Application for Service User Representatives for the Peer Review Team
and Accreditation Committee
The Accreditation Programme for Psychological Therapies Services (APPTS) is a new
accreditation programme that works with psychological therapies services in the UK to assure
and improve their quality. The views, ideas, skills and experience of people who have used
psychological therapies services are vital to the accreditation process. We are currently
looking for service user representatives for the peer review teams and accreditation
committee. Both roles are outlined below and applicants may apply to one or both positions
using the same application form.
Deadline for receipt of applications: midday Friday 19th December
Interviews: mid Jan 2015
Further information about the Accreditation Programme for Psychological Therapies Services
can be accessed at www.appts.org.uk Informal enquiries about the peer reviewer and
accreditation committee roles can be directed to Rachel Heggart, rheggart@rcpsych.ac.uk
If you would like to apply for one or both roles, please carefully consider the job descriptions
below and complete the application form at the end of this pack.
Service User Peer Reviewers
Job Role
Reimbursement: £100 per day and reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.
APPTS takes psychological therapies services through a supportive and engaging process of
self and peer review to assess how each service is performing against an agreed set of quality
standards. The self review involves completion of a service checklist, therapist questionnaire
and service user questionnaire. The peer review visit takes place over a whole day and
involves verifying the self review data, considering the service in its unique context and
exchanging information about best practice. Peer review teams comprise psychological
therapy service professionals, a member of the APPTS project team and service user
representatives. Key responsibilities for service user peer reviewers are:

To attend peer reviews as part of a team, to review and verify the results of the self
review, and raise any comments or queries with the other peer-review team members.

To interview services users from the psychological therapies service being reviewed
about their experiences of using the service.

To provide feedback on the quality of information provided by the host service (such as
patient leaflets)

To contribute to other sections of the review as required
Person Specification
Essential criteria

Experience of using psychological therapies services or caring for someone who has.

High standard of written and spoken English.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Experience of speaking in a group (e.g. attending meetings or conducting interviews)

Experience of working in teams and maintaining collective responsibility for the work.

Willingness to travel within the UK (possibly including the occasional overnight stay).

Understanding of issues facing service users from diverse communities and minority
groups.
Desirable

Email and internet literate.

Experience of conducting service evaluation or quality improvement work.
Service User Representative for the Accreditation Committee
Job Role
Reimbursement: £100 per day and reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.
The Accreditation Committee reviews all of the information collected from the self and peer
review and decides whether or not a service can be accredited. Key responsibilities are:

Prepare for and attend a minimum of 3 meetings of the accreditation committee each
year. These will be held in London.

Contribute to the decision about a service’s accreditation status in collaboration with
other members of the committee, based on the relevant standards.

Keep up-to-date with revisions of the accreditation standards used by APPTS and with
new developments in the methods used to monitor compliance with these.

Provide feedback to the APPTS team about the quality of the reports and information
that form the recommendations.

Comply with the accreditation committee’s policy on:
o confidentiality and security of information;
o conflicts of interest.
Person Specification
Essential

Broad knowledge and experience relevant to psychological therapies services.

Ability to read and assimilate complex information about the performance of services.

Good interpersonal skills.

Good spoken communication skills.

Positive manner and ability to enable the forming of consensus about decisions.

Understanding of the principles of accreditation.
Desirable

Experience in an academic or similar environment.

Experience of service accreditation and clinical audit.

Experience of working with service users or their representatives.
Application for APPTS Service User representative for peer review
team and accreditation committee
Please return your completed form via email or post using the details below:
APPTS Project Team
Royal College of Psychiatrists
21 Prescot Street
London
E1 8BB
appts@rcpsych.ac.uk
If you have any queries, please contact Rachel Heggart on 020 3701 2691 or at
rheggart@rcpsych.ac.uk
Name
Address
Please indicate which roles
you wish to apply for (you
may tick one or both boxes)
Service User Peer
Reviewer
Service User
Representative
for Accreditation
Committee
Telephone
Please tick here if you do NOT
want us to leave voice message
on this number 
Email address
Are you over the age of 18
Recent experience of using a psychological therapies service, and
broad knowledge and experience relevant to psychological
therapies services.
High standard of written and spoken English
Ability to read and assimilate complex information about the
performance of services.
Yes /
No
Yes /
No
Yes /
No
Yes /
No
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Yes /
No
Experience of speaking in a group
Yes /
No
Experience of working as a team, forming of consensus about
decisions and maintaining collective responsibility for the work.
Yes /
No
Understanding of the principles of accreditation and experience of
conducting service evaluation or quality improvement work
Yes /
No
Understanding of issues facing service users from diverse
communities and minority groups.
Yes /
No
Willingness to travel within the UK (possibly including the occasional
overnight stay).
Yes /
No
Please provide any other information in support of your application
(see person specification and job role)