- Eight Priory nominations shortlisted across five categories
- Finalists include patients, residents and Lived Experience Partners from across Priory
- Recognition reflects growing role of lived experience in service design, quality improvement and recovery.
Eight Priory nominations have been named finalists in the National Lived Experience Awards 2026, recognising the achievements of people with lived experience across mental health, learning disability and autism services.
The finalists include patients, residents and both Local and Divisional Lived Experience Partners, highlighting the growing role lived experience plays across Priory services.
Among those shortlisted is Dev, a Divisional Lived Experience Partner nominated for the Celebrating Diversity Award for his work helping embed patient and carer perspectives into Priory’s Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework, including co-producing listening circles for racially diverse service users.
Also shortlisted is Greg, a former inpatient and now Lived Experience Partner at Priory Hospital Arnold, who has helped shape patient forums, safety discussions, racial equality work and more accessible patient communications.
In adult social care, Blake, Simone, Dan, Kyle and Sarah have been shortlisted for the Social Care Star Award after helping co-produce Priory Adult Care’s Lived Experience Partner Framework, including accessible quality assurance resources and recruitment tools.
Other finalists include Femy, Laura Ann, Chloe, Donna, and the Roots & Reality Group Project at Priory Hospital Solihull.
Kath Mason, Associate Director of Patient Safety and Experience at Priory, said: “It is fantastic to see so many people from across Priory recognised in this year’s National Lived Experience Awards.
“Every one of these nominations reflects the value of listening to people who use our services and creating meaningful opportunities for them to influence how care is designed, delivered and improved.
“Our finalists have shown extraordinary commitment, courage and generosity in sharing their experience to help others, whether through improving services, supporting peers, strengthening equality or building greater independence.
We are very proud of all eight finalists, and of the wider progress being made across Priory to embed lived experience partnership as a core part of how we improve quality and care.”
Priory has continued to expand its Lived Experience Partnership approach across healthcare and working-age adult social care, with patients, residents and Lived Experience Partners contributing to service design, governance, quality improvement and staff development.
This year’s Lived Experience Annual Report showed that people with lived experience of mental health services, addiction treatment and adult social care have helped shape more than 100 projects, workstreams and service improvements across Priory over the past year.
The National Lived Experience Awards have been running since 2013 and celebrate outstanding contributions from people with lived experience across seven categories. The winners will be announced on Tuesday 23 September 2026.
Priory is the largest independent provider of mental health, addiction, and working-age adult social care services in the UK, supporting 23,000 people annually across 270 sites.