for young people to have a platform to share their experiences, although our experiences are unique and we all have different experiences, I know that I’m not the only person who’s had negative hospital experiences. And I know that there’s work and there’s people who want to do something towards changing that. And I’m hoping that by getting involved in this, I can also inspire more young people to want to work collaboratively or co-produce with health professionals, ’cause I don’t think we’re supposed to be… it’s supposed to be an us against them. I think by getting involved in this kind of work where I can speak about my lived experience in a healthy environment, as health professionals are willing to listen, we can start to have a conversation about how to improve care for young people.

[END OF VIDEO]

An evidenced-based education framework for hospital staff

Since 2017 We Can Talk has trained more than 10,000 acute hospital staff with 99% reporting We Can Talk training will make a difference to the way they do their job and 99% recommending it to a colleague. All training is based on our publicly available evidenced-based competency framework in children and young people’s mental health developed with funding from Health Education England and co-produced with hospital staff, mental health experts and young people with lived experience of attending hospital in mental health crisis.

Our We Can Talk online learning platform includes free access to the We Can Talk fundamental of compassionate care, a one-hour self-directed learning module, co-designed and co-delivered by young people, which has been used by 15,000 people from more than 200 NHS trusts!

We Can Talk online is also home to our internationally recognised We Can Talk Core Curriculum training, a one-day self-directed training providing acute hospital staff with the knowledge, skills and confidence to support young people in mental health crisis. Check if your hospital has access to the We Can Talk Core Curriculum training by signing up for a staff account or find out how to register your organisations interest in joining the We Can Talk project in the future (funding available!).

A graphic depicting stats from Health Education England, 10,000 hospital staff trained to improve the experience of children and young people in mental health crisis. 99% of people reported that We Can Talk training makes a difference to the way they do their job.

We Can Talk is co-produced by People Unlimited.