Positive May 2012 by Hargrave Design

MAY 2012

about integrated healthcare

Driving the sustainability agenda l-r Neil Alcock, Energy and Environmental Manager and Sustainability Adviser, Mark Watkins, Transport Manager, Simon Smith, Executive Director, Local Services

Trust celebrates NHS Sustainability Day see page 3

TREE PLANTING HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE BILL TO WHATTON VIA BRAZIL SENSORY ROOM NEW TRAINING CENTRE

MESSAGE We are already a month into the new ﬁnancial year and able to reﬂect fully on the performance of the Trust in 2011/12 and the position from which we move forward. The organisation has been through a period of change with the expansion of Offender Health services and the provision of integrated community health services within Nottinghamshire County and Bassetlaw. We are delighted with the steady improvement in these areas and wish to congratulate those involved for their continued efforts.

As Sustainability Lead for the Trust, I was pleased to take part in the first NHS Sustainability Day. I am very proud of the achievements made in this area; reﬂected

FROM THE BOARD

We are also celebrating the achievement of the IT Service Desk team for attaining national accreditation status from Connecting for Health. Well done to you all.

in Shropshire; many congratulations to both of them on their successful moves. Andrea Ward, who was to be acting temporarily into Julie’s role is currently on sick leave – we wish her the very best for a speedy recovery. Interviews for Julie’s substantive replacement are taking place this month.

There have been some changes within Local Services recently. Leaving the Division for pastures new are Dr Julie Hall, Deputy Director, who is moving into a Director of Nursing role with Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Becky Monaghan, Division Governance Lead, who is taking up an Associate Director of Nursing role

Within Adult Mental Health we have reconfigured the Directorate so that services are seamless across the City and County. This coincides with the retirement of Clinical Director Dr Michelle Hampson and General Manager Sue Thornton – we send them very best wishes and thank them for their hard work and professionalism over many years.

in our ranking in the top 10% of trusts in the country for carbon reduction and energy management.

I am really pleased that the new Clinical Directors for the Directorate will be Drs Hazel Johnson and Bert Parks, whilst General Manager will be Nick Daibell. They will be bringing a wealth of enthusiasm and experience to their roles. We congratulate them on their appointments and look forward to seeing continued service improvements in this new model.

Simon Smith, Executive Director, Local Services

Ceremonial tree planting Mike Harris unveils the commemorative plaque following the planting of the tree by Dean Fathers and Mike Cooke

Staff celebrate NHS Sustainability Day

A ceremonial planting of the 100th tree to mark the centenary of Rampton Hospital took place last month. Ninety nine trees have already been planted in the grounds of the Hospital, one for each year it has been open. Chief Executive, Mike Cooke, Chair, Dean Fathers and Executive Director of Forensic Services, Dr Mike Harris, joined Hospital staff to carry out the planting of the tree outside the Mike Harris Centre Learning and Development Centre. They also unveiled a commemorative plaque, to symbolically mark the end of the project. Mike Harris said; “This year is an important milestone for the Trust and the Hospital and it is an achievement that we are proud of and keen to celebrate. The planting of 100 trees will leave a lasting legacy which people in the years to come will be able to enjoy. Over the coming months we look forward to sharing more exciting events with patients, staff, carers and the local community to commemorate the centenary year.” This ceremony is just one of a variety of exciting events planned throughout 2012 to commemorate 100 years of improving patient care. Thanks go to MITIE for generously donating the trees and carrying out the planting across the Hospital estate. The trees will also help towards MITIE and the Trust’s Sustainability Targets.

Trust celebrates sustainability

On 28 March the Trust took part in the ﬁrst ‘NHS Sustainability Day’ to celebrate progress in reducing energy consumption and improving sustainability, and raise awareness of the work still to be done.

At Duncan Macmillan House, Millbrook Mental Health Unit and Rampton Hospital ‘sustainability ﬂags’ were raised and banners displayed to mark the day. The reception areas of each site also hosted stands where colleagues could take part in activities, share good practice and find out how to help the Trust deliver greener, more environmentally friendly services. Information about carbon reduction and sustainability initiatives was available and visitors were able to taste locally produced and sourced food and see just how big a kilogram of CO2 really is. At Duncan Macmillan House staff could also test drive a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle. The Trust has already made significant progress in becoming a greener, low carbon organisation. In the Environment Agency’s League Table Report on Carbon Reduction Schemes in November 2011, it was ranked in

the top 10% of trusts in the country for carbon reduction and energy management. Recycling is available at nearly 90% of Trust sites and plans are in place to reduce energy consumption by 34% by 2015 – five years ahead of the Department of Health’s target date of 2020. Simon Smith, Executive Director of Local Services and Sustainability Lead, said: “We are delighted to have taken part in the first NHS Sustainability Day. It provided a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of this very important matter and to provide information and ideas on how energy usage can be reduced and about the alternative options available. It was also a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the excellent work achieved across the Trust so far and to share future initiatives.” For more information contact the Energy and Environmental Team on 0115 9934590.

Positive May 2012

Left to right: Kate Hooley, Assistant Psychologist, Della Money Speech and Language Therapy Team Leader, Nick Romilly, Public Health Manager, NHS Nottinghamshire County, Debbie Abrams, General Manager, Donna WinﬁeldStanesby, Psychology Team Secretary - North, John Robertson Lead Clinical Psychologist for North Notts, Lee Shepherd, Service User, Kevin Baker, Clinical Psychologist, CATT North, Fran Walsh, Trainee Clinical Psychologist, Mena Amato, Psychology Team Secretary – South, Jacquie Cooper, Business Manager

New Therapy and Treatment Centre opened Debbie Abrams, OBE, General Manager of the Specialist Services Directorate, opened the new Therapy and Treatment Centre at Lindsay Close in Mansfield last month.

an end last year. It is designed for use by adults with learning disabilities who also experience mental health problems from around Nottinghamshire, but mainly in the Mansfield and Ashfield area.

This specialist centre was refurbished following its use as a long stay residence coming to

The Therapy and Treatment Centre adds to the Trust’s community-based services by

providing quiet, confidential rooms for talking therapies and other treatments, including a family suite with audio/visual observation equipment available. It also provides ‘hot desk’ facilities for staff using the building. Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and other therapy

professionals look forward to welcoming their patients to the Centre. Debbie said: “This exciting development is a vision from a few years’ ago that has come true, at relatively low cost. It will enable service users to work through difficult issues and experiences in a peaceful, purpose built setting.”

Conference covers caring mindset Professionals from across health, social care and the private sector came together in March to consider ‘psychological-mindedness’ in intellectual disability.

‘psychologically-minded environments’ in their workplaces, in particular in workplaces that are geared towards the emotional growth of users, staff, and providers.

Whilst many Trust colleagues are qualified in a number of different therapies, there are also many colleagues who, although not trained psychologists or psychiatrists, are in a position to provide a level of psychological care – for example to families, carers or service users who are worried or distressed. In order to be able to provide this care they need a basic level of knowledge and skill, or ‘psychological mindedness’.

A psychologically-minded environment is one in which all the staff are supported and encouraged to be receptive and responsive to the psychological needs of service users and their wider network of family and carers.

Attendees at the ‘Being, Belonging, Becoming’ conference were invited to think about creating and sustaining

A total of 70 people attended the event and members of the Psychological Mindedness group in the Learning Disability Service spoke about current ideas used in their practices and about new ways to tune in to people who might otherwise be difficult to reach socially or emotionally.

The audience was fully involved in the day with many lively dialogues shared. Talks about being with distressed people, belonging together and becoming the person you want to be were interspersed with facilitated discussions. Rachel Fyson and David Charnock from the University of Nottingham also contributed to the day with thought-provoking talks on escaping the medical-social model debate. They also discussed their negotiations with clinicians about a new Masters level course on psychological-mindedness in intellectual disability, which it is hoped will run from Autumn 2012. For more information about the course or about psychological-mindedness contact Dr Jennifer Clegg on 0115 854 2206.

Health and Social Care Bill: changes to the NHS in England The Health and Social Care Bill was recently approved by Parliament. This means that the way in which the health service works in England will change. Why change? Ministers believe changes are essential to allow the health service to become more efficient and meet the challenges it is facing. Health costs are rising because of an ageing population and advances in medical technology, so steps need to be taken now to cut waste and improve performance. Despite the NHS budget being protected it is not immune from the need to make savings. There has to be more focus on improving quality, as poor quality care costs more money. Services need to be joined up more effectively so that health and social care professionals work better together locally. How will the new system be run? Local health managers working for primary care trusts (PCTs) currently control much of the spending. They use funds to plan and buy services for patients. Both PCTs and regional bodies known as strategic health authorities are to be phased out. The budget responsibility will transfer to clinical commissioning groups which will include GPs and other health professionals including doctors and nurses. Responsibility for some services will lie with a national board that is being set up to oversee the new system.

How will it be monitored? An independent and accountable NHS Commissioning Board will be established to lead on the achievement of health results, allocate and account for NHS resources, lead on improvements in quality and promote patient involvement and choice. It will also have a duty to promote equality and tackle inequalities in access to healthcare. Patients’ interests will be protected and promoted by Monitor who will also tackle abuse and unjustifiable restrictions of competition. The Care Quality Commission will be strengthened as an effective quality inspectorate covering both health and social care. HealthWatch will represent the views of patients, carers and local communities.

The diagram below shows the way in which the commissioning and provision of NHS services will operate within a framework of regulation to protect the interests of patients and taxpayers

NHS organisations will still provide services to NHS patients. NHS staff will remain on NHS terms and conditions. NHS assets will remain publicly-owned. How much will the changes cost? The cost of the programme is £1.4bn over two years. It could cost as much as £1bn to make redundancies. £400m will be spent on things such as IT and property in setting up the new consortia. The government claims the cost will be more than offset by savings and that the reduction in staff alone will save £5bn by 2015. What does it mean for the patient? ‘No decision about me without me’ will be the principle behind the way in which patients are treated. They will be able to make decisions with their GP about the type of treatment that is best for them. Patients will also have more control and choice over where they are treated and who they are treated by. They will be able to get more information about how local services are performing, feedback on their own experience and have more opportunities to hold local services to account.

Providers of hospitals and other services will have greater freedom and fewer centrally set targets. They will be paid according to their performance, which will provide an incentive for greater quality. Providers will also be able to make money from different sources and reinvest it into NHS services. Councils will have a much greater leadership role in local health services and will be responsible for local health care priorities, joining up health and care services, ensuring they meet the needs of their local communities.

What about competition/ privatisation? Greater involvement from the private sector, charities and social enterprises is encouraged. In many ways, this is nothing new for the NHS. In total £1 of every £20 spent in the NHS goes to a non-NHS provider. The reforms will probably expand this.

*Courtesy of the Department of Health: Protecting and Promoting Patients’ Interests: the role of Sector Regulation, Executive Summary

Andrew Lansley CBE, Secretary of State for Health and Sir David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive recently published letters about the Bill and what the changes mean. Both letters and more information about the Bill can be found on the Department of Health website, www.dh.gov.uk

Positive May 2012

Could you give a child a home? Nottinghamshire County Council is looking for more foster carers and adoptive parents to help care for local children. Councillor Philip Owen, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services at the Council, said: “Since the case of Baby P in 2008, awareness of issues facing children in care has grown considerably. Across the County we currently have 776 children in care – nearly double the number four years ago – and we urgently need more people to get in touch who feel that they could offer a stable and loving home to children.” More than half of the County’s children in care are over 10 years old, with a significant number being as old as 16 or 17. “With fostering and adoption, we have relatively little difficulty recruiting families willing to take babies. Our challenge tends to come in other areas such as placing brothers and sisters together, placing older children and placing children with developmental delay or developmental uncertainty. These are the areas in which we need more help.” The County Council offers foster carers and adoptive families a range of support, allowances and training. To find out more about adoption or fostering call 0845 301 8899 (for fostering) or 0845 301 2288 (for adoption) or visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/adoptionandfostering.

To Whatton via Brazil Kay Bywater-Pinto has been appointed to the role of Head of Offender Health at HMP Whatton. Kay joins the Trust with a diverse career history. Having trained as an RNMH and later in general nursing, she worked on a variety of wards within the QMC before moving to the Dermatology Directorate as a staff nurse and later, sister. In 1992 Kay left Nottingham for the Amazon area of Brazil to become an aid worker on the World Health Organisation Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) eradication programme. For four years she worked closely with the Amazonas Institute for Dermatology undertaking all aspects of screening and treatment of patients, and research into new programmes of care and training local health workers to ensure they became proficient in the delivery of the programme. Kay said: “For most of the time I was the only trained nurse at the local hospital, so was often called upon to attend to patients when the doctor was not available. This varied from dealing with snake bites, cholera outbreaks, mass vaccination to delivering breech babies!”

Back in the UK, Kay worked in Health Care of the Elderly before returning to Dermatology to develop patient led services and new ways of working as a multi disciplinary team. Nottingham became recognised as a centre of excellence with the team winning several national awards, including the Department of Health annual Innovation award for the development of nurse led diagnostic surgery. In 2006 Kay was employed by Nations Healthcare as Clinical Services Manager to undertake the commissioning, migration and delivery of clinical services to the Independent Sector Treatment Centre based at QMC. She said: “This was a very challenging and exciting role as I was involved from when the foundations were first laid to the day that all the services had transferred.” For the last three years, Kay has worked as a service development manager for Luton PCT initially assisting with the organisation’s preparations to become a social enterprise and later NHS provider service. Projects were varied including ﬂu pandemic preparedness, operational management

of adult community services to the implementation of Productive Community Services across the organisation. Commenting on her future with Nottinghamshire Healthcare, Kay said: “I am really looking forward to my new role as Head of Offender Health at HMP Whatton and being back in operational management.” Adrian Perks, Associate Director Offender Health, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kay to the Directorate. She brings a wealth of clinical and managerial experience that will help the team at HMP Whatton continue to transform and develop services, and support the wider Directorate.”

Left: some of the volunteers with the Mayor of Broxtowe Borough Council and colleagues from County Health Partnerships, Sure Start and the Council. Below: the certiﬁcate awarded to the volunteers

Breastfeeding volunteers win council award Breastfeeding peer support volunteers have been rewarded for their hard work with a community award from Broxtowe Borough Council. The awards scheme honours local people living and working in Broxtowe who have volunteered or carried out work above and beyond their normal paid work, and who by doing so have made the borough a better place to live and work. Theresa Drozdowska, Health Improvement Practitioner, County Health Partnerships, nominated the volunteers in the category: ‘Groups

who made contributions to improving their communities’. “I am so pleased that out of all the nominations, they won this category,” said Theresa. “Both Steve Lack, Senior Co-ordinator, County Health Partnerships, and I watched proudly as they accepted the award from the Mayor of Broxtowe Borough Council, Councillor

Jacky Williams. It was a wonderful event with many local community groups sharing their achievements in supporting the public.” The breastfeeding peer support volunteer programme was developed by County Health Partnerships and Sure Start. It encourages individuals who have good breastfeeding experience to help new mums. The

volunteers receive free training and then attend local baby and breastfeeding encouragement and support (BABES) groups, aiming to enable new mums to continue breastfeeding for longer whilst providing extra support for them along the way. For any more information about the programme email theresa.drozdowska@ nottshc-chp.nhs.uk.

New staff Bank provides personal touch A new staff Bank is now in operation providing suitably skilled, flexible staff to reliably fill shifts in Local Services and at the Wells Road Centre. The Local Services Nursing and Healthcare Assistant Staff Bank went live on 1 April after months of preparation. The new in-house service is based at Moorgreen House on the Highbury Hospital site and will be able to offer a more personalised service to wards than has been available in the past. Advertising and registration days in February received a great response and

over 650 ﬂexible workers have already registered with the Bank. The Bank will continue to work with VP Forensic agency for support with staffing unfilled shifts at short notice, but recruitment will be ongoing throughout the year to ensure the risk of unfilled shifts is minimised and use of the agency is reduced. To further support the Bank service, a professional nurse advisor will manage any complaints and incidents involving Bank staff. The nurse advisor will work in partnership with all wards and units to make sure all incidents are investigated appropriately.

The Local Service’s Division Bank Team is: • Lyndsey Kalnins, Bank Administrator • Rebekah Cotterill, Bank Assistant • Ashley Brentnall, Bank Assistant/Data Control • Ruth Leachman, Bank Assistant • Sue Edson, Divisional Bank Manager The Bank office is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and on Bank Holidays from 9am to 1pm. Answerphone messages can be left outside these hours. For more information, or to register with the Bank, contact the team on nursebank@nottshc.nhs.uk or telephone 0115 9560828 (internal 10828).

Positive May 2012

New training centre unveiled at Rampton Over 40 guests attended the formal opening of the new Violence Reduction and Security Training Centre at Rampton Hospital in February. The £800,000 redevelopment provides a state of the art training facility for the 2,400 colleagues who need training each year in subjects as diverse as ‘promoting safe and therapeutic services’, ‘violence reduction’, ‘protective equipment’, ‘first on the scene’ and ‘search training’. The centre

also provides training for staff in areas such as Offender Health and other medium and low secure units. Professor Dean Fathers, Trust Chair, formally opened the centre while Dr Mike Harris, Executive Director for Forensic Services, hosted the event.

Degree success for violence reduction lead

Alan Maughan receiving his degree from Glamorgan University

Congratulations to Alan Maughan, Trust Professional Lead for Violence Reduction, who has become only the second person in the world to achieve a BSc (Hons) in Violence Reduction – Professional Practice.

Dr Harris commented on the greatly improved training environment: “Staff have reported back in evaluation that they really appreciate the changes to our courses, both physical and theoretical, saying how professional they now are and that all available time is being used to its best advantage.”

Alan has worked at Rampton Hospital for eight years and leads on violence reduction training throughout the Trust. Since moving to the Hospital he has worked to improve the violence reduction courses’ professional image and to introduce courses which are fit for purpose and meet the increasing demands of professionals working for the Trust. “I am very proud of achieving my degree qualification,” said Alan, “and I hope that other staff, especially instructors, will now follow in my footsteps.”

The health inspectors pictured at their meetings with Maureen Major and Mike Sergeant (below) and Rachael Rees (bottom)

Health inspectors are on the case

A group of people with learning disabilities is working together to find out more about health professionals’ experience of working with them and learn about how they can improve their own experience of health services. Here they explain all… As a result of the BIG Health DAY 2011 for Nottingham North and East, we decided we would like a bigger voice within local health services and so we formed a group. l-r Mike Harris, Alan Maughan, Trust Professional Lead for Violence Reduction and Dean Fathers Above: The new centre

The Violence Reduction Training Team has worked with the Open College Network and achieved quality marks for the entire range of Violence Reduction courses facilitated at Rampton Hospital and the other Trust training centres.

Along with his team, Alan was heavily involved in the design and planning of the new Violence Reduction and Security Training Centre. He is now leading on a project to work with Glamorgan University, which awarded his degree, to produce a locally facilitated diploma and certificate course in Violence Reduction – Professional Practice. He is also developing a pathway for instructors and other healthcare professionals to develop their knowledge and skills in this highly specialist area of healthcare practice.

At the first meeting we decided we wanted to work on: • Helping people talk about their health • Helping health staff understand people with learning disabilities better • Producing a play about consent • Developing art work showing what health means to us We were also really keen to use a video camera and talk to health staff about their jobs and find out how they feel about working with people with learning disabilities. We meet regularly and we encourage other people with learning disabilities to take part in the activities. We wanted to understand more about consent so we invited Mike Sergeant, Mental Capacity Act Lead, to talk to us about this.

Operations, Nottingham and North East Commissioning Group, to tell us more about this. Rachael asked us to design a website page to help doctors and nurses understand how to help us better; we are very excited about doing this. Our group is supported by Maureen Major, Health Facilitator, Laurence Quirk, Gedling Community & Voluntary Services, Cathyanne Gardner, RNLD, Community Nurse, and Ruth Wint, RNLD, Community Nurse, who together found some money to fund the group. We wanted to share all our experiences and the work we have done with other people so we are going to have our own Mini Big Health Day on 19 June to celebrate Learning Disability Awareness Week. It will be held at the Bonnington Theatre in Arnold from 11am to 3.30pm. If you want to come please call Laurence Quirk on 0115 8546262/9871981 because we need to know how many people will be coming.

We were interested in understanding how money is spent in health services so we invited Rachael Rees, Head of Primary Care

Positive May 2012

Sheila crosses the Olympic ﬁnish line Join Nigel on his Olympic challenge Next month Occupational Therapist Nigel Humphries will be taking on the challenge of walking between his work base of Arnold Lodge in Leicester to Wathwood Hospital in Rotherham. Nigel came up with the idea of the celebration walk in honour of the London 2012 Olympics and the variety of sporting activities taking place across the organisation as part of the Trust’s Olympic campaign. Nigel will set off from Arnold Lodge on Monday 11 June and aims to reach Wathwood Hospital five days and 115 miles later. Nigel’s journey will include a number of stops along the way, taking in some of the events being held to raise awareness of health and wellbeing and the importance of physical activity. They will include a rugby tournament at Trust headquarters in Nottingham, a sports day in Newark, mini Olympics at Millbrook Mental Health Unit and a rowing race at Rampton Hospital. Nigel said: “I am really looking forward to this challenge. It was originally intended to take place exactly a

year before the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and to be a homage to the Olympic torch relay. However, it was rescheduled to coincide with the frenzy of interest leading up to the games and the week-long festival of sport, health and wellbeing across the Trust.” Everyone is welcome to join Nigel along the journey, either by walking part of the route or offering their support as he drops in to the events along the way. For those people wishing to track his progress, Nigel can be followed on Twitter @NigelHumphries where he will be posting regular updates. Nigel also aims to raise funds for British Heart Foundation and Water Aid as he walks.

The organisation of the walk and the other sporting events has been overseen by a group of Olympic Champions led by Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator James Routen. They are enthusiastic individuals from across the Trust who have been working hard to ensure staff, patients, service users and their friends and families can all get involved. They are being encouraged to take part in organised events or to come up with their own Olympic inspired activities in an effort to become more physically active. For further information contact Nigel on nigel.humphries@nottshc.nhs.uk or 0116 207 7760.

Sheila Ryan, a member of the Family and Friends of the Wells Road Centre, joined 5,000 other runners in making history as part of the National Lottery Olympic Park Run held in March. The Wells Road Centre Family and Friends forum is an ongoing part of the assessment and feedback process of the Wells Road Centre. It meets each month and identifies problems and concerns for family, friends and their loved ones, focusing particularly on the centre’s development into a low secure unit and related issues. Sheila is a founder member of the group. The five-mile run was organised to celebrate the National Lottery’s contribution to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and as a way of saying thank you to the public for their support. The course took the runners around the Olympic Park, past landmarks such as the Velodrome and Aquatics Centre, before finishing inside the iconic Stadium and making them the first people to cross the Olympic Stadium finish line.

The route of the

“It was an amazing day, and l shared it with some very amazing people,” said Sheila. “Some, like me, had suffered injuries during their training programmes, but nothing was going to keep us away from the day that made history.” The runners were picked at random from 43,000 entrants and included former Olympians and Paralympians, celebrities and Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice. The five-mile race was last run at the Olympic Games at the 1908 Olympics in London. “Being one of the last l entered the stadium to the music of Chariots of Fire and the sounds of 12,000 fantastic spectators who gave us a standing ovation,” said Sheila. “It was a truly spectacular experience that made me feel that I had been part of a very special day.” Left: Sheila Ryan setting off on the race day Right: Sheila shows off her medal at the end of the race

Celebration Walk

: Monday 11 June Start Point – Arno ld Lodge Summ er Olympics Tuesday 12 June Invest to Lead 4 at Trent Vineyard and Nice Tr y Tag Ru gby tournament at Duncan Macmill an House, Nottin gham Wednesday 13 June Summer Sports Day, Newark Thursday 14 Ju ne Mini Olympics, Millbrook Menta l Health Unit and evening party at Rosewood Involv ement Centre, O llerton Friday 15 June Rowing Challen ge, Rampton Hos pital Saturday 16 Ju ne End Point – Sum mer Gala Day, Wathwood Hospi tal

Nigel in training with his dog Percy

Positive May 2012

Captain Jack opens sensory room Above: Children, parents, staff and dignitaries at the opening event Below: Inside the sensory room. Photos courtesy of The Retford Times.

Children, parents, dignitaries and Trust colleagues came together to celebrate the opening of a new sensory room at Captain Jack’s soft play centre in Retford. The sensory room at Captain Jack’s Adventure is a partnership venture between the private owner, Bassetlaw Health Partnerships and Nottinghamshire County Council. Bassetlaw Health Partnerships secured a capital grant from the Council’s short breaks funding to pay for the development and Councillor Keith Walker performed the official ribboncutting in March. The room is equipped with different coloured lighting, sounds and tactile materials including bubble tubes and a vibrating ball pool. Children are able to change colours and sounds themselves and so control their own environment. It is available for any children to use but is particularly beneficial for those with additional needs. Captain Jack’s is a community resource for children in Bassetlaw. It is open to the public every day and available for private hire. Private sessions for organisations supporting children with additional needs are also available but must be booked in advance. For more information about Captain Jack’s visit www. captainjacksadventure.co.uk, email info@captainjacksadventure.co.uk or call Sally Roberts on 01777 869966.

Claire Teft (far right) with Dr Peter Miller (centre) and the rest of the Angels

Netball skills raise charity funds A team of Trust sharp shooters showed off their ball skills to raise money for charity.

Claire Teft from Café Art at Duncan Macmillan House put together a ‘skilled’ team of netballers – even including some players who knew the rules of the game – for a tournament in aid of Sport Relief. Six teams took part in the event at the Portland Leisure Centre and ‘Pete’s Angels’ got off to a great start with a 5-5 draw followed by a resounding 10-3 win. Spirits were high, support was noisy, but the fitness of some

team members was questionable, and the next three matches all ended in close losses. The tournament raised several hundred pounds for the charity and everyone involved enjoyed the day. If you would like the chance to take more exercise and try your hand at netball please contact Claire Teft on 07890 515 853 or email claire.teft@ nottshc.nhs.uk.

Patients lead ‘The Reader’ group Rampton Hospital’s first on-ward reader group was held recently on Alford Ward, co-facilitated by Dr Adrian Brown, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and Kelly Mate, Occupational Therapist. The Alford Ward team uses modified therapeutic community principles to help chronically psychotic, high dependency patients move forward in their recovery. The original aims of the reader group were to improve self-esteem, communication and social interaction amongst patients experiencing a range of negative symptoms associated with mental illness and who find group work difficult. The group was well attended

and was found to meet these aims, but it also appeared to increase concentration, attention and capacity to learn amongst the patients. For some patients it stimulated interest in other educational opportunities and gave them the confidence to seek information regarding other discussion-based groups. The book read by the group and selected by a patient was ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck. It has also been used in a similar group at Ashworth Hospital, albeit with a patient group with different needs. Over eight weekly sessions, staff and patients read to the group and reﬂected upon the challenging themes and

issues the book raised. The format of the group increased the occupational demands placed upon each patient, resulting in better structure and routine within their day. The group enabled patients to express their feelings within a safe environment and this was further developed by providing opportunities for them to distance themselves from their own circumstances. By looking in on characters from the outside, they were able to empathise with the suffering of others rather them themselves. Overall the patients enjoyed the experience and have requested a second programme to be facilitated in the near future.

Positive May 2012

Colleague awarded research placement A Trust colleague has beaten stiff competition to be accepted onto a sought-after research programme. Alisa Timmerman, a specialist occupational therapist for autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), working with the Nottingham City Asperger Service, has gained a place on the new Research into Practice programme being run by the regional CLAHRC. The initiative has been set up to allow therapists, nurses and NHS managers in the East Midlands to undertake a fast-track piece of research that is immediately relevant to the challenges faced in their workplace. Insights gained from the programme can then be incorporated into making improvements to services for patients, service users and carers. Alisa was one of 11 successful candidates to gain a place on the programme. Her research project will focus on incorporating the best evidence-based practice into the service, focusing on people with ASD sensory sensitivities. “I was delighted to be selected to have my proposal taken forward,” said Alisa. “I am hopeful that not only will the research generate insights which will improve the way our team works and services for patients, but that it will also help support me in my continuing professional development.”

Rachel’s Success Rachel Redford, PA to Dave Manley, Clinical Director, Specialist Services Directorate, has graduated from North Notts College with a qualiﬁcation from the Chartered Management Institute. Rachel gained a Level 7 in strategic management, coaching and mentoring and a Level 5 in Leadership and Management, as well as Prince II Foundation Level. She hopes to be able to put this learning into practice, allowing her to further develop her career. Rachel Redford

Participants on the programme are seconded one day a week for three months to carry out the research-based practice relevant to their teams and patients. CLAHRC (Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care) is part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Colleagues there have expertise in research methodology, ethics, process and evaluation and will help guide the programme’s participants in their work. Alisa Timmerman (left) receives certiﬁcation of her placement from Liz Lesquereux, Head of Partner Relations at CLAHRC.

OSCARS photo booth Thank you to everyone who gave a donation to use the photo booth at the OSCARS this year. The total raised in aid of Sport Relief was £108.78.

The IT Service Desk Team with Mike Cooke receive the certiﬁcate from Connecting for Health

I.T. Service Desk achieves national success The I.T. Service Desk has officially achieved national accreditation status from Connecting for Health, part of the Department of Health Informatics Directorate. Oenone Stoodley, a representative from Connecting for Health, joined Mike Cooke and members of the team at Trust Headquarters to present them with their certificate as they gathered for a celebratory photo to mark the occasion. The team not only met, but exceeded the standard required to achieve the national accreditation, which is recognised throughout the NHS. This was through implementing a series

of procedures and systems designed to improve efficiency and to benefit Trust colleagues, partners and ultimately the wider public. The Trust Service Desk has become the 71st accredited desk in the NHS out of a potential 300. End users have already noticed an improved response.

Understanding occupational therapy Occupational Therapists (OTs) are helping hundreds of service users throughout the Trust, but few people understand what the role involves. Kerry Palmer-Green, a Trainee OT, explains: Occupational Therapists are trained to understand the impact that activity has on mental and physical wellbeing. When people are faced with challenging changes such as illness, accident or ageing, everyday activities can suddenly and sometimes unexpectedly become a huge struggle. This often leads to a loss of independence, which results in a loss of personal identity and the individual can be left wondering who they were before their life changed. As OTs we help people continue to take part in activities they enjoy. For example we may run music, drama or exercise sessions for people in hospital,

or support people in the community to meet friends or do some gardening. We look at each person’s needs and identify what is important to them. Then we provide whatever level of support they need to achieve their personal goals. For example, we might help someone visit the corner shop. First we’ll pick them up from their home and drive them to the shop, then when they’re ready we’ll stop the car a short distance away from the shop and walk there with them, then we’ll walk all the way from the house to the shop together. In

this way we very gradually reduce the level of support until they are ready to carry out the activity independently. In professional terms this is known as ‘grading’. Occupational therapists look at each client as a whole person rather than focusing on only mental or physical dysfunction, and we continuously monitor and reassess their progress and needs. OTs in mental health are an invaluable part of a multi-disciplinary team, working in both inpatient and community settings with clients of all ages, and always playing a vital role in individual recovery.

Positive May 2012

Promoting valuable discussion An event to promote the Community of Interest for ‘Online Discussion’ took place recently at Highbury Hospital. It was attended by governor members, volunteers, the Community of Interest members and the group’s executive sponsor, Simon Smith, Executive Director, Local Services. The Community of Interest uses the Values Exchange website for debate and discussion to inﬂuence change and the event aimed to promote the use of the site and encourage people to sign up to join in. The University of Nottingham is introducing Values Exchange to all undergraduate healthcare students to explore values and concepts of professionalism, providing an ideal opportunity for Interprofessional

learning. Students from the University, whilst in school or on placements within Nottinghamshire Healthcare, are encouraged to debate surveys and cases relating to current health, social care and professional topics. The Values Exchange can also be used to promote initiatives or gather general opinions about specific topics. Staff from different professions and areas of the service are encouraged to join the debate to enhance their own learning and that of the students. Survey and case results can be used in planning future training needs or areas for further research and by students as evidence of achievement of portfolio activity against a number of outcomes. By engaging in surveys, cases and debates on the Values Exchange, people can inﬂuence learning and development of services. Topics discussed so far include waiting times, professional issues around Facebook, Advocacy and service user involvement. An in depth case study regarding confidentiality is also available and recovery and mentorship will be added next. This Community of Interest is currently working in partnership with the University of Nottingham, the Trust Learning and

Demonstrating online discussion

Recovery focus for many in March Recovery colleagues were busier than usual in March as they organised and attended a number of activities and events. The highlight for many was a visit by Mary O’Hagan, an international innovator, thinker and writer in mental health recovery and wellbeing, who spent two days with colleagues and recovery champions. Mary has a celebrated history and has worked as a mental health commissioner in New Zealand. Her visit was an inspiration for many of the team. Recovery champions from Adult Mental Health Services also benefited from two development days. The first was held at Duncan Macmillan House and facilitated

by Mary. Over 50 people attended including recovery champions, peer support workers and involvement volunteers. “We had a brilliant day that was made all the more exciting because of the rich diversity of participants,” said Tony Mitchell, Therapeutic Skills Tutor. “Our challenge was to re-energise and inspire the participants and Mary’s fabulous presentation and facilitation certainly helped us achieve this.” The second event was held in Edwinstowe. It focused on

Attendees at the event in Edwinstowe take part in a ‘Speed Dating’ ice-breaker exercise

Monica Zendera and Jackie Brown with their stall

Development team, the Nurse Leads Forum and the Involvement Centre in determining topics for debate. However, any staff member, group, forum or team can approach the Community of Interest members to develop a debate or look at ways the Values Exchange can link with their service or initiatives. A mental health services commissioner who dropped in to the event commented that they could really see the benefits of gaining service user, carer and staff opinion on current topical issues. Gladys Bombeck, Trust Governor Member, commented that the redesigned publicity material designed by an involvement volunteer was excellent and eye catching. “It’s been great to see how enthusiastic people get about the Values Exchange when they see how easy it is to use! Ideas for more scenarios to debate are welcomed,” said Rachel Garton, Matron and Community of Interest member. To register and join the debates go to: www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.valuesexchange.co.uk/ or click on the link on the Trust Intranet homepage. For more details contact Rachel Garton on rachel.garton@nottshc.nhs.uk.

Dental service supports world autism day Colleagues from County Health Partnerships’ Nottingham Salaried Dental Service supported World Autism Day on 31 March by taking part in an event to help raise awareness of autism. Monica Zendera, Dental Therapist, and Jackie Brown, Senior Dental Nurse, promoted the service to parents, carers and other professional agencies and gave out general oral hygiene and dietary advice. Other organisations at the event included youth groups, schools, and carers’ and family groups. The session at Hucknall Leisure Centre was organised by Indigo Kids, a support group for children with autism and social communication difficulties. It was their fourth World Autism Day event and raised £810 through a rafﬂe, tombolas, cakes and a handbag jewellery stall. The money will go Indigo Kids activities and daytrips.

Mary O’Hagan (standing) with some of the Recovery champions

celebrating Adult Mental Health Services’ areas of positive recoveryfocused work and provided an opportunity to collaborate and share ideas. Presentations included work to establish a recovery forum in Newark that is truly multi-agency, and a new website to support it. Forensic Services also ran two recovery events in March: the last day of the forensic recovery champions training programme, and then a workshop at Wathwood Hospital for patients and staff. Both events were well received and useful. “It’s been hard work to co-ordinate all of these activities in such a short space of time, but the results have been absolutely fantastic,” said Tony. “The support and collaboration that has taken place between our team and colleagues from the various services has been brilliant and working with Mary O’Hagan, who is one of my personal recovery heroes, was an inspirational experience.”

Positive May 2012

Learning exchange success all round Students and staff at universities in Nottingham and Cork have been trading ideas on learning disability. Two students from Cork in Ireland and two from the University of Nottingham visited each other’s institutions to learn more about learning disability services in a recent ‘Erasmus’ exchange.

The Trust’s Learning Disability Services (Specialist Services Directorate) welcomed two Irish students in ‘intellectual disability nursing’, while in return, two University of Nottingham students enjoyed placements with Cork’s COPE Foundation with academic supervision from University College Cork. The COPE Foundation is a non-profit voluntary organisation that supports 1,800 people with intellectual disability throughout Cork. Irish duo Aisling and Ricky spent time at Highbury Hospital and in the Children’s Development Centre at City Hospital. “I was exposed to many experiences which I would rarely be exposed to in Ireland,” said Aisling, “such as being involved in a full psychological assessment, taking part in an admission to the Assessment and Treatment Unit, seeing the Mental Health Act being used and visiting Rampton Hospital.” She also described how the experience stimulated her

CANDAL to shine a light for research excellence The Board of the Institute of Mental Health has approved proposals for a centre for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and neurodevelopmental disorders to be developed as a centre of excellence within the Institute. The centre, to be known as CANDAL (Centre for ADHD and Neuro-developmental Disorders Across the Lifespan) brings together the University’s world class research capability in neuroimaging, cognitive neuro-science, epidemiology, pharmacological and psychological interventions

interest in challenging behaviour and the mental health needs of people with a learning disability. Sarah Carr, who visited Cork from Nottingham, described her time with the Early Intervention Team, a care home for the elderly, and residential challenging behaviour services: “I can look back on my experience and honestly say that any expectations that I may have unknowingly had were far exceeded; I had the time of my life, and working alongside intellectual disability nurses at the COPE foundation was most definitely a large contributing factor to this.” “Many staff, service users and carers took an active interest in the different backgrounds, experiences and accents of our visiting guests,” said Adam Clifford, Community Learning Disabilities Nurse. “The exchange proved a very positive experience for everyone involved.”

with local centres of research excellence in neurodevelopmental disorders. This new centre will close the gap between ‘campus and clinic’ by supporting clinicians with the latest insights into research understanding and best practice. Prof Chris Hollis, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and CANDAL Director, said: “The Centre will provide a vehicle for more rapid development, evaluation and translation of clinically relevant research by fostering closer links between clinicians and researchers.” Neuro-developmental disorders, as exemplified by ADHD, Tourette syndrome and autism spectrum disorder, have their onset in childhood and continue into adult life, affecting around 1 in 20 people. Prof Nick Manning, Institute Director, said: “CANDAL is our second new centre of excellence following the launch of the Centre for Health and Justice last November. This ﬂagship new centre will build on the excellent research that has been carried out in Nottingham into these disorders over recent years and is destined to make a real difference to service user care and treatment and the delivery of appropriate services.” Prof Chris Hollis, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and CANDAL Director

q What is your job title and what does your role entail? a Environmental Manager, which involves ensuring the Trust remains compliant with all environmental, energy, waste & climate change legislation and sustainability good practice. My role involves working to reduce energy consumption, promote ‘green’ technologies and working practices and reduce or eliminate waste. I also work to maintain our Carbon Saver Gold Standard (which we were very pleased to be awarded last year) and our ISO 14001 accredited Environmental Management System. q How long have you been with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust? a I will be celebrating my second anniversary with the Trust in September this year. q What do you see as your priorities for Nottinghamshire Healthcare? a My main priority is working to ensure that the Trust becomes a truly sustainable healthcare organisation, and that for future generations we are able to offer our current range of services without damaging the environment that is essential for our wellbeing. q What is your employment background? a Now that I think about it quite varied! Having worked as a lifeguard, jewellery retailer & car park security attendant, my degree qualifications are as a geologist with a research interest in climate science and palaeontology. Post graduation I was employed by BP as a palaeo-climatologist establishing a working deep-time climate model. For the NHS I have worked for ‘Service Change & Improvement’ in a large acute Trust as a project/programme manager before moving to my current position for Nottinghamshire Healthcare. q What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? a That “no one can give you better advice than yourself”. q What was the last CD you bought? a ‘Back through time’ by Alestorm. q What is your greatest achievement? a Being one of the youngest people to

qualify as a practitioner of MSP OGC Programme Management.

q What makes you angry? a Criminals, especially those who keep

stealing pieces of my car!

q&a

This month we quiz Environmental Manager Stephen Lee

q What are you most passionate about? a Motorsports and vehicle mechanics, I especially enjoy taking my car apart and putting her back together again when time allows.

q What is your favourite holiday destination? a I have always enjoyed the holidays I have been on to south East Asia and would have to say Malaysia and Thailand have been my favourite destinations so far.

q What single thing would improve your working life at Nottinghamshire Healthcare? a AA rated double glazing for the windows to improve the thermal efficiency of our office.

q Who would you take to a desert island? a Patrick Stewart, I believe we would get on very well re-enacting Star Trek the Next Generation and X-Men until the food and water ran out.

q What is your favourite hobby? a Games Workshop’s ‘Warhammer

q Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time? a Hopefully able to look back on the plans for improving environmental performance and reducing carbon that we are working on now and being able to say ‘we have achieved and done even better than we imagined’.

40,000’, having been a collector for a shameful 18 years, but also Jiujutsu, Ninjitsu and vehicle mechanics.

q What keeps you awake at night? a Mostly the noise of people breaking

into my car.

q What is your favourite ﬁlm? a It varies, but at the moment ‘V for

Vendetta’.

q What is your idea of bliss? a A 1969 Pontiac GTO (modified to run

on renewable fuel), a large workshop and a fridge full of Corona.

q What three words would you use to describe yourself? a Prince of Cats.

q Do you have a ‘claim to fame’? a I once attended an international

martial arts competition where one of the combatants was Stephen Seagal – a truly terrifying but enjoyable experience.

q How would you like to be remembered? a Something along the lines of Mount Rushmore would be very satisfying to the geologist in me, but cause a lot of conﬂict with my environmental and sustainability principles.

Learning and Development Prospectus Online The electronic version of the Learning and Development Prospectus 2012-13 is now available online for all staff. Offering courses in the areas of Essential Training, Therapeutic Skills, Skills for Work and Life and Leadership and Management Development, it can be found on the Trust, County Health Partnerships and Bassetlaw Health Partnerships Intranet sites.

Positive May 2012

Good IDEA gains support An internet-based ‘one-stop shop’ for dementia care resources is in development at the Institute for Mental Health. The Improving Dementia Education and Awareness (IDEA) website will be produced by a team of researchers, clinicians, trainers and managers and will be based on the successful Knowledge and Understanding Framework (KUF) for personality disorder developed at the Institute. The site will contain learning materials designed to improve the skills and knowledge of anyone who cares for people with dementia. It will also evaluate the materials that visitors use, providing a platform for research into e-learning.

Domestic violence and abuse event a success The Trust’s Local Services’ Safeguarding Team and Learning and Development hosted an event at Highbury Hospital to explore opportunities for safe and effective approaches to working with perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence and abuse. Bringing together over 30 senior Trust colleagues and representatives from local organisations including; Women’s Aid, Nottingham Domestic Violence Forum and the Police, the event included discussions from Colin Fitzgerald of national charity RESPECT, and Mark Coulter from the

IDEA will benefit from the distance learning expertise of The Open University with content including publicly-available materials and links to accredited e-learning courses. “IDEA is not planning to compete with the excellent resources that already exist,” said Vicky Baldwin, one of the KUF team advising the new project. “The aim is to make them more easily accessible to a wide range of users and to commission new audio-visual materials in areas where there are gaps at present. In this way we hope that IDEA will help to meet the huge need for knowledge and skills in dementia care.” For more information email justine. schneider@nottingham.ac.uk.

Strength to Change Programme. Guests also had the opportunity to ask questions and take part in group debates. “The event was a great success, said Margaret Cheetham, Specialist Practitioner: Domestic Abuse, Local Services Division Safeguarding Team. “In conjunction with key partners, it has helped us identify some of the elements of best practice and scope for development when working with perpetrators with complex needs known to Local Services and the other Trust Divisions. Together with our Learning and Development colleagues, we will certainly look to organise similar events in the future.” For those who would like to find out more information as to the themes and topics discussed on the day contact Margaret. cheetham@nottshc.nhs.uk . Pictured left to right, Mark Coulter, Colin Fitzgerald, Jenni Goulder from Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP), Delhorne Turner from IDAP, Margaret Cheetham, Julian Eve, Head of Learning and Development, Forensic Services

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 12 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 July issue of Positive, please contact us by 25 May 2012. 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 9691300 www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk

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