Scan
me! Issue 01 • AUTUMN 2012 www.gmw.nhs.uk
Dementia
One in 3 people over 65 years affected page 08
Living with… stress and anxiety page 06
Win £50 in high street vouchers See page 3 for more details Autumn 2012 issue one
A Carer’s Story
“Keep a sense of humour - there is light at the end of the tunnel.” page 13 Page 1
Welcome to the Autumn edition of up
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e are delighted to launch the first edition of our new combined staff and members’ magazine, which highlights some of the work we are doing to engage with our patients and to invest in developing new services and facilities.
helped us to succeed in further improving the quality of our services over the last 12 months.
The results of both the Care Quality Commission national patient survey and recent report from Manchester Business School are a real source of pride and are testament to the way in which the views of our members, service users, carers and staff have really helped to shape our priorities and
It is an exciting time for the Trust in terms of service development, and in this issue we describe our plans to build a new centre for teenagers. The new centre will provide specialist treatment for young people with severe mental health problems and will be located in Prestwich, Greater Manchester.
Over the summer, we celebrated the work of carers by organising an event to highlight the vital contribution they make. Read the real story from one carer and how she got help and support.
As World Alzheimer’s Day was marked last month, we take a closer look at dementia and the awareness-raining activities happening across the UK focussed on reducing stigma and making communities more ‘dementia friendly’. Don’t forget, if you would like to receive this magazine via email, please forward your name and email address to communication@gmw.nhs.uk. Our thanks for your continued support and involvement. Bev Humphrey, Chief Executive and Alan Maden, Trust Chair
Contents
From the Editor
03 win £50 in high street vouchers
We want to make sure we’re tackling the issues you want to hear about. So whether you have an idea for a new feature or just want to make a comment on something you have read, then please contact the Marketing and Communications team to let us know.
04 GMW news 06 living with… stress and anxiety 07 update CQC survey 08 mind feature dementia awareness
We are keen to have contributions from people with direct experience of mental health problems or substance misuse issues. If you’d like to share your story, please email communications@gmw.nhs.uk.
10 health feature hospital design 12 carers’ news Eileen’s story 14 opinion Dr Andrew Beck on CBT 15 service story volunteers help services 16 spotlight UACT Follow us on Twitter @GMW_NHS ‘Like’ us on Facebook GreaterManchesterWestNHS Tel: 0161 772 3986 Email: communications@gmw.nhs.uk Editor: Clare Thompson Designed by: CDC Ltd Page 2
About Up Welcome to our brand new magazine ‘Up’ – a pilot magazine for our staff, members, Governors, volunteers, services users, carers, stakeholders and the public. We made the decision a few months ago to combine ‘newsforyou’ our members’ magazine and ‘Westside’ our staff magazine to create a new publication with a brand new look and style. Thank you for all of the name suggestions we received for the new magazine. We decided to go with the short and sweet title ‘Up’. The magazine will be emailed to our readers and paper copies are available from GMW Headquarters as well as key reception points in staff and patient areas. If taken forward, each issue is also available to download from Staffnet and our website.
up Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Magazine
Ready. Set. Go!
On World Mental Health Day (10 October 2012) we held our Annual Members Meeting at the Lowry, Salford Quays.
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his Higher, Stronger’. was We were honoured a chance with the presence of for our Ben McBean, Former members Commando and Double to find Amputee, and past out more service user Jodie about Team Deegan who gave GMW, meet inspirational speeches Ben McBean at the event. the staff and teams 25-yearthat run old Ben is a truly mental health and substance inspirational man who misuse services and find out has managed not only who our gold medallists are in to recover from horrific our annual Excellence Awards. injuries sustained If you’ve not already guessed it, when he stepped on this year, we decided to capitalise a Taliban landmine on the success and inspiration of four years ago but the Olympics by using this as a has become a theme with the strapline ‘Faster, talented motivational
speaker and TV presenter in the process. 31-year-old Jodie has overcome many challenges in her journey of recovery after she was admitted to the Chapman-Barker Unit for substance misuse and mental health problems. Jodie has turned her life around and is now focussing on a singing career as well as being the face of the BIG Lottery Fund’s new grant to support people with multiple and complex needs. Don’t worry if you missed it, we are putting all the event materials on our website shortly and will give you a more in-depth analysis of the event, as well as letting you know about the staff who received an award, in Jodie Deegan the next issue of UP.
Win £50 in high street vouchers To celebrate the first issue of UP, we’ve teamed up with CDC Limited to give you the chance to win £50 in high street vouchers that can be used at stores like M&S, John Lewis, ToyrsRUs and Currys – perfect for those Christmas pressies!
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e want your input to help us decide what this magazine should look like to ensure we have a strong readership that will help to ensure the magazine is feasible in the future. We want to know who and what you want to feature in the publication, and what kind of themes you want us to cover. UP invites readers to provide 100 words letting us know what you think by emailing us at communications@gmw.nhs.uk.
Autumn 2012 issue one
Everyone who contacts us with their feedback will be entered into the prize draw. The winners name will be chosen from entries received by 5pm Friday 30 November 2012. No entries will be accepted after that date. The winner will be notified by the contact details they have submitted (please remember to use a working email address) and announced in the next issue of UP.
If you have any questions, please contact the Marketing and Communications Team on Tel: 0161 772 4313 or email: communications@gmw.nhs.uk. Page 3
GMW News New Internet Investment Café for Service in patient accommodation Users and Carers Keats and Riley adult mental health wards, based in the Meadowbrook Unit in Salford, have been revamped to improve the environment for service users after undergoing a £2.2 million refurbishment programme.
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he refurbishment of the wards included extending the bathroom and shower facilities, adding a large therapy room and a separate dining area. The wards also now have a private garden area and all bedrooms have been fitted with small safes for service users to store their personal belongings. Beech Ward and Oak Ward (formally K1 and K2 wards), which form part of the Trust’s acute mental health services in Bolton, have reopened after a major The living room on Beech ward programme of works to provide modern and clinically appropriate in-patient facilities.
An internet café offering patients, their families and carers a safe place where they can connect to the world has opened at our mental health unit in Bolton.
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t is thought to be the first free internet café in a mental health inpatient setting in the UK run as a partnership initiative. The internet café has been set-up by the Trust and is being run by BAND - a voluntary mental health organisation and charity set-up to support people in Bolton who live with mental health problems. Open three afternoons a week every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the internet café in the Rivington unit at Royal Bolton Hospital has four computers available and will be facilitated by computer savvy volunteers and supported by staff. Workshops on computer skills, online financial management, creative writing, safe web usage, operating Windows and using music software will be organised by Hospital Volunteers to provide users with new skills and confidence in using the internet.
The refurbishment of the wards, which was completed at a cost of £2.4 million, included; replacing dormitory accommodation with single bedrooms for all service users, increasing the number of bathroom and shower facilities, modernising the environment on the wards and improving the privacy and dignity for service users staying on the wards. The wards were re-designed with the help of a service user steering group, who decided features such as colour schemes and furniture choices.
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Mike Chapman, GMW’s Vice Chair, gets a tutorial from Louise Gorman a Hospital Volunteer for BAND.
up Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Magazine
GMW News Our alcohol and Access to your drugs recovery medical records services are (health records) now in Cumbria
The Trust has a proven track record in supporting service users with alcohol and drugs problems and for building strong links with local businesses and voluntary organisations in the areas we provide services.
Your clinician and the team of health professionals caring for you keep records about you, your health and any treatment or care you receive from the NHS.
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hese records help to ensure you receive the best possible care. These records are called your ‘health record’ and may be written down in paper form or stored electronically on a computer.
The previous service, which is put out for tender every three years, was run by several agencies in the county and coordinated by Cumbria Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT).
Health records play a vital role in the NHS – from storing important clinical information that is essential to our patient’s care to being used to improve public health and services.
e are pleased to announce that we are bringing this expertise to Cumbria after being chosen as the organisation to take over the running of alcohol and drugs recovery services in Cumbria and at Haverigg Prison.
Following the close of a routine formal tendering process, DAAT awarded the contract to our Trust because of our innovative approach to developing an integrated recovery service and proven experience in running effective alcohol and drugs services across Greater Manchester as well as parts of Lancashire. Over the summer, we officially welcomed over 100 new staff. The name ‘Unity’ has been given to the new service to reflect the involvement of service users, their families and the wider community in tackling addictions and related issues with the shared aim of creating environments where recovery, health and wellbeing can flourish. Autumn 2012 issue one
A new leaflet called ‘Your Information and How We Use It’ has been developed to let you know: • why the NHS collects information about you and how it is used • with whom we may share information • your right to see your health records, and • how we keep your records confidential. You can download the new leaflet from our website www.gmw.nhs.uk. Page 5
living with...
stress and anxiety Mali, 27, a member of the Trust who lives in the North West, has suffered from stress and anxiety for the last three years. She was finding things so difficult that she stopped work as a Marketing Executive for a period of six months and wrote a book about her experiences.
“I
wanted to make others aware that’s it’s OK to be struggling
been more supportive
- to find things immensely
than others,
difficult - and to let people know
but this has
this is normal and part of the
ultimately
process of dealing with an illness.
depended
By realising this, it has enabled
on the
me to become more open and
personality
talk about my own experiences.”
of the person.”
By talking about her illness, Mali has
As well as writing her book, Mali
found support from some people
has been helped in her recovery by
but also realised that some people
receiving talking therapy each week,
found it difficult to know how to behave around her: “I often felt that people didn’t know what to say to me, or how to act around me – as if they needed to be acting in a different manner.
staying active and “By speaking about my experiences and everything that I have learnt over the three years I was unwell I hope that those in a similar boat to me will have the confidence to get the help they need.”
But in fact they really didn’t need to.
relying on her family and friends. “The support of my family and friends helped me most with my recovery, but ultimately, the things I did for myself, such as having a routine
that consisted of art, exercise and
“Conversations with friends, family
relaxation, helped me to overcome
and my employer were difficult but
any challenges I faced.
I guess they’ve become marginally easier over time.
Mali would encourage anyone to ask for help when poor mental
“Everyone has been OK about my
wellbeing becomes a problem as
illness, although some people have
help is available and your GP can
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direct you to appropriate services locally. “It took me some time and persuading to go but I would recommend anyone to see their GP. It also helps to take someone with you as sometimes when you aren’t yourself you need someone objective who knows you well and can ask the right questions. “I’m still prone to stress and anxiety, but I work to reduce elements of them in my life as much as possible.” Mali’s book, ‘Time Away from the Norm’ was published last year and is a self-help guide inspired by Mali’s time off work and hopes to give readers ideas and inspiration for managing their time and filling it with valuable experiences.
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Update
Our patients say we deliver high standards A national survey, published in September this year, has shown that service users accessing our community mental health services are happy with the level of care they receive, and the staff who care for them. An independent study from Manchester Business School has already identified us as one of the top nine performing trusts in the country. Now the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has confirmed that people who accessed our community mental health services between July and September 2011 were pleased with the community services they received and felt listened to and respected by staff. Our results are comparable to most other trusts that participated in the survey and are also broadly consistent with last year’s results. Encouraging findings were that the vast majority of respondents gave positive answers on the following aspects of care: • Service users felt listened to by their mental health worker and that their views were taken into account • They had trust and confidence in the mental health worker they saw and were treated with respect and dignity • They were given enough time to discuss their condition and treatment • With regard to medication, service users felt that their views were taken into account when deciding which medication to take and that the purpose of their medication was explained to them. They also felt the information they were given about their medication was easy to understand Autumn 2012 issue one
• Service users found their NHS talking therapies useful • They felt that they could contact their Care Coordinator if they had a problem and that the Care Coordinator organised their care and services well • Service users found that that their NHS mental health services are helping them to start achieving their goals • Overall, 80% rated their care as either good, very good or excellent Despite performing well, we will not get complacent and will strive to perform even better to see an improvement in next year’s results. We have already identified areas where improvements can be made. These include: providing better information on medication purposes and side effects, as well as medication reviews, and offering more help to those wanting information on; finding work, benefits and housing. The results also indicate scope for further improvement around service users knowing who their Care Coordinator is, and how to contact them, and ensuring that care reviews take place. As ever, a priority remains in ensuring enough information and support is given to families and carers. Bev Humphrey, Chief Executive of GMW, said: “I would like to thank all our staff who work so hard to make the Trust a great place to work and to receive care. “I would also like to thank everyone who responded to the survey. This kind of first-hand feedback is vital in helping us to know what we do well, and where we need to work harder.” Page 7
Mind feature: Focus on…dementia With World Alzheimer’s Day and UK Older People’s Day being marked recently (21 September and 1 October), we take a closer look at dementia and the awarenessraising activities happening across the UK focussed on reducing stigma and making communities more ‘dementia-friendly’.
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ementia is a term for a set of symptoms that can include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. There are more than 400 different kinds of dementia - one that most people have heard of is Alzheimer’s disease. There are an estimated 670,000 people in England with dementia (800,000 in the UK) and numbers are expected to double within 30 years. It is estimated that dementia costs in England are already £19 billion a year.
Raising awareness of dementia amongst NHS staff To equip our staff with a better knowledge about dementia and ensure we are improving the quality of life for people affected by dementia, we’ve appointed a new Dementia Care Quality Lead, Gill Drummond.
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ill’s role is to look at all the services we provide for people with dementia and their carers and ensure our patients and carers can access the help, support and potential treatments they need to help them live well with dementia. Gill said: “One of our targets is to identify patients with dementia and to prompt appropriate referral and follow up after they leave hospital.”
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Gill’s work also ties into a national campaign, which NHS hospitals including GMW are backing, to raise awareness of dementia amongst NHS staff. Gill added: “One in three people over the age of 65 will develop dementia, and health and social care professionals have a key role to play in helping improve people with dementia’s quality of life.
“As well as work nationally raising awareness of dementia with doctors and nurses, this campaign is targeting a different, but very important group of hospital staff - porters, receptionists, volunteers Gill, far right, with people at our Dementia Cafe, Woodlands Hospital, in Salford and cleaners
whose attitudes can make a tremendous difference.” Hospital staff are being encouraged to be aware of the condition and how they can help by: • Never talking down to a patient or over their head as if they are not there • Avoid criticising and don’t let any impatience show • Look for the meaning behind the words, even if they don’t seem to make much sense. The person is usually trying to communicate what they feel. • Imagine how you would like to be spoken to if you were in their position. Dementia affects everyone differently and is progressive – it starts off with very mild symptoms and gets worse over time. Not everyone with dementia is very confused and helpless.
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Mind feature: New memory assessment service launched in Bolton We’ve launched a new service in Bolton providing assessment, early diagnosis and support for people showing early signs of memory impairment (mild to moderate dementia).
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t is hoped that the service will help to reduce crisis later in the illness and enable people to be cared at home for as long as possible. The new service, called ‘The Memory Assessment Service’, will promote early identification of dementia by encouraging people to attend an assessment where they receive an accurate diagnosis of dementia that involves mood screening, a full psychiatric assessment and a social and physical health screen. People with dementia and their carers will also receive information to help them manage their care and understand how to access more help as and when it is needed. Patients will have access to clinical advice, counselling to help them cope with the diagnosis of dementia as well as carer support and assistance with practical things such as help with financial issues. The service will give people access to highly-qualified mental health staff as well as carer support workers and a dementia advisor. We already run memory assessment services in Salford and Trafford where our community based teams support adults of all ages living with dementia. People can be referred to their local memory assessment service by their GP.
What signs should I look for? The following signs could be the early symptoms of dementia: • struggling to remember recent events, but easily recalling things that happened in the past Autumn 2012 issue one
• struggling to follow conversations or programmes on TV • forgetting the names of friends or everyday objects • repeating things or losing the thread of what’s being said • having problems thinking or reasoning • feeling anxious, depressed or angry about memory loss • feeling confused even when in a familiar environment If you’re worried about someone’s memory, talk to them about visiting their doctor. An early diagnosis can help people with dementia get the right treatment and support, and help those close to them to prepare and plan for the future. With treatment and support, many people are able to lead active, fulfilling lives. For more information go to nhs.uk/dementia or alzheimers.org.uk. To speak to an adviser call the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Helpline 0845 300 0336 (Monday to Friday 8.30am-6.30pm). You can watch a short film by young carer Sasha, 17, who cared for her Dad with dementia from the age of 11 years, on our website - www.gmw.nhs.uk - in our ‘Carer Information’ section. Page 9
Health feature: How good hospital design can impact on physical health and mental wellbeing Research has suggested that an attractive, well-designed environment can offer significant therapeutic benefits to patients and increase staff morale.
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hat’s why young people with mental health problems in the North West are soon to benefit from the development of a brand new centre costing £10 million and we are spending over £1 million to build a new sports hall for patients at the Edenfield Centre, our medium secure mental health facility.
The Edenfield Centre Research shows taking part in regular physical activity is good for our mental health and that exercise can boost self-esteem, help with concentration, sleep and make people look and feel better.
badminton, basketball and 5-a-side football games as well as housing a variety of sports equipment and a music system for activities like Zumba and aerobics classes as well as space for patients to take part in a variety of leisure and social activities. The building will also house a kitchen equipped to provide drinks, a storage room, toilets and a lobby and waiting area.
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The Edenfield Centre already has a gym and outdoor spaces for patients to take part in physical activities and the new sports hall will add to these facilities by providing a large internal space for patients to take part in group and team sports activities, whatever the weather.
hat’s why we value the opportunity for all our patients to take part in regular physical activity and meeting the physical healthcare needs of our patients is a key priority for action. We are currently working on a project to design and build a new sports hall that will be located at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich. The new sports facility will have a court suitable for
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The scheme is planned to start on site in November 2012 and is scheduled for completion in June 2013.
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Health feature:
Junction17 Clinical staff and service managers at the Trust are working with architects to create a new centre that will look after teenagers from 13 to 18 years with mental health problems.
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he new centre will provide specialist treatment for young people with severe mental health problems including; eating disorders, self-harming behaviour, mood disorders, psychosis and poor coping skills such as misusing substances, and will be located in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. The new centre will house the specialist inpatient adolescent service and community services previously based at ‘The McGuinness Unit’ in Prestwich and ‘Cloughside College’ - a coeducational provision providing education for young people admitted to the Trust’s two adolescent units situated on its Prestwich site. The existing buildings, which are no longer fit for purpose, will be demolished to be replaced with the brand new centre. The new centre will include ground source heating and is being designed to achieve the very good BREEAM energy standard, which is the world’s leading design, environmental assessment method and rating system for sustainable buildings.
Left to Right: Former McGuinness Unit patients Richard Daly and Bradley Hart, Alan Maden, Trust Chair, and Gill Green, Director of Nursing and Operations for GMW.
have played an active part in the development of the new building and will play an active role in the design process, from choosing fabrics to deciding on colour schemes and artwork, and naming of the new facility. This has included, amongst other things, work with architects on the concept of a ‘snug’ where young people staying at the centre can relax in a comfortable, quiet and calm space. The new centre will have 20 bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms in a state-of-the-art inpatient
Visual of how the new mental health centre will look
unit, with a day area for patients attending assessments, therapy, support groups and consultations. Work started in mid-March 2012 with the new building expected to be complete by May 2013. The McGuiness Unit will remain active during the works with certain areas out-of-use on a phased basis. The new centre will be called ‘Junction17’ after being the most popular choice with young people’s service users. For more information about the new centre and to follow our building journey, visit our website www.gmw.nhs.uk.
A wide range of young people, their families or carers and service staff Autumn 2012 issue one
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Carers
Event invites carers to shape NHS strategy We run a number of initiatives to support carers and recently organised an event ‘Carers Matter’ to develop action plans relating to how we work with carers over the next 12 months.
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he event, which took place at Swinton Park Golf Club this summer, was held to showcase our achievements by working with carers over the last few years and highlight the vital contribution made by carers to their families and communities in providing unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled. The event was attended by carers from across the Trust’s services to thank them for the work they do, often without recognition, each and every day, and was a chance for carers, and those services which are supporting them, to have really useful conversations. The Trusts’ Director of Nursing and Operations, Gill Green, is urging carers to get in touch with the Trust so they can come along to groups and events to meet others in the same boat and discover how much help is on offer. “Our carers give their total commitment to the care of their loved ones but often at a personal cost to their own health and wellbeing,” she said. “By listening carefully to our carers and involving them in our work to
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Gill Green, The Trusts’ Director of Nursing and Operations (centre right), with carers, NHS staff and Carer Governor, Anne Broadhurst (far right) taking part in workshops at the conference.
develop our Carers Strategy we can start to build up a picture of what they want and need, and how our staff can help and support them in their crucial role. “We want to do all we can to raise the profile of the essential, but often hidden, army of people who care for friends, partners and relatives.” The event also launched the Trust’s new carer pages on our website, which includes a Carers Charter and Bolton Carers Film - recently nominated for a How-Do Public
Services Communications Award - and complements the carer awareness training for staff. A carer is defined as someone who provides unpaid support to a relative, partner, child or friend due to illness, disability, frailty, a mental health condition or substance misuse problems. Many people are carers without realising it. If you would like to find out more about help and support for carers, please email carers@gmw.nhs.uk or visit www.gmw.nhs.uk.
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Eileen’s story Eileen from Trafford has been caring for her 27-year-old son who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia for the last eight years.
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ileen has cared for her son since his late teens when he started smoking cannabis and developed problems with drugs and alcohol. He became more and Left to right: Tracy Collard, Mike Howorth, Gill Drummond, Chris Parker, Assistant Director of Bolton Community Mental Health Services, Eileen and Gill Green. more oddly behaved from day to day. My son and his and withdrawn and was later wellbeing are put first and above diagnosed with paranoid everything else.” schizophrenia. Eileen found it difficult at first to distinguish between her son’s illness and his behaviour: “At one point I didn’t know what was his illness and what was his behaviour. I accepted his bad behaviour for a long time because I was overcompensating for his illness. “On reflection, I realise he was badly behaved due to drugs and alcohol. I also realised that he was selfmedicating to mask the symptoms of his illness, but he was actually making things worse.” Juggling her carer role with her commitments to work has been difficult: “Caring doesn’t leave much time for anything else. You can’t plan or organise because you don’t know what is going to happen
Autumn 2012 issue one
Carers New carers room opens in Bolton Visiting someone you care for in hospital can be exhausting, which is why we have created a new room for carers near our inpatient wards at Royal Bolton Hospital.
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he Carers Room, in K block at the hospital, was officially opened this summer and was designed by and for carers. The room provides a place for carers to relax, watch TV, listen to music, have a cup of tea, meet other carers and receive information and advice from a Carer Support Officer based at the hospital.
Although Eileen has faced challenges in her role as a carer, she says she has learnt a lot too and would encourage other carers to get as much help as possible as early as they can. “I have a better understanding of mental illness and the effects this has on the cared for person and the carer. The main advice I would give to other carers is to get help early; often the person that shouts the loudest gets heard. “Join a local Carers Group as you are more likely to meet and befriend someone who is going through the same experiences you are. Take advantage of the training courses made available to you and seek counselling if you need it. Keep a
Mrs Annie Chadwick, who cares for her son, officially opens the room with Alan Maden, Trust Chair.
sense of humour and have hope and understanding as there is light at the end of the tunnel.” If you look after someone, go to our website and navigate to the ‘Carer Information’ section for advice and support, or email: carers@gmw.nhs.uk. Page 13
Opinion Exporting our therapy expertise to India Over the last six months, staff from the Trust’s Salford Cognitive Therapy Training Centre (SCTTC) and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) have been working with colleagues in India to develop the country’s first Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) training course so this treatment can be more widely used by Indian mental health services.
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BT is recommended as the first treatment of choice to help children and adults with mental health problems like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorders, eating disorders and drug misuse. The SCTTC has been a regional and national lead in developing high quality training in CBT for many years and was recently chosen by the Department of Health to become one of only three new learning collaboratives in the country to deliver innovative training to therapists and clinical leaders working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
British High Commissioner to South India Mike Nithavrianakis (far left), Dr Andrew Beck (centre back) and the Head of the British Council in South India Paul Sellers (far right) show their support at the inaugural ceremony by lightening the traditional lamp with staff from the SCTTC and the CARE.
This pool of expertise has led staff to sharing their knowledge overseas and raising the international profile of the NHS by working with colleagues from the CARE Institute of Behavioural What is CBT? Sciences, a training facility linked to the Chennai Medical School, India. According to NHS Choices, Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that aims to help you manage Dr Andrew Beck, Consultant Clinical your problems by changing how you think and act. Psychologist and Senior Lecturer
SCTTC will volunteer their time to provide training modules at the SCTTC, and Dr Deb McNally, CBT encourages you to talk about: to Indian Consultant Clinical Psychologist and • how you think about yourself, the world and other mental Acting Assistant Director of the SCTTC, people health staff have built links between Greater working • how what you do affects your thoughts and feelings Manchester and Chennai and worked with children on curriculum to ensure that this CBT By talking about these things, CBT can help you to and adults, training will be at an international change how you think (‘cognitive’) and what you do working standard. (‘behaviour’), which can help you feel better about life. towards Andrew has already run two international introductory days on CBT for over 40 mental health standards of training and qualification,” said Dr. Andrew staff in Chennai (formerly known as Madras) in Beck. collaboration with the CARE as well as a five day The programme has attracted considerable support workshop. “Initial feedback was excellent and there from both the British High Commission and the British was a consensus amongst participants that there was a Council who are keen to promote the UK as a world clear need for further training and that the model suited centre of excellence in CBT training and also caused the Indian mental health context. considerable media interest including coverage on “The plan is that over the next 5 years several staff from Page 14
Indian state television and all major newspapers.
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Service Story
Volunteers help transform services An event to celebrate the fantastic contribution of our volunteers took place recently on our Prestwich site.
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olunteer Coordinators, from mental health and substance misuse services across the Trust, provided their experiences recruiting volunteers and the impact they make to patients, older isolated people, visitors and staff throughout their communities.
health and substance misuse services and to find out how they can involve volunteers in their services.
Left to right: Volunteer Administrator, Trisha Day, Volunteer coordinators; Cathy Riley, Steve
Moffat, Laura O’ Brien, and Ginny Allende-Cullen. Volunteers were given advice about how to make successful job applications, the opportunity to find “We understand the value and out more about thriving volunteer encourage the involvement of There are thousands of volunteers schemes being run and the chance in the NHS and we have over 130 volunteers because we see the to pick up a copy of volunteers and a importance of their role, not just our new volunteering Services and initiatives range of roles open to in enhancing the service the policy, which was that are vital to the volunteers. Trust provides and therefore the running of our country launched at the experience of our services users, These roles range simply wouldn’t exist if it event. their families and carers, but also in from assisting with wasn’t for volunteers. Alan Maden, Trust empowering and enhancing the life administration, Chair, opened the of our volunteers who are also often meeting new patients and event by personally thanking the helping them to attend key hospital recovering from mental health or Trust’s volunteers for the invaluable appointments, running therapeutic substance misuse problems.” role they play helping patients. activities like arts, crafts and dance If are inspired to find out more classes or simply taking the time to “I’m wholeheartedly supportive of about the interesting and rewarding sit and chat to patients who may not the volunteer programme and all voluntary work available, please have any family or friends to visit. the volunteers we have at the Trust contact Emma Turner, Employment because, as a former volunteer for Andrew Maloney, The Trust’s and Resourcing Manager, on St Ann’s hospice in Salford, I believe Director of HR & Governance, gave Tel: 0161 772 4334, email: passionately in the importance of an overview of the contribution volunteering@gmw.nhs.uk or visit what they do and understand the volunteers make to the Trust, he the Trust’s website www.gmw.nhs.uk. support they provide not only to our said: “Volunteers bring something staff but to our patients too, he said.” special to our services – they are A volunteering role is unpaid and can
NHS staff were encouraged to attend the event to see what a difference volunteers make to the Trust’s mental Autumn 2012 issue one
passionate about what they do and bring their life experience to help our service users in their recovery.
range from two hours to a few days a week, depending on the volunteer’s other commitments. Page 15
Spotlight
User Action Team (UACT) The Trust’s User Action Team (UACT) is a group of people who receive or have received care from our services.
J
oanne Wilson was a former drug service user in Bolton and has recently been voted to Chair UACT. She’s been with UACT for over six years and was previously Vice Chair of the Group. Joanne says UACT is a unique service user group that has provided her with a better understanding of how the Trust works as well as the opportunity to put her views forward to make changes for the better:
UACT members Lee (left) and Andrea (right) with UACT Chair Joanne (centre)
has helped as part of my recovery.” UACT feed information into the Trust’s Customer Care Team and report ‘hot topics’ on a monthly basis. This is part of the patient information that the Customer Care collect, so they can use data that is directly from our patients and up-to-date.
“You have access to heads of services and the Chief Executive on a regular basis so you can provide them with feedback from a patient’s perspective and provide them with your views on new policies being implemented or changes UACT is not only a force for changing things for the better to services under consultation. It’s a patientfor our patients, but also helps UACT centred Trust that listens and implements members to build their self-esteem by “Congratulations to Kevin the things we say.” attending training and improving their Malthouse, who works knowledge of the treatment system, Lee Brennan is currently an in-patient closely with our alcohol which helps members with their own with our Adult Forensic Service and has and drugs services and recovery. been with UACT for just over four years. Mike Wilson, who has links Lee suffers from drug-induced paranoid “UACT’s definitely helped me to see that with our mental health schizophrenia after taking drugs from the there’s another side to life. Even though services in Bolton, who age of seven. I’m in my 40s, I can get a career and have both been nominated funding from the group has helped me “This hospital has probably saved my life. to the positions of Vice attend training that will help me to achieve If I didn’t come here I don’t know where Chair for UACT.” this”, said Joanne. I’d be now. I joined UACT about a year ago and attend meetings with the group Lee added: “It’s good to see different once a month. It’s a really friendly group people at different stages of recovery. It gives that encourages members to promote UACT to other you hope. Former service-users have a real understanding patients - I was told about it by another patient and have of patient issues as they know what they are going been coming ever since.” through. It’s great to be able to help other patients and raise things that they want changing.” Andrea Edwards is currently an in-patient with our Adult Forensic Service and has been with UACT for six months. The service user group also carry-out Patient Environment Andrea was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and Action Team (PEAT) inspections with clinical staff to ensure occasionally hears voices. basic standards of cleanliness and upkeep are being met, hold a recovery conference every 18mths, as well as take “I’ve seen a really big change in my behaviour and UACT part in staff inductions every month to give staff from all has played a part in that. I enjoy coming to UACT and it backgrounds an insight into what it’s like to be a service user. Page 16
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