Cardiac Arrest Survivor Patient Experience Forum (CASE Forum)

Purpose of the Forum

The Cardiac Arrest Survivor Patient Experience Forum (CASE Forum) would create a structured, community-led environment where people who have survived cardiac arrest can share their experiences directly with medical students and researchers.

The purpose is to ensure that the patient voice helps shape future cardiac arrest research, education and clinical practice.

Rather than asking medical students to study cardiac arrest solely through textbooks, clinical placements and existing research, the forum would allow them to hear directly from people who have experienced cardiac arrest and the recovery journey.

Team Members

The CASE Forum is a community-led initiative bringing together cardiac arrest survivors and their families to share lived experiences directly with medical students, researchers and healthcare professionals. Its aim is to ensure that the patient voice helps shape future cardiac arrest research, education and clinical practice.

The Chaplain / Pastoral Care Lead will provide compassionate, person-centred pastoral support to survivors and families participating in the Forum. The role will help create a safe, respectful and supportive environment where individuals feel comfortable sharing their experiences, including the emotional, psychological, spiritual and personal impact of cardiac arrest and recovery.

The post holder will also help support medical students and researchers in engaging sensitively and appropriately with survivor experiences, encouraging reflection on the human aspects of cardiac arrest beyond clinical treatment and outcomes.

Key responsibilities will include:

  • Providing pastoral and emotional support to survivors and families before, during and after Forum sessions.

  • Helping create a safe, inclusive and compassionate environment for sharing lived experience.

  • Recognising when participants may need additional support and signposting to appropriate professional or community services.

  • Supporting sensitive conversations around trauma, recovery, loss, identity, spirituality and adjustment following cardiac arrest.

  • Helping medical students and researchers develop empathy, compassion and a deeper understanding of the survivor experience.

  • Working collaboratively with survivors, clinicians, researchers and the wider CASE Forum team to ensure the patient voice remains central to the initiative.

The role will be integral to ensuring that the CASE Forum is not simply a place where experiences are collected, but a safe and meaningful community where lived experience is valued, respected and translated into better education, research and patient care.