Southern Health Journal Spring 2017 Edition

The Southern Health

The Art of Recovery Find out how art and creative expression is helping those struggling with mental health problems on their journey to recovery.

Inside:

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Freedom to Speak Up • Food for Thought • Celebrating staff at the Star Awards • Clinical Star Awards Tea Parties • Better Services Strategy - the way Local Care explained • Clinical forward and much•more!

Services Strategy My Job with Abigail Barkham

‘Anxiety at the Supermarket’ Laura Goddard Excited Orange Exhibition 2017

Welcome to the Spring edition of the SH Journal Over the last few months we have been talking with services users, families, carers and staff about how our services should improve for the future. This has helped us make a plan called our Clinical Services Strategy, which includes: • A clear clinical strategy for mental health and learning disability services • A review of progress and next steps to improve community care with GPs and other partners through the Multi-Specialty Community Provider (MCP) scheme We have now published the strategy and you can read more about this on page 12, with links to further information on our website.

The strategy provides a clear direction and a set of priorities for our mental health and learning disability services. These include fundamentally improving access to care through a single point of contact; better 24/7 crisis support; greater inclusion of service users in the design and delivery of services; and ensuring people receive a more consistent level of service across Hampshire.

For the Multi-Specialty Community Provider (MCP), it was found that real progress has been made with innovative schemes across Hampshire. In the future, we should build on this success by developing these schemes into new care models that can be expanded and commissioned for the longer term.

This strategy represents an exciting and dynamic vision that will benefit the people who use our service. Achieving these priorities will require many months of ongoing engagement with the people we support and our staff. We also need to continue to work closely with our commissioners and other partners locally and nationally to achieve the lasting and meaningful change that people in our care deserve.

If you’d like to share your views on our strategy then please get in touch via clinicalservicesstrategy@southernhealth.nhs.uk.

I hope you have found this update useful and enjoying reading the Southern Health Journal.

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Julie Dawes, Interim Chief Executive

WHAT’S INSIDE? 13 Food for thought - read

how the ERS@Home team made an impact last winter

14 Meet Elizabeth, our

Freedom to Speak Up Guardian

FOOD FOR

16 The Art of Recovery -

our cover story is an indepth look at how creativity can aid recovery

THOUGHT

17 Celebrating staff at the

Star Awards

11 #hellomynameis 12 Our Clinical Services

Strategy - the way forward

14 Joining up GP practices with

#BetterLocalCare

15 Transforming Kingsley Ward

at Melbury Lodge

16 Off Duty with John Newell

SHARE YOUR STORY Do you have a story you’d like to share with us? Whether you’re a member of the public, a patient, service user or a member of our staff, we want to hear from you.

If you have an article that you would like published in the Southern Health Journal, please contact the Communications Team by telephone on 023 8087 4666 or by email on communications@ southernhealth.nhs.uk.

Almost one million older people feel lonelier during the winter and with their mobility not being as it used to, getting basic supplies isn’t an easy task...

Supporting those who are vulnerable is especially important during the winter period.

That is where our fantastic ERS@Home team come in. The team specialise in working with patients in their own homes, helping them get back to their normal routines and remain independent so that they are less likely to need another hospital visit.

Research has shown that the earlier a person gets out of bed and starts walking, eating and drinking after having an operation, the shorter their recovery time will be and the ERS@Home team play a large part in this.

The team recognise that having an operation can be both physically and emotionally stressful and coming home to no food or basics in the cupboard can be very daunting.

Last winter the team partnered up with Fareham and Gosport Basics Food Bank to create support packages that have essential supplies in them.

They have all sorts of useful goods such as soap, dental care products, food as well as flannels and dish cloths. Angela Wilson, Community Matron says,

“

Time after time our staff see our frail, vulnerable older patients who are socially isolated, getting discharged from hospital and return home with no food or basics available to them. These ‘grab bags’ will ensure patients have a good stock of food and essentials waiting for them when they return home, which will make a massive difference to their lives.

”

Phil Rutt, Chair of Trustees for Friends of the Homeless in Fareham and Gosport, the Trust which runs the Basics Bank, says “It’s great to be able to support this initiative and we are delighted to be involved in helping these elderly people in their time of need. It’s a heart-warming feeling to support vulnerable people in our community and we are grateful for this opportunity.”

If you would like to make a donation to the food bank or would like to find out more, please email philip.rutt@icloud.com

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We need a healthy, open, no blame culture where staff feel empowered to speak up knowing they will be listened to, and issues raised are acted on.

Sara Courtney, Interim Chief Nurse, tells us why the Freedom to Speak Up role is so important...

“Developing a culture of openness and safety is key in making sure we provide the best possible care to the people who use our services. We’re setting exacting standards for our staff. It’s really important that if they see any situation that may negatively impact on the patient, service user or staff member, they can speak up without the fear of repercussions.

“

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Elizabeth Kerridge Weeks is our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and she will really help us to establish and embed this strategy. Her role is in place to give people a voice and the confidence to speak up. I hope she will alleviate any fears staff have and provide an independent, confidential and accessible service to all staff.”

One person can make a difference Every NHS organisation now has someone dedicated to giving all staff the support to speak up for themselves and their patients/service users.

The Freedom to Speak up Guardian was recommended

by Sir Robert Francis following his review and subsequent report into the failings in Mid-Staffordshire.

At Southern Health our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian is Elizabeth Kerridge–Weeks.

If a staff member makes a mistake themselves they should feel empowered to be open and address what has happened and why, so we can learn and reduce the risk of repeating the incident.

The Organisational Learning Strategy describes the approach we are taking to how we learn and demonstrates how we can foster a healthy, open, no blame culture where staff feel encouraged to speak up knowing they will be listened to, and issues raised are acted on.

Freedom to Speak Up Guardian

Sara Courtney, Interim Chief Nurse

Make your voice heard

Many of you may know Elizabeth as our Strategic Lead for Falls Prevention and for her work with the Acute Frailty Team. Working on the frontline, Elizabeth can relate to the very real difficulties faced by staff in taking the difficult decision to speak up. We asked her what difference her new role will make:

“I have worked in the NHS for many years and know that things can go wrong.

“I am here to provide advice and support about any genuine concerns staff may have.

“I am passionate about looking at what went wrong and how it can be prevented rather than who is to blame.

“Having a real person with an NHS background to hold your hand through the process can make it easier for staff to speak up. I hope I can provide staff with the confidence to flag up any concerns and give them a voice.

“

We are all human and we make mistakes, but staff should feel comfortable to be open and honest when things do go wrong with the confidence that their voice is heard and the learning acted upon.

“

My role is to break down the barriers and empower people to stand up and be the person who makes the difference.”

Southern Health’s Freedom to Speak Up Guardian: Elizabeth Kerridge-Weeks Call: 078 7943 2331 Email: shft.f2sug@nhs.net

• If you Speak Up, we will act. Call our Speak Up Helpline on 07785 702 179 or visit our website: www.southernhealth.nhs.uk/workday/speak-up • Do you have a good idea, a concern or a question that you would like to send directly to the Executive Team? Email yourvoice@southernhealth.nhs.uk and we’ll do the rest.

• Contact the National Whistleblowing Helpline on 08000 724 725

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The Art of Recovery

FEATURE STAR AWARDS

Celebrating our staff!

‘Anxiety at the Supermarket’ Laura Goddard Excited Orange Exhibition 2017

Art and creative expression have long been recognised as an effective form of recovery for people struggling with mental health problems.

February saw Southern Health host the first Arts and Film Festival for local people living with mental illness. The Excited Orange Festival was held at Antelope House in Southampton and organised by peer support worker and obssessive compulsive disorder (OCD) sufferer, Jane Collard.

Passionate about breaking down the stigma around mental health, Jane’s idea for the festival was to “give patients a platform for their voice and for them to express, creatively, aspects of their mental illness.”

The event was opened by the Mayor of Southampton, Cathie McEwing, who spoke passionately about her own mental health and the importance of removing many of the stigmas that are attached to mental health problems.

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Addressing the room, Mayor McEwing acknowledged the importance of events like these, the need for more and the desire to make them a focal point in the community.

The art on display at the festival came in a range of forms including a photography exhibition, poetry readings, a t-shirt stall with designs about mental health, animations, films and artwork by staff and patients. There were also short talks from patients about mental health.

With over 30 people attending the event, it is safe to say that Southampton’s first Excited Orange Festival was a huge success. This success was down to the hard work of patients and staff but especially Jane, whose dedication and passion resulted in the first festival of its type in Southampton.

Talking about the festival Jane said, “This was a truly collaborative project with the people we care for, even the name of the festival came from a patient suggestion! I love helping other people to have a voice, finding out who they are and helping them to realise that it doesn’t matter if they’re different.”

Every year the Star Awards aims to celebrate the fantastic work our staff do every single day and this year did not disappoint!

This year we received over 610 nominations which means an overwhelming 2260 members of staff were nominated!

There were nominations across nine categories, including the People’s Choice award, which gave the people we support the chance to get involved.

On Friday 2 December, over 200 nominees attended the Winchester Guildhall where they were greeted with a champagne reception before proceeding to the Bapsy Hall to enjoy a three course dinner.

Julie Dawes, Interim Chief Executive Officer, opened the award ceremony and said of

the evening, “I really enjoyed meeting everyone and seeing how proud staff are of the work they do. All of the finalists had incredible nomination stories and they encapsulate why we work for the NHS and really show the positive impact we have on people’s lives – it made me very proud to work for Southern Health. Thank you for all of your hard work.”

The Executive team announced the winners for each category and presented them with their trophies which were met with applause and cheers.

Once the ceremony was over, we made way for the dance floor.

We were privileged to have James Elsworthy, a learning disability service user, join us on the evening – James not

only judged the People’s Choice Award, but presented the trophy to the winner on the evening. James said,

“I am so happy to be here and I

have really enjoyed the evening.

I really liked reading all of the nominations and I picked the winner because he really does a lot for the people who are in my service and he goes out of the way to organise lots of activities for us.

“

Let’s not forget that the Star Awards are not just about the glitz and glam – it’s about recognising the amazing work staff do, day in and day out. It’s about showcasing the passion and the care they show to support their colleagues and the people they support.

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FEATURE STAR AWARDS

And the winners are...

Chair and Chief Executive Exceptional Individual Award Winner: Jenny Searles (Ward Manager at Antelope House) Jenny was nominated by Sarah Leonard, Acute Care Pathway Manager, who said: “Jenny always takes time to get to know all of her service users, she will never introduce herself as the Ward Manager, but will simply state she is a member of the nursing team, undertaking any task she may ask of others. She is an ambassador for nursing, and holds true to all that nursing is and should be about.”

Corporate Support Award Winner: Arlene Meredith (HR Manager) Arlene was nominated by Liz Skeats and Nicky MacDonald, who said: “In 2015 a decision was made to divest of social care services in Oxford. Arlene supported senior managers, working with Oxford County Council, seven external providers and 490 staff to transfer smoothly the social care services in Oxford.”

Delivering Value Award Winner: Cathy Roberts Cathy was nominated by Lorna Mills, who said: “Cathy has been very involved in safer staffing and recent bank and agency meetings and has single-handedly set about converting some of our most expensive agency workers to NHSP contracts. Cathy was able to convert 17 workers from agency to NHSP making a saving of approximately £200k per year!”

Forging Relationships Award Winner: The Care Home Team The team were nominated by Gina Winter-Bates, who said: “In the last year the team have undertaken work with South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and the CCGs to identify the care homes who have called ambulance services most often and had patients admitted to hospital. This project has delivered a 40% reduction in call outs to SCAS and there has been a real change in the appropriate nature of call outs.”

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Driving Innovation Award Winner: Anna McMurray (Learning Disability Liaison Nurse) Anna was nominated by Tim Harrison, who said: “For the past six years she has worked tirelessly to support patients with learning disabilities with their planned and unplanned admissions, inpatient and outpatient appointments and all aspects of their care to improve both the patient experience as well as health outcomes for the learning disabled population of Southampton.”

Valuing Achievement Winner: The All Ward Team Members of the Hawthorns 1 PICU The team were nominated by Vincent Alexander, Ward Manager, who said: “The team on Hawthorns 1 have consistently delivered high quality, safe and responsive care to the service users when supporting them in their journey to recovery and wellness.

Our staff also provide safe care and treatment to adults and minors in the section 136 suite based at Parklands Hospital.”

Releasing Ambition Award Winner: Helen Walsh (Community Nursery Nurse) Helen was nominated by Charlie Woodley, who said: “Helen has gone above and beyond with every family she has worked with. Helen has two families with children with special needs. She has secured a holiday, hydrotherapy and special equipment via charities locally and from Hampshire County Council so that these families get access to extra peer support and toys.”

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Heather Buchan Heather was nominated by Glenis Clifford who said: “In 1984 Heather qualified as a midwife in Hampshire caring for thousands of women and their families safely delivering over 800 babies. Heather became increasingly aware of risks associated with smoking during pregnancy both for the mother and her unborn baby and took the opportunity to move into public health becoming one of only two smoking cessation advisers in the country” People’s Choice Award Winner: Kevin Smith (Security at Ravenswood House) Kevin was nominated by a number of service users, who said: “Kevin is the source of the majority of activities in our hospital. If he is facilitating you get bingo and movie night with popcorn, chess competitions and pool competitions with prizes. Football matches are shown there and you can socialise with patients from other wards. He is the man!”

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FEATURE STAR AWARDS

Congratulations to all of our finalists!

Ashley Cripps, Community Support Worker Alistair Upton, Learning Disability Nurse and Informatics Lead Helen Grant, Admin Team Secretary at Elmleigh Bina Sawjanai, Admin/Site Manager at Forest Lodge Mary Hardy, HR Delivery Manager Adrianne Phillips, Falls Prevention Co-ordinator The Mother and Baby Mental Health Service Chris Complin, Practice Manager at Forton Medical Practice Gemma Stubbington, Senior Nurse Practitioner Sue Findlay, Ward Manager at Ford Ward Shared Care and Communication Leads Diane McGrath, Ward Clerk at Ford Ward The Information Team Russell Slater, Site Supervisor at Avalon House Anwen Naylor-Evans, Specialist Health Visitor for Infant and Perinatal Mental Health The Otago Strength and Balance Exercise Instructors Oxfordshire Intensive Support Team Debbie Brown, Specialist Practitioner, Southampton Autism Assessment Service The Gosport 2 Community Care Team • The MSK Team Leads

FIND OUT MORE Our website is jam packed with photos, videos and even more nomination stories!

Visit www.southernhealth.nhs.uk/inside/star-awards to find out more about our categories and our nominees.

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Kerie Hargrave and I am Clinical Manager for the Same Day Access Service (SDAS)

The Same Day Access Service Team and Kerie Hargrave, Clinical Manager (centre)

WHAT IS THE SAME DAY ACCESS SERVICE (SDAS)?

“For anyone who doesn’t know, the SDAS is quite simply what it says on the tin, which is delivering care on the same day. We provide services at four medical centres in Gosport which consists of Brune, Forton, Waterside and Stoke Road. We get referrals sent from GPs after a service user has called their GP surgery and then our role is to signpost them to what they need, whether it be a pharmacy, a medication prescribed or a face to face appointment.”

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU...

“I’m a Nurse Practitioner by trade and I’m currently seconded as a clinical manager for the SDAS: managing clinics, dealing with patient appointments and auditing and collating evidence.

I started off as a staff nurse at Southampton General Hospital and when I decided to settle down and have a family my priorities changed, so I decided to try practice nursing as the hours were more convenient around the kids.

“I developed in that role with experience but when my children started to grow up I really wanted to develop further and get a degree in practice nursing – so I did! Later on I also completed a course in nonmedical prescribing and that’s how I ended up as a manager of the SDAS.” WHAT ARE YOUR DAY TO DAY DUTIES? “My day-to-day duties include the general managing of the team with their rotas, appraisals, etc. I attend a lot of meetings whether they be clinical meetings, or just our daily huddles. These huddles are really useful to share knowledge and make sure everyone is communicating effectively. We also have this really useful feature we use called clinical tip of the week.

This week’s is “Did you know that Naseptin contains peanut oil?” This is a really effective way of broadening everyone’s knowledge.”

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF YOUR JOB? “I love working as part of a

team and we have a really strong team ethic here. I learn something new every day!

Another aspect I think’s great is that we all work collaboratively; we have a paediatrician and a physiotherapist which is really useful to have a vast breadth of knowledge.”

WHAT ARE THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECTS OF YOUR ROLE? “The issue of finance is always a struggle and I know generally working for the NHS, money is a widely discussed topic but the struggle for me is about where to put it and having that responsibility. Although this job is a challenge I feel that’s the beauty of the SDAS! I really needed a new challenge and it’s really given it to me.”

WHAT DO YOU GET UP TO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? I’m very family-orientated so enjoy as much time as I can spent with my family. I enjoy long walks with my dog Sadie, trips to the cinema and I’ve recently joined my local running club.

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Service pathway

Mental health and learning disability services The way forward Since October 2016 staff, service users and carers from all over the Trust have been helping to give us a clear way forward to providing the best possible care.

A big part of this clinical services strategy has focused on mental health and learning disability services, where we worked with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (NTW). In this article we take a look at the work that

took place and the proposed pathway for mental health and learning disability services that is taking shape as a result.

We have worked with staff, service users, families and carers – as well as national experts – to define what services should look like and how this can be achieved. This included a threeday clinical workshop, surveys, group events and visits across services.

Listening to staff, service users, families and carers – as well as national experts – we have

worked to define what our services should look like and how we can achieve this. Below are just some of the things we heard during our time talking to people about the services we provide and how we can improve.

From this, we have developed seven priorities − which are now the focus of our efforts to improve care: you can read these on the next page.

“Early intervention and prevention should be at the centre of care, particularly before 24 years old, to help avoid people finding themselves in a crisis.”

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This work has clearly demonstrated some excellent practice, and the dedication and compassion of individual staff was highlighted time and time again by service users and carers we spoke to. At the same time it is apparent that there needs to be more consistency and a clear strategic approach to the way we support people across our mental health and learning disability services. That is what this strategy is all about.

“Make services proactive for those with a long term condition or learning disability – don’t wait until there is a problem.”

Our service pathway

Anyone can refer:

FEATURE CLINICAL SERVICES STRATEGY

Service users, families, carers, A&E, GPs, other health professionals, social workers, police

Service users can access services at the most appropriate point after discharge by contacting the single point of access

Single point of access

Assessment

Care and treatment

Discharge and recovery

• Open 24/7 • Multi-agency, multiprofessional hub • Reasonable adjustments for older people and those with a learning disability • Face to face urgent assessment and care • Active signposting • Direct links with community and acute mental health teams

• Timely and relevant • Based on biological, social, and psychological needs • Includes assessment of risk and physical health needs • Engagement with carers • Ability to signpost directly • Clear and achievable goals

• Collaborative care planning • Clear, achievable goals • Evidence-based • Needs (not age) led • Carer involvement wherever possible • Continuity of care and warm transitions • Community support during admission and after discharge

• Collaborative with all agencies involved • Clear plan including contingency plan • 24/7 re-access to care • Discharge planning from the start • Positive approach to risk-taking

If other services are more appropriate for you, we’ll help you access them: Self care support, housing services, GP services, voluntary sector, social services

Hospital admission if required • Clear goals • A clear plan • Links with community teams

Service design principles Our priorities •

To provide high quality, safe, person-centred and holistic services which improve the health, wellbeing and actively involve, engage independence of the people we serveand include service

Service priorities •

We will actively involve, engage and include service users, families and carers in service delivery and design

• We will users, families and • We will improve access to services via a single point of access carers in delivery andwhich design • service To deliver needs-led services, are timely, proactive and for all requests accompanied by a culture of supporting easy to access, 24/7 to services via a single point of access requests for • We will improve access forhelpalland providing needs-led pathways • Having the right people doing the right job, taking ownership • We will transform urgent care pathway to deliver requests accompanied by a culture of supporting requests for helpthe and and pride in good communication responsive, reliable, high quality care 24/7 including developing providing needs-led pathways alternatives to admission • A recovery-focused approach, with a positive attitude to just the • We will transform the urgent care pathway to deliver responsive, strengths, resilience and risk taking, and which is adaptable to • We will improvereliable, outcomes for those who This use ouris services beginning of an change the delivery of needs-led, evidence based pathways reduce high quality care 24/7 including developing alternatives to admission variation whilst linking into local delivery systems of care ongoing programme Continuityoutcomes across boundariesfor and those transitions,who removing the our services the delivery of • We will •improve use barriers • We will deliver consistent, purposeful, needs-led inpatient care of engagement, needs-led, evidence based pathways reduce variation whilst linking into across the trust when it is needed development and local delivery systems of care • We will develop our tertiary (specialist mental health) services improvement of our • We will deliver consistent, purposeful, needs-led inpatient carecare across to provide across athe complete pathway with pathways that mental health services. are consistent across the trust Trust when it ismore: needed Learn will be We will increase access to italk and work There with the system to more www.southernhealth.nhs.uk/futureservices • We will develop our tertiary (specialist mental health) •services to provide explore primary care based mental healthopportunities services to keep to be care across a complete pathway with pathways that arepeople consistent across well involved in the coming the Trust months.

• We will increase access to italk and work with the system to explore primary Learn more: care based mental health services to keep people well www.southernhealth. nhs.uk/futureservices

What’s next?

“Involve everyone who supports the person – have a joined up plan across services, that everyone understands and are part of, that keeps its promises and is updated regularly.”

“Physical and mental health are both important and should be joined up around the person.”

These cartoons were drawn at our engagement events and capture the feedback from service users, carers and family members. Visit our website to view them in full: www.southernhealth.nhs.uk/futureservices

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TRANSFORMING Becoming the Willow Group In the past 18 months, Southern Health has entered partnerships with four GP practices in Gosport. This means GPs have become employees of Southern Health, but retain control over the running of their practices. From April 2017, Brune, Forton, Stoke Road and Waterside Medical Centres will take this collaboration further and work together as one organisation: The Willow Group.

We met the General Manager for The Willow Group, Sarah McLaughlin. She became part of Southern Health earlier this year and is excited about working as The Willow Group, both on behalf of staff and for patients. www.thewillowgroup.nhs.uk

KINGSLEY WARD

Melbury Lodge was originally built in the mid-1990s and at the time provided our patients with state of the art accommodation. Over twenty years on, the Kingsley Ward was showing its age and several inspections highlighted major work was required. Lou Salmon, Ward Manager for Kingsley and Karl Allen, Capital and Maintenance Delivery Manager, from Estate Services explain what changes have taken place.

“It was identified at an early stage that it would not be possible to undertake the works with patient’s ‘in-situ’ as we needed to turn off power, lighting and heating for long periods of time and we wouldn’t have been able to maintain a safe environment for staff and patients.”

“

Sarah McLaughlin, General Manager The Willow Group

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR OUR PATIENTS? By the summer, once our IT systems are aligned, patients will get even more choice.

They can continue to see their own GP in their own practice, but can then choose to see another GP in one of the other practices if that’s more suitable for them. It’s all about increasing access.

WATERSIDE MEDICAL CENTRE iS NOW PART OF SOUTHERN HEALTH - HOW DOES THIS HELP? We are now part of a large Trust, which makes us more robust. This helps patients, as we are now more sustainable, but certainly has exciting opportunities for staff in terms of development of their skills and being able to bring primary and community care even closer together.

HAVE YOU GOT SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW YOU’RE WORKING DIFFERENTLY? As an example, we now have a group of advanced nurses in practice that can do assessments, prescribe and make referrals. We also each have our own pharmacist that we are supporting to become prescribers and can do medical reviews. This all eases the pressure on GPs and gives

WHY DID THIS CHANGE HAVE TO HAPPEN? Primary Care in Gosport can’t continue as it is and there was a real clinical drive for the merge. What we’ve since realised is it’s created a huge amount of opportunities for upskilling and development of staff, as we’re now part of a much bigger team and organisation.

WILL SOUTHERN HEALTH STAFF BE IN THE PRACTICE? Yes, as an example we’ve had an OPMH nurse based at Waterside Medical Centre on a weekly basis, providing memory clinics from here instead of Aerodrome House.

This means patients can come to an environment that’s known to them and has led to more joined up care.

“We have replaced flooring, installed flushfitting door furniture, anti-barricade doors, electronic taps on basins and baths and replaced a number of the ward’s windows.”

“ “

patients access to the care they need.

GP SURGERY

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So all the work could be carried out in the shortest time period possible, patients and staff were moved to Woodhaven, with a small number of patients being cared for in the private sector.

“The work has vastly improved lines of sight and overall visibility. The ward and corridors have been redecorated, resulting in the ward transforming from outdated shades of magnolia to a brighter, bolder colour scheme with modern fixtures and fittings.”

The colour palette and art work has been chosen by staff and patients to provide a calming but uplifting environment to aid patient treatment and recovery.

“

“The new ward is going to make such a difference to the patients and their families. It gives staff the best environment possible to provide patients with effective care and treatment”

BEFORE

AFTER!

We’re looking forward to running a focus group with the patients to get their views on the works that have taken place as it will be invaluable in helping to develop other schemes around the Trust in the 15 future.”

OFF

DUTY

with John Newell, ICT Training Manager

When John moved to Southampton in 2006, he pursued his life-long love for singing by joining the Southampton Philharmonic Choir and by 2010 John was appointed to the role of Vice Chairman!

They perform three major concerts a year, mainly in the Southampton O2 Guildhall or Winchester Cathedral. The choir are often called on to deliver other performances – e.g. the Music in the City festival, Christmas events and weddings!

According to John:

“The two most memorable so far have been singing for the maiden voyage of the Queen Victoria and singing in the memorial concert for the 100th anniversary of the Titanic.”

Get in

touch

Do you have a story you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear from you.

Contact us, The Communications and Engagement team, by phone or email, or come and chat to us via Facebook or Twitter.

Every two years the choir select a charity to support – currently Honeypot Children’s Charity who support young carers and vulnerable children. The choir have risen just over £1720 for Honeypot through post-concert collections.

“This changes singing from something I simply enjoy to something which serves the wider community – so that some people can enjoy our activities even if they never buy a ticket!”

If you would like to come along to one of John’s performances please visit: www.southamptonphil.org/webfutureconcerts Are you a member of staff with an unusual or interesting hobby you’d like to share? Call the Communications Team on 023 8087 4100 or email us on communications@southernhealth.nhs.uk.

023 8087 4666 communications@southernhealth.nhs.uk www.southernhealth.nhs.uk Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust @Southern_NHSFT

© The Southern Health Journal | Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust | May 2017 | Produced by the Communications and Engagement Team