Positive December 2012

DECember 2012

about integrated healthcare

Paralympian opens new patient facility

New wards at The Wells Road Centre officially opened see page 14 inspection success teamworking ghoulish games festive fun involvement safe care wise-up wowe!

MESSAGE 2012 has been another busy year at Nottinghamshire Healthcare. On behalf of the Trust Board, I want to take this opportunity to thank all our staff, volunteers, members and partner colleagues for your continued hard work and commitment to ensure we provide the very best levels of care to all who use our services. I am really very proud to be the Chair of such an innovative, progressive and safe organisation, filled with people who are passionate about what they do and dedicated to doing that well.

Over the past year we have developed partnership working, bringing benefits to services from improved quality and efficient ways of working and sharing good practice. We have consolidated our integrated healthcare offer, developing pathways which meet both the physical and mental healthcare needs of our patients.

I am delighted to have seen the strengthening and development of the

2

FROM THE BOARD Members’ Council, our third line of governance and an important extra level of scrutiny over Trust decisions.

We are confident that the Governors will continue to grow and develop to add extra value over the coming year.

We continue to make good progress with our application to become a full NHS Foundation Trust. Our formal consultation period has just closed, and following the completion of our initial assessment, we are now preparing for the next stage of our assessment which will take place in January 2013.

This month I have the great job of being one of the judges for our Outstanding Service Contribution and Recognition Scheme (OSCARS). It is a privilege to be part of the process and to read so many wonderful nominations. The only problem is it makes it so difficult to select only a few finalists from so many worthy contenders!

I am sure that 2013 will bring with it many challenges, but also continued success and exciting developments with further strengthening of existing and new partnerships.

Finally, may I wish you all a peaceful and enjoyable festive season and give very special thanks to staff who are working during the holidays.

Merry Christmas and here’s to a happy, healthy New Year.

Professor Dean Fathers, Chair

Trust welcomes new Deputy Director for Local Services Amanda Horsman has joined the Trust as Deputy Director of Local Services. Amanda was previously a Divisional Director for Older People’s Mental Health at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Amanda brings a wealth of experience to the Trust, having worked for the NHS for 18 years in a range of general management and commissioning roles, as well as the Department of Health.

With a strong passion for mental health, learning disabilities and substance misuse services, Amanda will be responsible for providing strategic leadership to the Division, ensuring

performance targets are met and the continual delivery of high quality services.

Amanda said: “I am delighted to join Nottinghamshire Healthcare, which has a fantastic reputation and is recognised for its focus on recovery and positive culture. My initial areas of focus will be on ensuring engagement with frontline staff, understanding the broad range of services we provide and that these are fit for the future, and making sure we continue to improve the services we deliver and the experience of people who use them. I look forward to meeting colleagues and patients over the next few months.”

Amanda joins Executive Director Local Services, Simon Smith’s senior team, which includes: • Dr Chris Packham, Associate Medical Director – Local Services

• Mrs Clare Teeney, Head of HR – Local Services • Mr Terry Dean, Head of Facilities – Local Services • Ms Karen Berry, Head of Finance – Local Services • Mrs Michelle Persaud, Associate Director of Nursing, Quality & Patient Experience Based at Duncan Macmillan House, Amanda can be contacted via Kerry Mason, PA, on 16334.

The Local Services Division Senior Team has relocated offices and is now located on the second floor of Duncan Macmillan House. For further information about this please contact Ruth Wallis, Executive Assistant to Simon Smith, on extension 10284.

New learning disability facility gets underway The Trust marked the start of work on its exciting new Assessment and Treatment Unit for people with learning disabilities at a special ground breaking ceremony in October. Mike Cooke, Trust Chief Executive, officially ‘broke the ground’ and was joined by Trust staff and learning disability clients to celebrate the start of the construction work and to find out more about the development.

The new facility will be located on the Trust’s Highbury Hospital site in Bulwell, Nottingham. It will provide 18 beds with ensuite facilities and separate male and female living areas, as well as a range of therapeutic spaces. A central courtyard will offer a place for quiet reflection and access to garden areas. The unit will also be energy efficient with its own ‘photo voltaic’ system, helping to reduce carbon emissions.

Simon Smith, Executive Director of Local Services, which is responsible for providing learning disability services, said: “We are delighted to start work on this fantastic new development. The unit will provide modern, fit for purpose accommodation, ensuring people receive their care in the most appropriate environment. Its location on the Highbury Hospital site will enable access to other adult mental health facilities, offering a range of high quality care to best meet people’s needs.”

The construction of the Assessment and Treatment Unit is being project managed by the Trust’s Capital Planning Unit and is being undertaken in partnership with Balfour Beatty and has been designed by Gilling Dod Architects. It is due for completion in late 2013.

For more information contact the Trust’s Capital Planning Unit on capitalplanning@nottshc.nhs.uk

Mike Cooke and some of the attendees at the event

Positive December 2012

3

Rampton Hospital through the years Members of the public have been able to learn about the life of Rampton Hospital over the past 100 years by viewing the commemorative centenary history exhibition which has been on show at Bassetlaw Museum for the past month.

4

The Chairman of Bassetlaw District Council, Ian Campbell and Head of Security Services at Rampton Hospital, Lee Brammer, officially opened the exhibition at the museum.

Visitors, including retired staff from the Hospital, gathered to hear Lee speak of how far the Hospital had come in terms of patient care and the many changes over the years. As Ian cut the ribbon to declare the exhibition open, he said: “This is a fascinating exhibition. I had only ever heard stories about Rampton Hospital so it is great to find out all about the true history of the Hospital and the way that patient care has changed over the past century. This exhibition challenges the myths behind the Hospital and the stigma associated with mental illness. Rampton Hospital is one of

Top: Lee Brammer and Ian Campbell open the exhibition Left: the exhibition Right: l-r Dawn Madine and Brenda Davison

The new conference rooms host an induction event

the area’s biggest employers and I hope it has continued success for the next 100 years.”

The exhibition gives an overview of how patient care at Rampton Hospital has evolved over 100 years and includes information on Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Medicine, Psychology and Security.

Historical artefacts and uniforms worn throughout the period were also on show.

Retired Clinical Nurse Specialist, Dawn Madine contributed her memories to the exhibition. She said “I have really enjoyed being part of this. It has been so nice to reminisce with past and present staff on how the Hospital has evolved during our time there. Being involved in the story telling of my working life at Rampton Hospital was great and quite touching to think how people value the memories and experiences I have.”

Retired Enrolled Nurse Brenda Davison, added “I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Rampton Hospital exhibition, it’s been great to remember past times.”

Great new conference facilities open for booking New conference facilities are now available for booking at Duncan Macmillan House.

Conference 1 and 2 used together can hold up to 100 people seated around the circular tables available, and if the partition doors are used, Conference 1 can seat up to 60 and Conference 2 up to 40 people.

Conference 1 includes a ceiling mounted projector and lecturn, and Conference 2 can be provided with

a drop down screen and speaker for attachment to a laptop.

These great new rooms also have microphones available on request.

There are also hot drink facilities and cold water machines.

To book the rooms, food and refreshments, contact the Facilities Helpdesk between 8am and 4pm on 0115 969 1300 ext 10670. You will also need to book porters if the partition doors need to be opened up.

Inspection success Congratulations to the Offender Health team at HMP Hatfield for receiving a fully compliant rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in October. The CQC is a regulator that checks whether hospitals, care homes and care services are meeting essential standards.

The routine inspection at Hatfield found that the following five standards were all being met: • Respecting and involving people who use services • Care and welfare of people who use services • Cooperating with other providers • Supporting workers • Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision

The inspection looked at information provided and the personal care and treatment records of service users. A visit was also carried out to observe how people were being cared for and service users were asked to give their feedback via a questionnaire.

The inspection team also spoke to service users, staff and stakeholders to gain their views.

As part of its internal selfassessment process, the Trust carries out QUEST reviews which also measure compliance against the CQC essential standards of quality and safety.

Offender Health services at HMP Doncaster, HMP Lindholme and HMP Moorland have all recently been assessed and found to be fully compliant.

Well done to all of the teams for their hard work in achieving such high standards.

Positive December 2012

5

Bassetlaw patient experience e Staff in Bassetlaw Health Partnerships (BHP) recently took part in a special event to consider the experiences of patients and how they can influence and improve services.

The event included not just clinicians, but all staff working in BHP who have contact with patients, service users and carers.

They looked at how they communicate and

6

actively listen to the people who use the services, how their feedback is captured and properly acted upon.

Attendees also learnt more about the Trust’s approach to patient experience and how it is now working with Patient Opinion and service users and carers as part of a national NHS Patient Feedback Challenge.

General Manager Julie Walker said: “We want to acknowledge and celebrate the

part every person plays in making our services the best they can be and use the learning from this event to develop a local involvement strategy that ensures positive patient experience is central to the delivery of community health services in Bassetlaw.�

Trust Chief Executive, Mike Cooke, gave an opening address to attendees and set them on the challenge of identifying how they would take patient experience

e event and involvement forward in their own areas. He said: “It is important to promote positive patient experiences and share best practice across all our services and absolutely vital that we learn from patients’ stories and use them in enhancing and developing our services. This was a great event, really authentic, generating great ideas which will have a positive effect on future working practice and the patient experience.”

l-r Mike Cooke, Julie Walker and Trez Jordan

Happy Birthday BHP! At the Patient Experience Event, Mike, Julie and Clinical Director Dr Trez Jordan cut a cake to celebrate the anniversary of BHP becoming part of Nottinghamshire Healthcare.

Julie said: “The past year has been a period of transition throughout which we have continued to provide high quality, safe services to patients. We have achieved much to be proud of; improving efficiency, reducing waiting times and length of stay and developing an effective model of community support with unique partnerships and strong clinical leadership. I look forward to building on all of this over the coming year and I thank everyone for their contribution and commitment.”

Positive December 2012

7

Breastfeeding support for all As a move towards encouraging healthy living from day one, Bassetlaw Health Partnership has established a new breastfeeding support team. This exciting development in health promotion has been created to provide all mothers who choose to breastfeed with ongoing support tailored to meet their individual needs, once discharged from the midwifery team.

All breastfeeding mothers are offered an initial visit for the support workers to provide useful information on common issues and how to resolve them, or just to support the mum to help her to feed for as long as she wishes.

This initiative is aimed at improving the 6-8 week breastfeeding rates in Bassetlaw and provide mothers with accessible continued support at a vulnerable time.

The new support workers are enthusiastic about their roles. Vicky Tupling, who covers Retford, Harworth and surrounding rural areas said: “In the short time we have been in post, it has been evident that the continuity of support we provide gives new mothers the confidence and support required

for them to breastfeed for longer and overcome any problems that may arise.”

Kirstin Isherwood, who covers Worksop, Carlton and Langold jointly with Liz Hinds, feels that this new service has the ability to empower all new mothers to try breastfeeding, knowing that they will be given adequate support and information. “Often bottle feeding is seen as the ‘norm’ but with easily accessible information through both antenatal and post natal support, we hope we can change this and provide more families with the encouragement to experience the benefits of breastfeeding for themselves.”

Early results are proving positive; September’s 6-8 week breastfeeding figures exceeded the target and hit 39.7%, the highest for over a year.

The Intermediate Care Team in Nottingham West received outstanding auditor’s comments about the placements they provide to undergraduate students.

The team were congratulated on an exceptional learning experience facilitated by a very supportive and motivated team.

The comments included: “Care is exceptionally client centred reflecting privacy and dignity,” and “The team are to be congratulated for their considered approach to mentoring staff.”

The Breastfeeding Support Team

For further information please contact Alison Jee, Infant Feeding Lead on 07896 579234.

OSCARS nominations now closed Nominations for the OSCARS have now closed. Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to complete your nominations and recognise the achievements of staff across the Trust.

The next stage is for the judging to take place. Three judging panels will meet on 13 December to discuss the nominations and shortlist four in each category and an overall winner, with the winners being announced on the awards night. This is always a challenge with such a high standard of entries!

8

Nottingham West receives outstanding audit from University of Nottingham

Once the judging has taken place there will be an opportunity for staff to apply for tickets to the awards ceremony which is a fantastic evening of celebration, taking place on 21 March 2013. Tickets will be limited, please look out for information on the Trust and Health Partnerships’ intranet.

Claire Towne, Head of Adult Services, congratulated the team on the wonderful comments.

Kirsty Wins National I.T. Award The I.T Service Desk’s very own Kirsty Hilton has been ranked fourth in a national competition to find the UK’s I.T. Service Superhero 2012!

Thanks to votes from colleagues across the Trust, Kirsty joined the high flying ranks of top I.T. professionals alongside competitors at London Fire Service and Leicestershire County Council.

Kirsty said: “I can’t believe I have come fourth in a national competition like this, I am delighted. I feel very honoured that people have nominated me and would like to thank them all.”

The competition formed part of national I.T. Service Week (1-5 October).

Well done to Kirsty.

This is fantastic news and is testament to all her hard work.

I.T. Service Superhero, Kirsty

HIS plays vital role in developing National Electronic Discharge Summary A mental health electronic discharge summary is to be implemented across the Trust. This is a piece of work that the Trust’s Health Informatics Service (HIS) has played an instrumental role in developing on a national level.

HIS worked in collaboration with The Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of General Practitioners and a selection of other NHS Trusts to develop the initiative by designing a joint template which captured all the information needed in a national electronic discharge summary.

Essentially, this work, which has been facilitated by the Department of Health Informatics Directorate’s Clinical Data Standards Assurance team, will standardise the information that GPs get when a patient is discharged from inpatient mental health services.

Head of Health Informatics Peter Russell said: “It’s great to be involved in this very important initiative and I look forward to it being implemented across the Trust.

“Working together with our Associate Medical Director Chris Packham and other clinicians to share ideas and solutions, we reached a consensus view of what should be included in a national discharge summary. Using a standardised electronic summary means that one single document containing the same consistent and easy to understand information can be emailed directly to GPs following a patient’s discharge. I would like to thank our Project Manager Bev Daws particularly for the hard work and research she put into this project.”

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust are also due to adopt the summary and it is hoped it will be taken up wider in the near future.

Positive December 2012

9

Supporting recovery through practical skills training Congratulations to three patients from the Personality Disorder Service at Rampton Hospital, who have successfully completed the City & Guilds ‘Introduction to Trainer Skills’ course. They were presented with their qualification certificates by course trainer Angela Pemberton and examiner Anthony Mitchell at an evening ceremony to mark their success.

The three individuals were able to invite guests to the event, which was also well supported by key members of their clinical teams, and peers.

of systematic training. It is a two-day intensive course, and the participants had to plan, prepare, and deliver a short teaching session to a high standard, as well as pass an examination.

These events were organised as part of the recovery strategy by Elaine Fehrman, Advanced Practitioner. Elaine also completed the course alongside the patients.

Trainer Angela Pemberton said that “all participants, whether staff or service users, are expected to synthesise the knowledge learned into practical skills.”

The Introduction to Trainer Skills course is designed to provide participants with an understanding of the concepts

The patients worked very hard, and said that they found the work both challenging and rewarding. Their

achievement is especially impressive in light of the fact that they had no previous experience of presenting. One patient noted, “The training gave me hope for my future. I have more confidence and belief in myself now” while another reported, “I was over the moon with it. I didn’t think I’d succeed. It shows what I can do if I put my mind to it.”

There will be future opportunities for patients to consolidate the skills acquired by co-facilitating training in collaboration with staff.

Trainer Angela Pemberton with examiner Anthony Mitchell

10

Frontline staff hear about best practice in effective team working A range of frontline staff from across the Trust, along with delegates from other organisations throughout the UK, took part in a seminar in October at the Institute of Mental Health.

The findings from a major new study into multiprofessional team working in mental health were discussed at the event, which was attended by over 100 people.

The research team shared the findings of the threeyear NIHR-funded study, identifying best practice in team working in mental health, establishing key learning points and helping people to understand how change can most effectively be managed in mental health services.

The findings highlighted the following as principal factors to ensure effective multi-professional team working: • Clear purpose and function for the team

• Good leadership • Active management of team composition and processes • Promoting inter-team working • Opportunities for reflection and adaptation • Effective team meetings.

Speakers at the event included Trust Chief Executive, Mike Cooke, Professor Michael West, Lancaster University, Dr Hugh Middleton, University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare, Dr Jeremy

Dawson, University of Sheffield, and Professor Steve Onyett, University of the West of England.

The day also included workshops to help staff to think through how best to incorporate the research findings to transform the services they provide.

The outputs and presentations from the event can be found in the news and events section of the Institute of Mental Health website.

Positive December 2012

11

Support in work, supporting wellbeing Helping people return to work or avoid taking time off sick are important factors in supporting their wellbeing.

lives and we believe that the right sort of work assists with recovery and can be a factor which helps a person to stay well.”

The Support in Work service, run by the Trust in partnership with local third sector organisation Enable, is available to everyone who is employed and has a health condition, including Trust employees.

Support in Work offer a range of interventions including: • Workplace assessment • Job analysis and advice on adjustments • Liaison with GPs and professionals • Return to work plans • Employer liaison • Advice on aids and adaptations • Support to manage work/life balance • Identification of barriers to work • Support to manage health

The service aims to provide a holistic assessment of a person’s biopsychosocial (biological, psychological and social) need and to provide timely early intervention.

The team consists of health professionals who are specialists within Vocational Rehabilitation.

Specialist Occupational Therapist Carla Hayes explains: “As a service we recognise that work is an important aspect of our

“Through our positive working relationships between GPs, IAPT and health teams within primary and secondary care, we have developed a clear integrated pathway,” said Clinical Team Leader

Rachael Barratt. “We are able to offer joint working and liaison to ensure that our specialist skills around work are shared with others, and that people who are employed and want to return to work have the best support possible.

“We have built up excellent working relationships with local providers including jobcentre plus, third sector organisations and ACAS who we can signpost to, ensuring that all aspects of a person’s needs are met.”

To refer to the service please call 0115 9560890 or visit www.nottsfitforwork.org. uk for more information.

Service users at Short Breaks’ unit enjoy Ghoulish Games 12

HIV Awareness Campaign The Health Shop has been successful in securing funding from NHS Nottingham City to produce an awareness campaign around HIV for injecting drug users, which will run from November 2012 to January 2013.

Injecting drug use is responsible for 2.5% of HIV diagnosis nationally and late diagnoses of HIV are a particular issue in Nottingham with the proportion of late diagnoses being higher than the national average.

Nottingham has an HIV rate of 2.33 per 1000; early diagnosis leads to much

better outcomes and more efficiency in services.

As well as distributing campaign materials, screening will be offered via blood tests and finger prick testing at a wide number of locations including The Health Shop, hostels, day centres, shared care drug treatment clinics and pharmacies that provide needle exchange, with a £5 voucher for those who participate. HIV fast testing (where results are available in 20 minutes) is also available at The Health Shop.

Storer Clinic and Double Impact on 30 November 2012 for World AIDS Day (1 December), consisting of information stalls, refreshments, freebies, speakers and testing.

The Health Shop held a number of events at The Health Shop, John

Please contact The Health Shop on 0115 947 5414 for further details.

Service users and staff dressed for the occasion

Service users at The Newlands, a Short Breaks unit for people with learning disabilities based in Newark, enjoyed a ‘spooky do’ on Halloween night with a special festive party.

Some of the service users enjoyed making their own pumpkins, before dressing up for a disco, buffet, karaoke session and a whole host of scary games. Some of the games included ‘Pin the tail on the devil’, ‘Spooky pass the parcel’ and the infamous ‘Slime Box’ full of gooey prizes.

A team of five staff including Activity Co-ordinator Alex Fellowes, Staff Nurse Michelene Payne, Team Leader Jayne Stafford and Health Care Assistants Della Ley and Carol Rowlands all hosted the event after decorating the unit from top to bottom.

“We had a superb turnout,” said Alex, “All of our service users really enjoyed themselves. It was a wonderful experience for all and a joy to see them all in their costumes having such a fantastic time.”

Positive December 2012

13

Official opening for new wards More than 100 people including staff, service users, carers and a paralympic athlete came together to mark the opening of two newly refurbished wards at The Wells Road Centre in Nottingham.

The event celebrated the refurbishment of the wards and showcased the services provided to patients within The Wells Road Centre and also the care and support offered as they return to life in the community.

The refurbished wards, Porchester and Lister, provide low secure inpatient care

to men with a mental illness requiring enhanced rehabilitation and men with a learning disability respectively.

The Wells Road Centre also provides a further two wards for men with mental illness and in 2013, will open a ward for women with a range of mental health needs who require inpatient care.

Paralympic Cyclist Crystal Lane competed for Team GB in the recent London 2012 Games and was a special guest at the event, joining Mike Cooke in declaring the wards officially open.

Sporting success at The Wells Road Centre The Centre has recently been highlighted as a beacon of best practice by Sport England. As part of a Sportivate project, staff have worked with Notts County Football in the Community to ensure patients can get involved with sport and reap the benefits; overcoming barriers to participation including low motivation, lethargy and inactivity due to the side effects of medication.

Ian Richardson, manager of Notts County Football in the Community visited the Centre to discuss the content of sessions to run with inpatients ensuring they were tailored appropriately.

Coaches then visited each ward each week prior to the sessions to encourage and motivate patients to attend. Three areas through which participation can be continued in the community were identified; the On the Ball Project, which runs free weekly sessions at the Portland Leisure Centre for service users from across the whole of Nottinghamshire, Mapperley Rangers (formed by the Notts FA Disability Officer) which runs weekly training sessions and plays fixtures in the Positive Goals league, and pan disability football squads organised by Notts County Football in the Community. It is widely recognised that there is a need to educate more sports clubs and coaches about mental health so that this and similar work can be integrated into mainstream community sport.

14

Crystal officially opened Porchester Ward. She is pictured here on the ward with Jeremy Resnick and the plaque bearing her name.

l-r Mike Cooke declared Lister Ward open with Crystal and Clinical Director, Dr Jeremy Resnick

Crystal spoke of her achievements and how her disability has never stopped her reaching her goals. She said: “I really enjoyed meeting with you all and you have something very special there. The passion from everyone is special and the facilities blew me away! It shows how much hard work everyone has put in to get to where you are today.

“I had a great afternoon. All staff were friendly and welcoming and it is a real privilege that you have my name on a ward and that I can be connected with the unit. It has opened my eyes to mental health, not that I had much of an idea before to be honest but it wasn’t as nice as the new ward was today that’s for sure.”

Mike Cooke said: “I was delighted to be a part of this event, celebrating this imaginative and important development. To have one of the country’s amazing paralympians present made it all the more special.

“We have been making real progress with our low secure inpatient services and next year we will be able to offer a fully integrated care pathway from high secure care through to the community for men and women with mental illness, personality disorder and learning disabilities. We are committed to delivering a quality experience to service users in secure environments and with this investment we can provide the highest standards of therapeutic care and clinical expertise within state of the art, purpose built accommodation, compliant to national low secure standards.”

The Wells Road Centre is part of Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s Low Secure and Community Forensic Directorate. The Directorate also provides a pre-discharge unit for men who are preparing to move on from low secure care and back into the community. Support in the community is provided via two community forensic teams working in the City and County, a criminal justice liaison team and a specialist Personality Disorder treatment service.

Positive December 2012

15

‘Check it Out’ campaign with the Nottingham Panthers launched The ‘Check it Out – Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’ campaign running in conjunction with the Nottingham Panthers launched last month.

The campaign team from the Trust were at two games during November focusing on Involvement and Physical Health including The Health Shop. At the launch game, a ‘smoothie bike’ attracted many members of the public to the stand to find out about how they could get involved with the Trust and have their say on local health services.

A number of themes are still to be featured including the Wathwood Farm Shop, Let’s Talk – Wellbeing, healthy eating, physiotherapy, breastfeeding, Nottingham Recovery College, substance misuse and oral health.

Sharon Eaton, who is leading the campaign, commented: “The launch of ‘Check it Out’ last month was a huge success. We had many positive comments from the public saying how pleased they are that we are back this year as the campaign was so informative last season. Lots of activities are

16

planned over the next few months that promote key health messages to the public and we are really looking forward to another successful campaign.”

Alisa Timmerman and Liz Lesquereux, Head of Partner Relations at CLAHRC NDL.

Research that is making ‘Ripples’ Trust Occupational Therapist Alisa Timmerman has successfully completed an innovative new research programme which is helping to gain new insights into healthcare delivery and advance NHS service improvements in the East Midlands.

Alisa, who works within the Asperger Service, took part in the Research into Practice people (RIPple) programme to see how evidence based best practice could most appropriately be incorporated within their service for people with autistic spectrum disorders.

Alisa said: “The project was a great experience which enabled me to undertake a work based research

project with clients from Nottingham City Asperger Service that will improve their experience of occupational therapy assessments and interventions within the service. I would strongly recommend colleagues to apply to the CLAHRC Research into Practice project as it is an opportunity to make a real difference to your clinical practice with the support of experienced researchers.”

Research into Practice people was launched at the beginning of the year in the East Midlands to allow individuals to undertake a fast-track piece of research that is immediately relevant to the challenges faced in their workplace.

Professor Rachel Munton, CLAHRCNDL Director, said: “This has been an exciting and rewarding project. The research agenda of these projects has been driven by those at the frontline of delivering services and has resulted in significant advances within many of those services. I would like to congratulate Alisa and everyone else involved in the programme for making it such a huge success.”

Applications are now being accepted for a second wave of the programme. To register interest or find out more, please contact Neil Chadborn, CLAHRC-NDL Research Fellow, on 0115 823 2471 or neil.chadborn@nottingham.ac.uk

Come along for some festive fun!

Millbrook Christmas Fair Millbrook Mental Health Unit at Kings Mill Hospital will be holding a Christmas Fair on Thursday 13 December.

From 10.30am to 3.30pm the unit will host stalls including a tombola, cakes and gifts, as well as special stalls from the Wathwood Hospital Farm Shop and a smoothie stall hosted by the Peer Support Workers.

Raffles, games and entertainment will also be on offer, including Farnsfield’s St Michael’s Church of England Primary School Choir singing Christmas songs.

Please come along and support the unit.

Nottingham Hospitals’ Choir Christmas Concert The Nottingham Hospitals’ Choir is holding its Christmas Concert at 7pm on Sunday 16 December, at St Teresa’s Catholic Church, Kingsbury Drive, Aspley Nottingham NG8 4EP. The concert will also feature the St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School Choir. All in support of Billy’s House, tickets are £7 and mulled wine and mince pies will be available. For tickets call 0115 9256833 or 0115 9399315.

The Nottingham Hospitals’ Choir is also looking for new members. You do not have to be employed by the NHS. If you’re interested please get in touch by calling one of the numbers above.

Positive December 2012

17

Collaborative Photography Exhibition Launched The historic Bromley House Library in Nottingham City Centre was the setting for the launch of a collaborate photography exhibition, coordinated by the Trust’s Centre for Trauma, Resilience and Growth (CTRG) – a specialist traumatic stress service, and the Arts in Health team.

Over 30 guests attended the launch of the exhibition, titled ‘Some Heavy Business’, which includes a series of portraits of both past and present CTRG service users who have all experienced significant trauma in their life. The photographs are designed to illustrate these service users’ resilience and individual journeys and are accompanied by their personal narratives.

18

Stephen Regal, Co-director of the CTRG said: “The personal stories of these service users are so poignant and I am delighted that so many people attended this event to see and hear about them.

“The aim of the project is to highlight the social, economic and personal impact of psychological trauma on people’s lives and eliminate the stigma felt by sufferers who very often cannot access the appropriate psychological care because their condition is little understood.

“We thought that Bromley House Library was the befitting location to take the photographs because, not only is it a beautiful building, it was also home to the first photographic studio in Nottingham.

“I would like to personally thank all the service users who have taken part in this project for sharing their stories and to Kate Deamer from the Arts in Health Team for making this project possible.

“I would also like to thank Amanda Horsman, Deputy Director of Local Services at the Trust and Professor Nick Manning, Director at the Institute for Mental Health for speaking at the event.”

The exhibition will be at Bromley House Library until the end of December. Any staff members who would like to view the exhibition at the Library should call 0115 947 3134 to arrange a visit. The exhibition will be displayed in Café Art at Duncan Macmillan House from January 2013.

about involvement

Being a Governor Member

B

arbara Glover was elected as public Governor Member for the Nottingham City constituency back in September 2010, when the Members’ Council was first formed.

“I wanted to put myself forward for election to make a difference and improve things for other service users”, said Barbara. “When I went to see my doctor he would speak to my carer rather than me, and I wanted people in healthcare to speak to the patient!”

Barbara was already involved with the Trust before she became a Governor, attending the Smile No Bullying Group and taking part in staff interviews. She also helped develop the Health Action Plan for patients in Learning Disability services.

Since becoming a Governor Member, Barbara has contributed to a training session about Learning Disability awareness for other Governors, which was very well received. She has also completed the Employment Resourcing and Interview Forum training and continues to take part in interview panels for new Trust staff. She has also been asked to comment on a new Trust safeguarding leaflet for people with a learning disability.

Of the Members’ Council, Barbara said: “Before each meeting we get lots of paperwork and it’s difficult to understand. In the meetings they speak quickly and it’s very formal.”

Last year, Barbara was asked if she would like some extra support in the meetings, and since June 2011, Marie has been providing that support as an independent advocate. Marie meets with Barbara ahead of each meeting to explain and help her understand the paperwork, and makes an accessible agenda for Barbara to follow. Barbara says: “With Marie’s help things are better and I feel a bit more confident. I have also got to know some of the other Governors very well and they are supportive.”

Barbara is keen to continue on her journey as public Governor Member and will be standing for election again when the time comes. She would also like to encourage others with a learning disability to put themselves forward to be a Governor and ends by saying “if I can do it you can do it!”

l-r Marie and Barbara

Positive September 2011

19

Invest to Govern Eight Governors from the Trust took part in a development event designed to ‘Invest to Govern’, hosted by The East Midlands Leadership Academy in October.

The event was for Governors from the 18 Trusts within the East and West Midlands Mental Health Network, with sponsorship from Mills and Reeve and Capsticks.

The aim was to provide Governors with an insight into the new role and the increased duties and responsibilities Governors will have under the new Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Trust Chair, Professor Dean Fathers, chaired the innovative and forward thinking event with 82 people in attendance.

Trust Chief Executive, Professor Mike Cooke CBE, set the scene for the day as well as speaking about the developing role of the Governor in Healthcare. Mike Cooke also joined the panel discussion on ‘The new role of Governor’.

20

Also on the panel from the Trust was Dane Brennan, Lead Governor.

Delegates chose one of four workshops to attend: • Governors engaging with communities.

• Structural change – understanding when mergers or acquisitions may be important for an organisation.

• How Governors can impact on service strategy and service design.

• Why do you want to be a Foundation Trust Governor?

The highlights of the day were presentations from Tim Winn, Partner at Mills and Reeve, and Toby Newman, Associate at Capsticks.

Both speakers presented on the new Health and Social Care Act with Tim looking at the implications for Governors and Toby looking at the implications for sector regulation.

If you would like to view the presentations from the event, go to the East Midlands Leadership Academy website at: www.leadershipeastmidlands.nhs.uk/ events/governorsevent-2012-investgovern

Communications Working Group update The Communications Working Group was a short-term project set up to examine and promote communications between Public Governors and the Members’ Council.

The group focused on electronic communication, public meetings and Governors’ presence at Trust events.

It was suggested that greater use should be made of the Trust website and that a means of electronic communication to the Membership Office should be provided. On the group’s recommendation, the Trust website now shows a dedicated area for the Members’ Council and there is a designated email address for Members to use in addition to the direct number to the Membership Office.

Two constituency meetings were also piloted; one in the city and one in the county, and although successful as public meetings, it was decided that they replicated work already undertaken within the Trust and it was recommended that these should not be continued. However, the Governors’ presence at Trust public meetings and the AGM has proved very successful. The Members’ stand at the AGM with the banner and mission statement proposed by the group attracted much interest and this should be built on in future years. The Working Group also proposed that the Members’ Council had its own promotional material such as postcards with contact details on and this has been a great success and will continue to be used at future events.

Thank you to everyone who served on the group and Paul Robinson for his design work.

The Health Related Benefits Review: a personal view from Governor Member Tim Wood “It is unfortunate that in these times of austerity, adults with health problems and disabilities are being caught up in a controversial review of health related benefits.

“In the review, Incapacity Benefit will no longer exist and is being replaced with Employment Support Allowance. Unfortunately the criteria for assessment is quite different to that of Incapacity Benefit; hence the difficulties that some of our service users are experiencing.

“The review does appear to be quite unfair in that service users with the same health issues can either be accepted for Employment Support Allowance (ESA), or their benefits cease with the suggestion that they apply for Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA). This happens despite letters of support from health care professionals and consultants.

“I also have concerns that the number of welfare rights advisors has reduced, which in turn adds work to health care staff who are supporting these individuals.

“I recently took my concerns to the Employment Community of Interest and as a result we are trying to collect evidence to substantiate what is the experience of our service users.

“If you have experience of the benefit review, we would welcome your comments on how you have been affected by the changes being made to health related benefits. You can contact me either by emailing tim.wood@nottshc.nhs.uk or in writing to Tim Wood, The Ivy Suite, Highbury Hospital, Nottingham NG6 9DR. We are also interested in hearing from staff who have worked, or are working with, service users who have been subject to the review.”

Positive December 2012

21

Involvement – what it means to me, by William Juckes “As a member of the Positive Writing Group I find my poetry being appreciated by others and so feel myself to be appreciated. This is extremely important. The main reason I keep coming back to the Involvement Centre is that it is one of the few places where I do feel appreciated.

“I would like to become more involved in the development and implementation of our mental health services but historically have found it very

difficult to speak my mind in meetings. This is why I write.

“Perhaps my opinions are too radical or even subversive to be vocalised apart from in music or poetry. I would love to be able to articulate my views more successfully and business-like, (provided I don’t have to wear a shirt and tie in order to gain respect!) but perhaps this is what madness is – speaking one’s mind when it is at odds with the majority, and feeling oppressed for

holding views which one deems to be true when the world and his wife do not believe you.

“I have strong views about the NHS but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and so I tend to keep quiet.

“I have made very many mistakes in the past, perhaps writing this is another of them but I have eighteen years’ experience as a mental health service user in

Nottinghamshire which I do not intend to let go to waste.

“I have no ambition to attain some great status or elevated position, all I want is enough respect to be listened to and taken seriously (something never before afforded to me) – the Involvement Centre has been and still is my starting point on the path to realising this goal.”

Supporting the communication needs of the Asperger’s Community The Asperger’s Community of Interest, sponsored by Simon Smith, Executive Director Local Services, has been addressing the communication needs of the Asperger’s Community within health and social care situations.

Due to our neurological differences it can be difficult to communicate with professionals and as a consequence care can be unsatisfactory.

We developed a business card for Aspies to offer communication advice to professionals in different areas of health and social care.

22

William Juckes

Update from the Members’ Council The Members’ Council met on 16 October 2012 at Duncan Macmillan House.

We hope these points and prompts can help professionals communicate more effectively with Aspies to achieve better outcomes for both: • I need clear waiting times. Allow a representative to attend my meeting.

• Ask me about my sensory needs.

• Respect my communication requirements.

• Be direct and explain the unspoken implications of my condition/ treatment.

• When speaking with me be concise, clear and do not rush me.

• Check if I need help understanding technical language.

• Tell me when my appointment is over.

• I need reminders to attend multiple appointments without prompting.

• Respect my neurological differences, I am not being awkward.

If you see this card in your workplace or would like to receive some cards, the Community of Interest would appreciate any feedback you can offer.

Please email stuart.walker@notthcs. nhs.uk for further information.

For more information about Communities of Interest please contact Jane Danforth in the Involvement team on 0115 9934567 or email jane.danforth@nottshc.nhs.uk

The main focus of the meeting was the Trust’s Foundation Trust application and what this will mean for Governor Members and the future of the Members’ Council.

All members received a consultation document and were encouraged to give their views.

Chief Executive, Professor Mike Cooke CBE, gave a presentation about the application process and its progress to date, and an update of the public consultation which was due to end on 30 November 2012.

During the second part of the meeting, Governors were invited to choose one of three workshops, hosted by Local Services, Forensic Services and Health Partnerships. Each outlined its plans for the coming year which prompted discussion and debate among the Governors.

The next meeting of the Members’ Council will be on 22 January 2013, also at Duncan Macmillan House.

Members can represent their views via the Members’ Council and the Governor Member for the constituency in which they live. If you would like to get in touch with a Governor Member please contact the Membership Office on 0800 012 1623.

More information about the Members’ Council can be found on the Trust website at www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/get-involved/themembers-council

Positive December 2012

23

Can you support the Health Shop’s Christmas cooked breakfast?

Following the success of the Christmas cooked breakfast served to their homeless clients in 2010, The Health Shop staff are repeating the event this year at St Peter’s Church drop-in on Wednesday 12 December, 11.00am-12.30pm.

The St Peter’s Church drop-in is held on a weekly basis and run

by The Health Shop in partnership with CityCare’s Homeless Health Team Nurses and the Drug Support Team. Anyone homeless or rough sleeping can attend for cereals, fruit, toast, hot drinks and to access services.

Drugs Worker Sarah Paling explained: “The drop-in is a good way to get the clients out of the cold and into a safe environment, providing them with food and drink whilst allowing the specialist teams to engage with their client groups ensuring they are accessing the services they need.”

The Christmas cooked breakfast is an opportunity to give clients a hot hearty meal and a gift of, for example, hats, socks, or toiletries.

“We would be grateful for any donations of food for the cooked breakfast such as tins of baked beans or tomatoes, and contributions towards purchasing the fresh food items are also very welcome!”, said Team Administrator Kathryn

24

Thornton. “We are hoping to again provide presents of hats, socks, gloves, toiletries and food packs if possible.”

If you would be interested in making a donation of any of the above items, please contact The Health Shop on 0115 947 5414 or send or deliver your donations direct to The Health Shop at 12 Broad Street, Hockley, Nottingham NG1 3AL. All donations will be gratefully received.

Poster stars for Safe Care campaign Trust staff and service users have been used as models on two posters requested by mental health trusts to support the national Safe Care campaign.

New Recovery Wing at HMP Doncaster The substance intervention team and service users at HMP Doncaster, with the support of the Prison Director, have worked extremely hard to bring together all departments and service providers to successfully develop a dedicated recovery wing.

The wing, which is now fully operational, aims to provide a more robust service, supporting individuals to participate and have a personal input into their own recovery pathway.

Local community services have also come on board to ensure a seamless service of throughcare back into the community. Representatives of Barnsley, Sheffield, and Rotherham Drug Intervention Programmes attend monthly meetings on the wing to inform patients of the process, and what is available in the community to continue with recovery. They promote robust systems and processes with the community teams to ensure a seamless service. Psychosocial groups including Acupuncture and Relaxation are held on the wing each day and the prison/health partnership is working well with the gym staff assisting to promote the benefits of cardio training and personal wellbeing.

The first, featuring service user Rachel Murnaghan and staff member Jo Rapson, is designed to raise awareness of self harm, and how to access support.

The second poster, featuring service user

Gladys Bombek and staff member Jonathan Wright, highlights how we can work together with patients, relatives, friends and carers to help them deal with aggressive feelings.

While those individuals’ conditions and roles may not be reflective of the poster content, they are great representatives of our staff and service users.

Posters featuring Trust staff and service users

Gail Coupland, Head of Offender Health at the prison, said: “I want to congratulate everyone involved. By working in partnership with service users and local communities, we can now provide this facility which we hope will truly make a difference by further supporting individuals with their ongoing recovery and a successful return to life in the community.”

The Princess Royal recently visited the prison and as part of the tour, was shown the new wing. The facility clearly made an impression on the Princess, being highlighted in the official thank you letter, “The Princess was full of admiration for the services offered in the resettlement/ recovery wing.” Well done to everyone involved in such a successful development.

Positive December 2012

25

Paperlight working proves a success in Mansfield and Ashfield Six months on from its implementation, a pilot project which has enabled colleagues in Child Services in Mansfield and Ashfield to work paperlight has been heralded a success.

Working through clinical information system, SystmOne, staff can now access a patient’s demographic information, assessment forms and progress notes electronically from one central location.

Lisa Sanders, a health visitor based in Mansfield explains that there are many benefits to paperlight working and argues that it has ultimately enhanced the level of care she is able to provide to the children she is responsible for.

“All form templates and patient information is readily available at the touch of a button; the system is extremely easy to navigate and record information. The information recorded is also much more comprehensive and legible. It has also reduced the duplication of work and with a backdate facility it ensures that all patient information is presented chronologically.

“The system is also very useful in terms of exchanging information and improving communication with partner organisations.

26

For instance, A&E admissions, hospital discharge forms and paediatrician letters are sent direct to our electronic record therefore updating us instantly as opposed to having to wait to receive a letter in the post days later.

“Not only does this ensure that we receive timely and accurate information, reducing the need to send sensitive information in the post, it also offers a more secure way of working.

“The electronic record also ensures that everyone is working from the same information when looking into a patient’s case. This is particularly useful if I am going to see a family that I am not familiar with; I can easily pull up the relevant details and update myself prior to the visit.

“This system is great and I am not aware of anyone who would disagree with that. Going forward I think working electronically can only get better, particularly when more mobile technologies are introduced and the system is used more widely across the Trust.”

Working electronically has also helped improve record keeping and meeting critical legal requirements.

At present all Child Protection documentation has to remain paper based. The teams are also looking to develop this with Social Services.

In addition, the Health Informatics Service has been working with the service to equip staff with mobile technology which is enabling them to work paperlight whilst out in the field.

Developing a new Eating Disorder service for young people The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team has successfully secured transformational funding to develop a new Eating Disorder service.

The aim is to ensure young people and their families receive a prompt, comprehensive, seamless and equitable service across all parts of the County, by transforming and strengthening existing resources in North and South Nottinghamshire Specialist Community CAMHS teams.

“We plan to increase support for parents, families and siblings, and improve on the consistency of that

Promoting a safe w Workplace violence is a significant concern within the NHS nationally, and aggression in healthcare settings threatens not only the wellbeing and safety of patients and staff, it also represents a significant impediment to the provision of effective healthcare.

This makes addressing workplace violence and aggression a top priority, and last year a Trustwide project group was set up and tasked with creating a strategy to reduce workplace violence across the organisation.

“Our main aim is to design and implement a realistic, robust and resilient strategy to ensure we have a safe organisation where our staff can deliver effective care and treatments to service users in an atmosphere free from violence and aggression,” said David Jones, Nurse Consultant.

l-r Kerry West, Project Admin and Alison Newsham-Kent, Project Lead

onset in adolescence.

About five times that number will suffer from Bulimia Nervosa (NICE).

offer,” said Alison Newsham-Kent, CAMHS Clinical Nurse Specialist/ Team Lead. “This could be through offering regular groups for siblings and parents, as well as support at home with meals.

“The long term aim is to reduce the average length of stay as an inpatient and to reduce potential admissions. We will work to secure future sustainable funding.”

Delivery of the service will be through enhanced clinical capacity, clinical leadership and management within existing teams.

This will be done by creating dedicated capacity within existing community services using a nested team model.

This model uses the strengths of the virtual team, spreading expertise amongst the many staff in Tier 3 Specialist Community CAMHS. The team will also have close links with the inpatient unit, other Specialist CAMHS teams, the Adult Eating Disorder service, Paediatrics and other partner agencies.

If you would like more information regarding this project please contact alison.newsham-kent@nottshc.nhs.uk

Eating disorders and young people – some facts • Around one in 250 females and one in 2,000 males will experience Anorexia Nervosa with peak age of

• Eating disorders commonly develop during adolescence, and they can blight physical and social development. The adverse physical consequences of dieting, weight loss and purging behaviours are severe and can sometimes prove fatal.

Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder in adolescents (NICE 2004).

• Young people with eating disorders are often very physically unwell and need a comprehensive physical assessment which must include weight, height, current cardiovascular and physical status, other indicators such as cold intolerance, fainting spells, rate of weight loss among many other factors (Junior MARSIPAN guidance 2012).

fe workplace, free from aggression and violence The complex nature of workplace violence often means that no single approach or strategy will work in isolation and successful approaches to reducing the problem usually encompass a variety of interventions at different levels within the organisational structure.

“There is existing good practice and expertise within our organisation that we can use in any future strategy,” added Shirley Wright, Management of Violence and Aggression Team Leader.

“We’re

currently scoping across the various clinical services and environments with a view to mapping the various approaches and practices aimed at preventing and responding to workplace violence.”

A number of work streams have been created to address the key approaches already known to be effective. These are: • Risk Assessment/Risk Management • Clinical management of violence • Communication, information and dissemination • Post incident management

• Research and innovation • Training/leadership • Environment and personal safety For more information contact David Jones Nurse Consultant, Rampton Hospital on 01777 247312 Ext 7390 or email David.

Jones@nottshc.nhs.uk, or Shirley Wright TMV&A Team Leader, Local Services Ext 10167 or email Shirley.Wright@nottshc. nhs.uk Shirley Wright, David Jones and other steering group members

Positive December 2012

27

New website launched for Nutrition and Dietetics A new website has been launched for the County Health Partnerships’ Nutrition and Dietetics team www.eatwellnotts.nhs.uk The website contains useful, up to date information and ideas which can be used to empower people to better nutritional health. It is accessible to both health professionals and the general public.

In addition to the main site there is a health professional site which can be accessed, via a password allocated by the department. This section contains more detailed and specific dietary information.

are able to access this to see what services the department can offer to support their clients • Training – The department’s various training sessions can be accessed through this section • Workplace – The benefits of offering workplace health are discussed here, along with tips and ideas that various workplaces can action It consists of six different sections including: • Eatwell – This section contains information on the Eatwell Plate along with meal ideas.

• Meet The Team – Details of who’s who within the team along with contact details • Physical Activity – The information included here signposts the public to the local district councils for advice on physical activity schemes • Schools and Children’s Centres – Schools and Children’s Centres

‘Uniting’ to promote independence for those with memory loss Team Unity candidates l-r Daniel Fisher, Community Development Worker; Vivienne Watson, Community Matron, Bassetlaw Health Partnership; Rebekah Cotterill, Divisional Bank Assistant; and Sean Murphy, Peer Support Worker.

28

Sophy Parkin, Dietetic Team Leader commented: “We are delighted with the new website. It includes useful, exciting information and ideas around being healthy. Our vision is ‘empowering people to better nutritional health’ and the website will help us achieve that goal.”

If you require any further information or have any comments about what other information may be useful on the site, please contact Sarah Hinds on 01623 785183 or email eatwellnotts@nottshc-chp.nhs.uk.

Team Unity, a group of candidates on the Executive Mentoring Group for BME staff, has been awarded £10,000 to pilot the innovative Informakey device.

The device will enable individuals living in the community to communicate

The Wise-Up team

with others during periods of memory lapse, to maintain their safety. The device is adaptable to each service user representing the various diverse groups living in Nottinghamshire. Informakey will be translated into different languages and it can also be produced in large or small print with the possibility of a Braille version in the future.

The aim of this innovative product is to promote independence, reduce social isolation, sustain dignity and prolong the quality of life for anyone with mental impairment.

The pilot will be rolled out across different patient services in Nottingham and Bassetlaw, and will be evaluated by service users and team leaders before further development.

Team member Vivienne Watson, Community Matron, Bassetlaw Health Partnership, said: “We have met with Chief Executive Mike Cooke to detail our project, and he has opened several doors to facilitate on-going development and future implementation of the Informakey as a supportive tool for appropriate individuals with memory loss.”

WISEUP to a healthy lifestyle The Peaks Unit at Rampton Hospital launched its new Healthy Lifestyle Programme ‘WISE-UP’ in September. The emphasis is on education and well-being, giving the programme its name: ‘Wellbeing, Inspiration, Skills, Exercise and Understanding & Participation’.

A number of Link Nurse, Physical Health Care and Infection Control Practitioners in the service will facilitate the programme through a Multi Disciplinary Team approach with members of the Therapies and Education Service.

The ‘WISE-UP’ Programme has a very strong input from Dieticians Sheree Hallford and Debra Edson, looking at lifestyle changes, diet, ways of eating, the buying or selection of alternative food options and how we all think about health and fitness in relation to body and mind, which hopefully may lead to subsequent benefits in participants’ lives.

Following the initial training, the Link Nurse Practitioners will be working closely with each patient’s Named Nurse and their clinical team in relation to the WISE UP programme.

The Link Nurse Practitioner for each ward is as follows: Diane Amendola – Cotswold/Cheviot Margaret Kirk – Malvern Anne Thompson – Quantock Glenys Copson – Hambleton Dean Lewis – Brecon.

Positive December 2012

29

Ali’s story Service User Ali tells his story of how he has been helped by the Social Inclusion and Wellbeing Team: “I came to the UK from Gambia in 1995. In 2003 I had a breakdown and had to be admitted to hospital.

I was encouraged to go to SPAN (a former base for the Social Inclusion and Wellbeing service), initially taking up gardening. I then became interested in catering and after SPAN closed, in March 2011 I moved to Aspley Focus.

“The Social Inclusion and Wellbeing Team helped me to find a voluntary job in catering so that I could continue with my catering training and I achieved my NVQs. The holistic approach provided me with courses in many different areas to improve everything from my IT skills as well as maths and English. All of these different qualifications gave me the skills to be ready to complete my training in catering. It also prepared me for paid work by giving me valuable work experience.

“I also do drama and other social activities at Focus and I find that keeping active keeps me well, as from Monday to Friday I have something to do every day. Focus has a lot of diverse opportunities and the people are nice and supportive. They are always on my side. I feel that I have made a lot of friends as well as gaining qualifications which will help me in my new search for paid work. By working with the Social Inclusion and Wellbeing team I feel that I am now in the right place in my life.”

30

New approaches to treatment of preschool ADHD The Trust and County Health Partnerships are supporting a study investigating whether a new specialised psychological intervention is effective in reducing ADHD symptoms in preschool children.

This intervention, the ‘Adapted-New Forest Parenting Programme’ (A-NFPP) is being compared to the ‘Incredible Years’ parenting programme currently offered nationally, and recommended by NICE.

(NIHR) funded Programme for Early Detection and Intervention for ADHD, is being run from the University of Nottingham, one of only three UK centres involved in the study.

The A-NFPP focuses on the core symptoms of ADHD and their reduction.

It covers the psycho-education of parents and teaches strategies of proactive parenting. It also includes an attentional and organisational training component to target the underlying cognitive basis of the condition, such as poor concentration and working memory. Therapists have been seconded from the Trust to deliver both the Incredible Years and A-NFPP.

Mental Health Research Network Officers are working with Community Paediatricians, Health Visitors, Speech and Language Therapists, and CAMHS professionals to recruit families into the study. Parents are also able to self-refer.

To be eligible parents need to be aged over 18 and have a child aged 2 years 9 months to 4 years 6 months, with significant ADHD type symptoms.

The Comparison of Preschool Parenting Interventions (COPPI), part of the National Institute of Health Research

For more information or to refer a family, contact Joanne Almeida or Craig Beecroft on joanne.almeida@ nottshc.nhs.uk or craig.beecroft@ nottshc.nhs.uk, or call 0115 823 1283.

Exploring a link between Autism Spectrum Conditions and Psychosis Pioneering new research at the University of Cambridge is being carried out into the possible genetic link between Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASCs) and Psychotic Mental Illness.

The new research hopes to explore the vulnerability of people with ASCs to developing psychotic illness, which could be valuable for prevention,

early detection and treatment. The Mental Health Research Network (MHRN) is working collaboratively with Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) Teams and Adult Mental Health Services to identify suitable patients to take part.

To be eligible for this study patients can be male or female, and aged 16 and over, with an ASC. Diagnostic

The study research team (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Cambridgeshire) at the Implementation Forum event.

Specialist Mood Disorder trial set to improve services The learning from a Specialist Mood Disorder trial will be used to improve standard care and develop more specialist care for those who need it.

assessments are carried out by the research team if an individual is suspected, but not yet diagnosed, of an ASC. Patients also need to have experience of any kind of psychosis.

While many eligible patients have already been identified with the help of the MHRN’s Research Liaison Nurses, the study will run until spring 2013, and the team hopes to recruit more patients.

For more information, or to refer a patient, please contact Clinical Studies Officers Joanne Almeida and Hazel Thoo by email: joanne.almeida@nottshc.nhs.uk or hazel.thoo@nottshc.nhs.uk or telephone 0115 823 1283.

Team members working on the trial successfully recruited all the participants needed before it closed at the end of September, thanks to ongoing support from the Mental Health Research Network. Clinical Studies Officer, Sandra Simpson, worked collaboratively with the study team to assist with promoting the NIHR CLAHRC NDL study and carrying out eligibility and follow-up assessments.

People taking part in the trial were randomly allocated to either ‘treatment as usual’ or to a ‘Specialist Mood Disorder Team (SMDT)’ for one year. The SMDT consists of a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist working collaboratively to develop a personalised and effective course of talking therapy and medication.

The study was initiated in Nottingham but was later expanded to include Cambridge, North Nottinghamshire

and Derbyshire, each establishing their own mood disorder service on site.

The project team is now looking at how the SMDT might be adopted as standard practice. Interviews with service users, managers and clinicians, will be used to identify any barriers and drivers to service implementation.

Audit has revealed areas of clinical practice that might be improved and an implementation team is being put together to improve usual care as well as developing more specialised care for those who need it.

The research team recently hosted an event for service users, managers, providers and commissioners to discuss implementing the service. Service users gave their perspective on current service provision, as well as their experience of being in the research study, and presentations were also given by clinicians in the study team.

Richard Morriss, Chief Investigator for the study said: “This is an example of how CLAHRC research can directly improve both treatment as usual and the development of specialist services. We hope to follow service user outcomes and experience of these interventions over a longer time period and refine the specialist mood disorder teams so that they are cost effective and best fitted to each of the sites where the research was carried out.”

Positive December 2012

31

Carer Cleo Becky

Julia Danks and Jacquie Cullen (back row l to r) and Andrea Emmens (bottom row far right) along with the eight trainees from the course.

‘Think Family’ with behavioural therapy training Eight Carer, Family and Friends Champions from across the acute and recovery settings of Adult Mental Health County services have successfully completed the Behavioural Family Therapy Training.

The training is facilitated by Andrea Emmens and Jacquie Cullen, Family Intervention Coordinators from the Family Intervention Service, Adult Mental Health and Julia Danks Clinical Specialist from the Meriden Family Training Programme.

Andrea explains: “The training covers skills such as establishing wellbeing plans, identifying early warning signs in a family group, setting goals with each member of the family in addition to the service user, and how to teach families skills such as expressing feelings and active listening.”

The course runs over five consecutive days

32

and while the attendees had to work very hard, the evaluations were very favourable and positive. The entire group left with an enthusiasm and motivation to start implementing family work into their routine clinical practice.

Andrea and Jacquie will provide group clinical supervision to the trainees and work alongside their Team Leaders/managers.

Jacquie Cullen added: “All of this is an exciting development working towards the Trust’s goal of ‘Think Family’.”

For further information regarding Behavioural Family Therapy or the training programme please contact:

Andrea Emmens on andrea.emmens@ nottshc.nhs.uk or 01909 502025 Jacquie Cullen on jacquie.cullen@ nottshc.nhs.uk or 0115 9522410 Lauren Medlam, Family Intervention Service Adminstrator, on lauren.medlam@ nottshc.nhs.uk or 01909 502025.

We are the C Sharing successes and challenges was the aim of a half day workshop for the County Carer, Family and Friends Champions, organised by the Family Intervention Service.

In addition to reviewing progress on locality goals set at a previous away day, and discussing the challenges of implementing

Carers, family, friends and workers at the initial drop in, Cleo is in the centre of the middle row and Becky is second from the right at the back

The first Carer, Family and Friends ‘One Stop Shop Drop In’ took place at the Bassetlaw Mental Health Unit in October.

‘One stop shop drop ins’ for Carers, Families and Friends

e Champions! the Champions role in the current economic climate, attendees also worked out new actions for the forthcoming year.

Among the areas of creative practice across all areas discussed by the 17 Champions at the event were: development of a Carer Pathway, development of carer friendly information leaflets, recovery and carer friendly boards in reception areas,

creative ways of working with Family Interventions via the Crisis resolution and Home Treatment Teams in Bassetlaw, establishing a Carer Support Group, and Carer, Family and Friends actively joining Commissioning Group Meetings.

Comments from attendees included: “Today has been superb, it’s just been wonderful to catch up with all of the other champions,” and “it’s great to have an opportunity to take stock of just where we are at and to share ideas.”

The day also enabled people who had recently attended Behavioural Family Therapy Training to share their experiences with each other and colleagues planning to attend the training next year.

More workshops are planned for 2013 to enable the Champions to meet and celebrate their work, and to recognise their enthusiasm and commitment to their Champion roles.

The Family Intervention Service thank the Rosewood Involvement Staff for their partnership work on these events.

“The aim of the drop in is to be a one stop shop where carers, families and friends can find information about local services available to them,” said Cleo Jarunek, Carer Peer Support Worker leading the new service. “A place where they can meet up with other people who are in the same position as they are, and an opportunity for them to receive support and take a short break in their busy caring lives.”

Ingrid Hunt and Jinny Slack, Carer Volunteers from Rosewood Involvement Centre also give their time freely to this new development as they both see its value. “This is a wonderful opportunity for carers to come together and support each other and to seek out any information they require,” explained Ingrid. “I am really enjoying being part of this.”

Cleo Jarunek was one of the first trainees on the Behavioural Family Therapy training in June and July 2012, and she is now able to use the skills acquired during this training whilst she is facilitating the drop in.

Becky Cassidy, Rosewood Involvement Worker, also facilitates the Drop In with Cleo, meaning Carers, Families and Friends who wish to become involved in the Trust business can speak to her at the earliest opportunity. This is bringing Involvement into the heart of the community.

The first session of this pilot project was attended by carers, families and friends, and interested staff members. Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Bloomberg said: “It has been really valuable for me to attend and I will now take particular attention when I am supervising junior doctors to ensure that I direct them to ask questions regarding carers, families and friends.”

Other feedback included: “This service is long overdue, I wish it had been here years ago” and “I have just enjoyed popping along and seeing about all the services that can help me.”

To find out more information and future dates please contact Cleo Jarunek on cleo.jarunek@nottshc.nhs.uk, Becky Cassidy on becky.cassidy@nottshc.nhs.uk or Lauren Medlam on lauren.medlam@ nottshc.nhs.uk.

Carer, Family and Friend Champions from across County Adult Mental Health

Positive December 2012

33

l a e r a g in k a M !

E W O W

e c a pl k r o w e h t in e c n e r e f dif

We all recognise the benefits at home of a well organised kitchen, garage or workshop, but have you considered how a well organised environment at work can help us be more efficient, and reduce the risk of errors being made?

With 70 frontline teams already engaged in Productive Community Services across County Health Partnerships, the Well Organised Working Environment (WOWE) module challenge for Corporate Services in Hawthorn House was laid down.

As Paul Smeeton, Chief Operating Executive said, “As members of the Corporate Services team we all have a responsibility to be role models of best practice and some of our frontline services have set the bar high.”

Some frontline teams who are leading the way on WOWE include: Children’s Therapy KMH; School Nursing at Beeston, Bingham and Oates Hill, Ollerton & Byron Court; District Nursing teams in Calverton, Hucknall, Cotgrave, Kegworth and Stapleford; Intermediate Care Teams in Newark and Stapleford; and Health Visitors in Cotgrave and Radcliffe.

The first WOWE blitz activity in Corporate Services took place in October, following a set process.

First the team did the ‘SORT’, disposing of obsolete and unwanted documents and equipment in storage areas. The tendency to retain items was highlighted by the discovery of some rules for nursing staff dated 1940 on top of a cupboard.

“This was a high-energy team activity with escalating levels of engagement as more and more people joined in,” said Productive Community Services Co-ordinator Charlotte Wood.

Before, during and after the WOWE blitz

34

q&a

“Lots of fun was had by all and every bin was full.”

Then followed the ‘SET’, establishing a place for everything and putting everything in its place. Many staff members have commented on how much easier it is to access what they need, and how much better it feels.

November also saw a second blitz activity focusing on personal desk spaces. Charlotte added: “WOWE helps teams transform their working environment, using no cost or low cost techniques, so they contribute to the efficient delivery of care. It’s great to see the programme rolling out so successfully across Health Partnerships.”

For more information on Productive Community Services, contact Charlotte Wood on 01623 673828 (Internal: 43828) or email Charlotte.

Wood@nottshc-chp.nhs.uk

This issue we speak to Nursing Assistant Amanda Barr

q What is your job title and what does your role entail? a Nursing Assistant. Helping to set up the new Women’s Service’s horticulture area; helping patients learn about and grow veg and flowers and how to look after animals. q How long have you been with

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust? a 6 ½ years.

q What single thing would improve your working life at Nottinghamshire Healthcare? a At this moment in time a bigger shed and a toilet in the new Women’s Horticulture. q What is your favourite hobby? a Walking. q What keeps you awake at night? a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / M.E.

q What do you see as your priorities for Nottinghamshire Healthcare? a Caring and supporting people in their hour of need; be it short or long term care.

q What is your favourite film? a Any of the Harry Potter films.

q What is your employment background? a I’ve had various jobs from clock making to making popcorn. I qualified as a teaching assistant to support children with learning difficulties and special needs. Then caring for the elderly in a nursing home before moving on to Rampton Hospital.

q What three words would you use to describe yourself? a This is a hard question. I would like to think I’m a caring, understanding person who is willing to help others.

Otherwise I would say 5ft 5ins with brown hair and blue eyes.

q What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? a Enjoy life as we never know what’s around the corner. q What was the last CD you bought? a Now 86. q What is your greatest

achievement? a Having my two children.

q What makes you angry? a People not having time to help or

q What is your idea of bliss? a Relaxing on holiday with my family.

q What is your favourite holiday destination? a Isle of Wight. q Who would you take to a desert island? a Matthew McConaughey or my husband. q Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time? a Still working at Rampton Hospital, enjoying my family and touring the UK in a motor home. q Do you have a ‘claim to fame’? a Once met and talked to Jamie Afro

listen to others, even if it may only take a few moments of their time.

from the X-Factor in McDonalds.

q What are you most passionate about? a My family and getting the Women’s Service Horticulture up and running.

q How would you like to be remembered? a As a nice friendly person who always had time for others.

Positive December 2012

35

A Passport to success: Promoting staff supervision at Arnold Lodge For all staff at Arnold Lodge supervision is seen as vital in maintaining good practice. Supervision is offered in groups and on an individual basis with the member of staff’s chosen supervisor.

To promote supervision further, all staff at Arnold Lodge have been provided with a Supervision Passport. The Passport was developed in response to the recognition that staff have a lot of supportive supervisory contact with a range of colleagues and that this ad-hoc and informal supervision compliments the formal supervision they receive. With the Passport this advice, guidance and support can be jotted down and reviewed later with their supervisor.

It is hoped that the passport will be a big success and will be rolled out to other areas across the Forensic Services Division and the wider Trust.

Nursing Times Awards winners

Mark Holmes, who leads the ‘Community Matron in High-Volume Service Users’ programme within the Trust’s Substance Misuse Services (SMS) won the Nursing in Mental Health category after being nominated for its assertive outreach and innovative management of patients who regularly frequent the hospital setting.

Congratulations to four members of Trust staff who have been named as winners in the Nursing Times Awards 2012.

The judges commented, “This is an outstanding finalist who epitomises all that is great about mental health nursing demonstrating dignity and compassion for a disadvantaged group.”

‘The Health Inspectors’, an initiative designed to give people with learning disabilities an influencing voice and

Chief Executive Mike Cooke added: “This is a terrific result. Very well done to Mark for his continued push to advise and treat on substance misuse – such a common determinant of serious issues in need for other services. Special congratulations to LD Health Facilitator Maureen Major and Community LD Nurses Ruth Wint and Cathyanne Gardner for getting out there with into primary care with such impact with The Health Inspectors. Congratulations also to Lynne Cotterill, Community Matron/Clinical Director in Rushcliffe, County Health Partnerships, who was shortlisted in the category of Nurse of the Year. We are truly proud of all our staff and especially these outstanding individuals.”

l-r Cathyanne, Ruth, General Manager Specialist Services, Debbie Abrams, Mark and Maureen

36

become valued members of the local health agenda, has won the Learning Disability Nursing category

WHO WE ARE...

You may have picked up this copy of the newsletter not knowing what Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is. We provide integrated healthcare services including mental health, learning disability and community health services. We also manage medium-secure units in Leicester and Rotherham, and the high-secure Rampton Hospital near Retford and provide healthcare in 11 prisons across the East Midlands and Yorkshire.

WE NEED YOU!

If you have any ideas or suggestions for the newsletter, please contact Suzanne Aitken in the Trust Communications Team on 0115 955 5403 or via email at suzanne.aitken@ nottshc.nhs.uk. We are always pleased to receive articles for possible publication, but ask that they do not exceed 300 words.

Wherever possible when naming individuals, please include details of their job titles/roles and the organisation they are from. If any individuals other than yourself are mentioned in what you write or featured in accompanying photographs, please make sure you check with them that they are happy to be potentially featured. It is your responsibility to ensure this consent is given. Please send photos as separate image files and not in Word documents.

Please note that the Communications Team has full editorial control and may have to edit articles appropriately.

Therefore, if you want to see the final version please ensure you send your article in with plenty of time before the deadline and state clearly what you require.

If you would like copies of any past editions of Positive, or if you are having any ‘distribution issues’ with the newsletter – whether you’re receiving too many copies, too few, or none at all – then please contact us.

If you would like your story in the February issue of Positive, please contact us by 4 January 2013. However, due to space constraints we cannot guarantee the publication of all articles received by the deadline.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, The Resource, Duncan Macmillan House, Porchester Road, Nottingham, NG3 6AA tel 0115 969 1300 www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk

Printed on Cocoon · 100% recycled paper