Healthwatch Essex Trauma Ambassador Group

Empowering trauma survivors and informing healthcare professionals

Utilising skills and lived experiences to help inform, shape and develop health, care and wellbeing services

The Healthwatch Essex Trauma Card has been created by the Healthwatch Essex Trauma Ambassador Group as a tool to empower cardholders to make those they are interacting with aware of when they are experiencing the effects of trauma, and to inform those in receipt of the card about trauma and how to more effectively support, and work with, those living with the effects of trauma.

What is the Trauma Card?

Trauma is by nature unpredictable and affects so many areas of life for those who live with it. It can manifest in the most mundane and unexpected of situations; for example, at a dental appointment or visiting a chiropractor, chatting with another carer at a support group or taking your child for a health check. It can result in the individual withdrawing and disengaging from these services, which leaves them in a position where they may not receive the level of care and support that they need and are entitled to.

The Healthwatch Essex Trauma Ambassador Group have created the Trauma Card as a tool to empower cardholders to make those they are interacting with aware of when they are experiencing the effects of trauma, and to inform those in receipt of the card about trauma and how to more effectively support, and work with, those living with the effects of trauma.

Request a Trauma Card

Would you like to carry a trauma card?

Start here

Become a partner

Interested in promoting Trauma Card in your organisation?

Start here

Who are the Trauma Ambassador Group?

The Trauma Ambassador Group (TAG) is a group of individuals who have come together under the umbrella of Healthwatch Essex to utilise their skills and lived experiences to help inform, shape and develop health, care and wellbeing services. The group, with each individual member’s lived experience of trauma, has three key aims.

Educate and enhance

To educate and enhance the knowledge and understanding of trauma in those who commission, provide and deliver our health, care and wellbeing services with the aim of improving these services.

Raise awareness

To raise awareness of the effects of experiencing and living with trauma, thus creating better understanding within the public and professionals.

Encourage and empower

To encourage those in similar situations to access support and empower them to improve their experiences.

CONTRIBUTE

Join the Trauma Ambassador Group

If you are living with trauma and would like to contribute to improving health, care and wellbeing services for people in a similar position, as well as raising awareness of the issues associated with trauma, you may be interested in joining our Trauma Ambassador Group. Our members have all experienced trauma through one of its many causes, including domestic abuse, sexual violence, bereavement and exposure to serious crime and want to help those also on this journey.

Find out more here or get in touch with our Information and Guidance Manager, Sharon, to discuss here.

OUR PARENT ORGANISATION

What is Healthwatch Essex?

We are an independent charity set up under the Health & Social Care Act 2012 with one simple aim, to make sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear the care experiences of people in Essex and use your feedback to improve support. Healthwatch Essex also helps people to find reliable and trustworthy information and advice.

Healthwatch Essex website

Over the last ten years, we’ve been able to help improve health and social care services for people in Essex. But nothing would have changed if local people had not spoken up about their care and services had not listened. So thank you to everyone who has played their part.

Sam Glover

Chief Executive of Healthwatch Essex