Kisharon Langdon members provide vital training to NHS staff

This government-backed training is set apart from other types of training, as it is co delivered by people with lived experience, including those who use the services of Kisharon Langdon.

So far, six members of the charity are certified to deliver the training, which consists of a tree-hour session, during which they talk about their own experiences, both positive and negative, in the healthcare system. Trainers are joined by a professional facilitator from the Oliver McGowan team, who oversees the session.

Chaim Dovid, who provides the training at Ellern Mede Clinic, a specialist centre in north London for people with eating disorders, said: “I enjoy my job because staff really listen. They tell me they learn more from me than from books. It makes me feel proud and useful.”

Nicky Marks at Ellern Mede greets Kisharon Langdon's Chaim Dovid arriving at work (Photo: Grainge Photography)[Missing Credit]

NHS feedback has been outstanding, with many saying they gain knowledge of lived first-hand experience that they can’t find elsewhere. 

Nicky Marks, senior ward administrator at Ellern Mede, said: “Working alongside the Kisharon Langdon trainers has been an inspiring experience. Their openness and honesty help our staff see beyond clinical care to the person behind the patient.

"The sessions they deliver have transformed how our team understands and communicates with people with learning disabilities. Hearing directly from someone with lived experience brings the training to life in a way that no textbook ever could.”

The trainers travel independently to hospitals and clinics to share their experiences.

Debbie Rees, Kisharon Langdon’s assistant director of programming, employment and social enterprise, said: “It is a position of responsibility, dignity and pride. The people we support are recognised as experts by experience, respected for their knowledge, and valued as equals in the workplace. For many, this has been life-changing – bringing independence, self-confidence and the chance to make a tangible difference to the lives of others.”

She added that the Kisharon Langdon trainers are also “a voice in the wider community, representing not only themselves but proudly showing how members of the Jewish learning disability and autism community contribute to society at large.

“At Kisharon Langdon, we could not be prouder of the achievements of those we support, whose voices are being heard and valued at the highest levels of the NHS.”