Phil Hough

"I’ve had a caring role for 22 years for various family members.  And my experiences are in a wide range of medical conditions from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease and I’m currently a carer for my Mum and brother.  My Mum has recently received primary mental health care after a breakdown and my brother has a diagnosis of schizophrenia which he has had for the last 13 years.

I’m the Chair of Vale Royal Relatives Support Group, which is for carers of people who suffer from mental health problems.  This group has over 150 carers on their lists and the group is something that I’m especially proud of, and has led to my involvement with the Cheshire County Council Social Services Countywide Mental Health Carers Group.

My involvement in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) work has been varied to say the least. I became involved with the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) since its creation, and I’m very involved with various committees and groups such as user/carer involvement in recruitment and selection and also as a carer rep in management teams.

I’m very excited to be part of the LEAP, and have followed the Time to Change project since it was announced that they had been awarded the funding. I want to help support, encourage and develop the projects to deliver the various exciting and different approaches to tackling stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health. I hope that with our support from LEAP members we can spread the word of the projects, and start to engage with the wider public to shed light on the dark and negative world that stigma creates."