Publish date: 17 March 2026
Timed to follow International Womens Day this month, female patients from across secure services (in Mersey Care and Elysium) came together for the first meeting of Women’s Forum. Ths innovation is part of our PROSPECT provider partnership and a space intentionally designed to be co-produced, collaborative and service user led.
Women from Hodder, Eden and Chesterton (Mersey Care) and Oakmere and Daresbury (Elysium, Arbury Court), joined the online meeting supported by staff.
The forum was opened by Mersey Care’s medical director Dr Noir Thomas. He welcomed the group and said:
“It’s really encouraging to see service users actively shaping the services they use. Women’s secure care has historically been largely defined by systems designed for men. It is long overdue that we fully recognise women’s distinct pathways into care, the importance of trauma-led approaches, and the need for tailored, gender-responsive services”
The forum provided opportunity for the service users to share their powerful creative contributions. These included artwork celebrating International Women’s Day and reflections on what being a women means in secure care. Themes of kindness, strength, resilience and hope echoed throughout the pieces shared.
One service user also shared a moving poem which was read aloud to the group and was warmly received:
Well Woman
What makes a well woman.
I believe it is they are strong,
independent and courageous.
A well woman knows how to
look after herself and also care
for others.
She is your mum, wife, nan, sister,
your best friend.
She will always be there for
the ones she loves.
A well woman believes she
can achieve her goals
and see them through.
She is beautiful inside and
out. She will never give up
and never let you down.
A large part of the first session focused on co-producing the Terms of Reference. Service users shaped the group’s purpose, expectations and future direction, ensuring the forum reflects what matters most to them. Together they voted on the future discussion priorities – selecting staff and training and physical health for the next forum.
Rebecca Mottershaw-King, Strategic Lead for Commissioning and Contracts for PROSPECT, said:
“It was brilliant to see women from across all our PROSPECT Partnership services come together in one space, sharing their experience and creativity through posters and poems and agreeing the direction for the future of the forum”.
Rebecca was impressed by the women’s passion, their collective desire to shape better services for the future and to support one another. She added:
“Creating a safe space where women can influence and inform how services develop is incredibly powerful and genuinely exciting.”
The Women’s Forum will continue to evolve, led by the women who take part. Their expertise, insights and creativity will shape improvements, influence decision-making, and strengthen the quality of care across our secure services.
The team want to thank all staff, in Mersey Care and our partner organisations, for helping to deliver this event and enabling the women to take part.
Learn more about PROSPECT lead provider collaborative on our public website here.
