ABSTRACT
A fundamentally important aspect of healthcare is the real and meaningful in volvem ent of service users and carers in the design and development of services. Listening to their feedback, hearing them 'telling it like it is' and then trying to do something about it - promising to do something about it - is a tough road. This is the ticket I signed up to as chief executive with 15 years' board experience and, more importantly, 25 years' experience as a service user. Luckily, I am in recovery, allowing me to lead a part of the NHS of which I am very proud. This chapter describes how I tackled the balance between being a chief executive and a service user.
