October 2014 - Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

October 2014 – Issue 19
Ideas
What do young people want? It’s a
simple enough question but one we
perhaps don’t stop to think about
enough. With expert support from
Changing Our Lives, the Trust’s Children,
Young People and Families Division have
taken their first major steps to finding
out the answers.
explodes
with creativity
On Friday 1st August staff from the
division, corporate leads, governors
and commissioners came together to
explore the concept of true
co-production, hearing from young
people about what they really
want. Dreadlock Alien also made an
appearance encouraging staff to do some
spontaneous beat boxing and spoken
word poems around serious issues.
After hearing the thoughts of these
inspiring young people, Changing
Our Lives asked staff to each come up
with three pledges as to how they will
take what they’ve learnt from the day,
and from the young people present,
forward. The pledges involved some
fantastic ideas including having a young
governor sit on the Trust’s Assembly
of Governors and developing a young
persons forum that could help
co-produce our social media strategy.
Changing Our Lives will be offering
support and guidance to make sure
these pledges are followed through and
put into practice. Please take a look at
their website to find out more about
our pledges and their work
www.changingourlives.org
In this issue . . .
2nd Quality Summ
it buzzes with crea
tivity.......3
Walsall Welcomes
the Annual Membe
r Event
and AGM................
................................
....
........6
Albion stars bring
smiles to The Lighth
ou
se... 10
FNP Annual Tedd
y Bears Picnic succ
ess ..... 12
If you have a stor
y contact the
Communications
Team on
0121 612 8032
Natalie’ story
Listening to our patients’ experience
Part of the engagement work within the Patient Experience and
Involvement (PEI) team is getting patient, carers and staff stories.
The Trust Board has heard around 10 patient stories since 2012,
which have been presented in a range of styles, including face to
face, presentation, and report style.
Recently a young service user, 14 year old Natalie Bickley, bravely
agreed to attend the Board of Directors meeting held in July,
to tell members about her experiences of using our Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Services. Natalie was referred in
October 2012 following deterioration in her emotional and
behavioral state. At the time she was becoming increasingly
agitated, obsessive, was not sleeping well and had developed a
phobia of vomiting that was restricting her eating. Natalie was
given a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and allocated for further
assessment and therapy in January 2013.
Natalie wanted to speak out about her illness to help other
people. She described what it was like being in a hospital and
what she observed being an inpatient with other young people.
Natalie was positive about her experience, particularly because of
the supportive relationship she has with her worker, Psychologist,
Laura McGowan.
The Board was very impressed by Natalie’s confidence and
was only sorry that they weren’t able to provide a more
positive answer to Natalie’s question around future provision
of Tier 4 (inpatient) services. Karen Dowman explained that
the commissioning of these services is a long process and is
something the Trust is working towards.
Laura McGowan, Mrs. Bickley, Natalie Bickley,
Bob Piper (Chair), Karen Dowman (Chief Executive)
Natalie has now signed up as a member of the Trust and
attended the recent membership event. The PEI manager hopes
to support Natalie in becoming one of our new young Experts by
Experience to assist in projects relating to the Trust’s website and
getting a young person’s view.
For more information about patient stories please contact
Gail Parry, Patient Experience and Involvement Manager.
Striding from strength to strength
The Clinical Exercise Team at Hallam Street have, over the last 12
months, been keeping a record of achievements during their three
times weekly community ‘Strides and Strollers’ groups, that have
taken place with service users admitted to Hallam Street Hospital.
On average each month ….
Carefully monitoring the numbers of participants, miles walked, steps
taken and calories burned during their walks in Sandwell Valley and
Dartmouth Park, the results speak for themselves with 772 miles
having been covered in the year.
A service user who regularly joins the Strides and Strollers groups
said: “The walk to me is a natural therapy and has a calming effect.
At first I didn’t feel like coming but I actually quite enjoyed it, it
must have something to do with those endorphins”.
For more information about the work of the Clinical Exercise
Team or the benefits of walking for health please contact
Lyndsey Perkins, Clinical Exercise Instructor at Hallam Street
Hospital by e-mail: [email protected].
40
people attended
We burn
7,992
calories
02
We travelled
64
miles
We walk
128,952
steps
2nd Quality Summit
buzzes with creativity
The second in a series of quarterly
Leadership for Quality Summits took place
on Wednesday 10th September, and saw
more than 60 staff from across all divisions
of the Trust coming together to move the
quality agenda forward.
After the welcome and outline of the
day from Chris Oakes, Director of
Corporate Services and Karen Dowman,
Chief Executive, it was straight down to
business. Sheila Lloyd, Director of Nursing
and Quality gave an update on what’s
happened since the last summit including
Sheila’s introduction of ‘Walkabout
Wednesday’, which sees her head off to
clinical areas to spend time with staff on
the ground to understand the issues facing
staff on the wards. Other things that have
moved forward are: the introduction of
meaningful quality dashboards, divisional
quality and safety reports and ‘Lessons
Learnt’ bulletins.
Next up was Paul Stefanoski, Deputy
Chief Executive and Director of Resources,
who gave an informative and thought
provoking talk about the Trust’s 5 year
strategic plan. This really is a session not
to be missed when Paul repeats this talk
for staff on Tuesday 21st October at the
Bescot Stadium. If you are interested in
attending please talk to your line manager.
The rest of the day was full of discussion
and workshops on the electronic health
record, how we can embed the 6C’s and
Trust Behaviours into our everyday work
and looking at the next steps. All of which
really got people’s creative juices flowing.
Instead of the usual flip chart notes, notes
of a more musical kind were produced,
as groups gave their feedback through
singing, acting and limericks which really
added to the great atmosphere in the room.
The day came to a close with Chris Oakes
thanking everyone for the energy they
brought to the day and Karen Dowman
challenging staff, when they went back
into work, to share the day with colleagues
and spread the word about the work being
done around quality, how staff can get
involved, and have input into the quality
agenda and Trust’s strategic five year plan.
The day was busy, interactive and fun.
Some of he comments from staff include:
“Today’s been an excellent opportunity to
develop an understanding of the Trust’s
priorities for the next two years, and to
network and share ideas with colleagues in
different areas.” Shawab Mir, Lead LD
Physiotherapist, Walsall
“The day has been thought provoking
and enjoyable. It is good to see where the
Trust is hoping to be in two years, and feel
like we can help to make the difference.”
Simon Baldwin, CYPF Concierge
“I thought today was very useful
particularly the 6C’s session which I found
very interesting.” Lucy Bramall See
Saw Children’s Palliative Care Nurse
From top: Sam Dewis, Paul Stefanoski,
Tina Owen, Martin Allen, Joe Vella
and Lesley Writtle
Dudley’s Speech and Language Therapy Volunteers
During Volunteer Week which took place between 2nd – 8th June,
Dudley Speech and Language Therapy Volunteers ‘Talking Tots’ group
was launched. This is a group which runs for 6-8 weeks over a half
term period. During June and July it was rolled out to four Children’s
Centres in Dudley, providing early intervention for 18 month – 2
year olds at risk of needing speech, language and communication
intervention. In September and October it will be rolled out to more
children’s centres.
The Speech and Language Therapy team in Dudley (CYPF division)
recruited and trained five volunteers in this first phase of the
programme. They are photographed with their training completion
certificates. Five further volunteers have been recruited and are being
trained during September and October. The volunteers are called
SLTVs which stands for Speech and Language Therapy Volunteers,
and we are delighted to welcome them to our team.
This innovative approach to extending services beyond those
traditionally provided is a response to the need for early identification
and intervention identified over recent years, and published in
government papers such as ‘Early Intervention: The Next Steps’
(Graham Allen MP).
We are looking to recruit further SLTVs and hope to extend
the groups to even more children’s centres. If you want further
information on this innovative project please e-mail
[email protected]
03
New PEI Strategy
The Patient Experience and Involvement (PEI) Strategy was
approved at Trust Board in April 2014, and is a three year
overarching plan to support staff to involve patients, carers,
and relatives in the services they provide.
The document sets out eight key objectives and these will be
implemented through the newly formed Patient Experience
and Involvement Steering Group. The meeting is chaired
by Gill Murphy, Interim Associate Director of Quality and
Governance, assisted by Gail Parry, Patient Experience and
Involvement Manager. Other members include a governor,
lead nurses from each division, carers and other external
stakeholders. A very successful first meeting took place on
29th July 2014 when it was decided that the group should
concentrate on the following four objectives:
Objective 1 – Collect timely and relevant patient
experience information
Objective 3 – Access to information
Objective 6 – Review systems and processes that link service
users, carers and families with teams to help make service
improvements
Objective 8 – Continue to engage with hard to reach groups
If you would like a copy of the strategy e-mail
[email protected] or call 0121 612 8138. Internal
staff can download the strategy from the intranet.
Practice Development Team
on international stage
The Practice Development Team were shocked to discover they’d been
shortlisted for work surrounding the Person Centred Physical intervention
Protocols (PCPiP’s). The National Patient Safety Congress holds a poster
competition as part of its prestigious annual event, and the team’s poster had
been picked from amongst over 200 international entries.
BCPFT was the only foundation trust provider of learning disabilities and
mental health services to be shortlisted, and because of this and the fact that
the event has a strong ‘acute general hospital’ flavour, it made the recognition
even more significant.
So, Craig Smith and Sue Burns went to Liverpool in May to spread the word,
ensuring that all the conversations they had with other delegates had a definite
sprinkling of the good work done at the Trust!
The Rt Hon Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt spoke at the event and
amongst some challenging questions from the audience, thanked all NHS staff
for their continued hard work through difficult times. The live Twitter feed was
practically in meltdown.
Sue said: “Even though the audience and speakers were so diverse, not only
in geographical location but also speciality, there was the obvious theme of
improving patient safety across all sectors. As the President of the Australian
Patient Safety Association quite nicely said ‘healthcare staff need to be HOT Honest, Open and Transparent. So the next time you’re having supervision or
appraisal make sure to ask your colleagues how ‘hot’ you really are”
Craig said: “Although the team was shortlisted, we recognise and thank
the multi-disciplinary teams on the wards who push forward the
PCPiP’s, especially in light of the
recent Department of Health
Guidance ‘Positive and
Proactive Care, and although
we didn’t get through to
the finals, everyone’s
hard work has been
recognised.”
04
Gillian shares her poetry
The Grey Zenith is a poem written by Gillian Marsden a
patient on Dale Ward at Penn Hospital. Gillian has been
known to mental health services for many decades and
has always had an interest in anything creative. She
regularly gives poems and drawings to staff to show
her appreciation for their care, or to other patients on
the ward to help them feel better. Outside of hospital
Gillian’s passion for creativity continues and she is
planning on starting a flower arranging course in the
next few weeks.
The Grey Zenith is a poem that she gave to me and
was happy for me to share.
Laura Brooks
Dale Ward Manager
On this Grey Zenith
The planets collaborated
And brought conditions
To help each one of them
laborated
A tenth (10th) of them col
lth
To bring a condition of hea
lab
col orated
A twentieth (20th) of them
p and peace
To bring a condition of hel
conducted negotiations
A further thirtieth (30th)
spirit
Of government to come to
(40th) collaborated
And the remaining fortieth
FE
To keep the grey zenith SA
zenith lived for
In the aftermath the grey
and on every planet
to unite in every way
the
Causing wea r conditions
otiations of governments
So peace helped health neg
thrived.
And all came to spirit and
Bite Sized
s
w
e
N
Board
The Board of Directors meet regularly during the year and
you can find the scheduled meeting dates under the ‘our
Board of Directors’ section of the website:
www.bcpft.nhs.uk where you can also find agendas,
minutes and papers for each meeting.
Reports were presented to the Board at its meetings in May
and July, noting the establishment reviews that had taken
place across the services and the arrangements put in place
to publish the staffing level information for each ward, both
locally on site and on the national NHS Choices website.
We have picked out below some of the key matters covered
by the Board at its recent meetings.
The board will receive regular updates at its future meetings,
including the outcome of any future establishment reviews.
On target!
Good quality
A key responsibility of the Board is to ensure that the Trust
achieves what it has to do and what it plans to do. The
Board therefore receives regular reports about finance,
workforce and the quality of services it provides, and at the
end of June 2014, the Trust was on target to meet all its
plans; we were slightly better off financially, staff attendance
at training had improved, staff sickness had reduced slightly,
and performance and contract targets were being achieved.
Good quality is everyone’s business but staff need good
support and systems for them to be able to work effectively.
The Board is overseeing a lot of work at the moment aimed
to improve the systems through which the quality of services
is delivered and improved. These range from how we report
and manage untoward incidents, to how we gain feedback
from patients and learn from their experience.
Staff matter
“Hard Choices” is a new national initiative, requiring
each NHS body to publish its staffing levels for each of its
inpatient wards. The initiative arose from the investigation
into the failings at Mid Staffs and is intended to provide
assurance that staffing levels are adequate.
The action plan that commenced in March 2014 is on target
and the Board will continue to monitor its progress at its
future meetings.
Let us know if you want to know more (or less!) about the
Board and what it does. Don’t forget though that anyone
can attend Board meetings, so if you’re interested, why not
see it in action for yourself.
Watch out
STORM trainers
are about!!
In July four staff in the mental health division took part in a four day
‘train the trainers’ course for STORM training. Our trainers, Michelle
Young (Macarthur), Joy Edwards (Crisis and Home Treatment Team),
Mick Morrow (Recovery Services) and Jean Lawley (Accident and
Emergency) are pictured above.
STORM is a skills based risk assessment and management training
and has had positive outcomes in research studies conducted at
Manchester University, finding that it increased staff skills and
confidence in assessing risk and safety planning. There are now over
500 trained facilitators in STORM. One of our trainers Joy, said, “It
was a great opportunity to consider the practice of assessing suicide
risk in a safe supportive environment. I found the safety planning
module particularly helpful.”
The Mental Health Division has embraced this training and
committed to rolling it out across all teams in the division. At
present Mick, Michelle, Jean and Joy are using their experience and
knowledge of services in the division to plan the roll out.
A plan for two days of training for all clinical staff has been prepared
and will commence in late autumn 2014. Those teams who are at
the frontline of services conducting initial assessments will be the first
wave to be trained, with further training throughout 2015 to acute
and community teams.
So get ready for the STORM!
05
Membership Matters Membership Mat
Membership figures as at 31 August 2014 Contact Us update your details/ask a question/make a suggestion…
Public members by constituency:
Dudley 923
Sandwell 2889
Walsall 396
Wolverhampton 1019 Bham & Wider West Mids 962
Total public members - 6189
[email protected]
Freephone (landlines only)
08000 130 103
Staff members – 1952
Membership
Freepost RRRG – BBTC – UKSE
Delta House
Greets Green Road
West Bromwich
B70 9PL
Walsall Welcomes the Annual Member
Event and Annual General Meeting
Walsall Central Hall Methodist Church was the setting for this year’s Annual Member Event and Annual General Meeting (AGM) on
2nd September. This was the first Event and AGM held in Walsall since becoming a Foundation Trust and it was great to see
so many people there.
This year we had a busy market place with various information
stands and activities showcasing the work of the divisions.
Many partnership organisations also joined us and provided
support with their stands, showing how by working together
we can support the community with their healthcare needs.
The café area was buzzing with chatter and activity keeping
everyone well fuelled throughout the afternoon with tea, coffee,
cakes and popcorn.
A key part of the event was ‘question time on the sofa’, a chatshow style slot hosted by Mel Passmore, Lead Governor, who
interviewed three senior clinicians and fielded questions from the
audience. We have already received positive feedback to suggest
that visitors and staff would like more of this style of information
sharing as a feature of future events.
The afternoon was brought to a musical close by Headway Black
Country survivors’ choir, demonstrating how music and singing can
help rehabilitate people who have acquired a brain injury. For more
information on Headway Black Country go to:
www.headwayblackcountry.co.uk
The event was followed by the AGM which provided members and the
public with an overview of the Trust’s achievements over the past 12
months as recorded in the annual report of the Trust.
Thank you to all our members and partners who have supported us
over the past year, and we look forward to continued partnership
working in the future.
Event feedback prize draw winner
Congratulations to Ruth Garbett from Barnardo’s Halesowen, who was the lucky winner of our feedback
prize draw. Ruth’s name was drawn by Bob Piper, Chair of the Trust, and she wins a £25 Marks and
Spencer’s voucher.
Martyn Jinks, (Chaplain),
Bob Piper (Chair)
06
If you attended the event and didn’t get chance to fill in your feedback form, why not drop us a
line or give us a call to tell us your thoughts.
Matters Membership Matters
Welcome
to our new
Governors
Twelve new public and staff governors were either
elected or re-elected when voting closed on 24th
July following the second round of elections this
year. Many thanks to all members who stood for
election and to those who voted.
Don’t forget that any member from the age of 16
years old can become a governor so why not think
about it next time?
Our elected govenors are:
Public Governors
Sandwell
David Gratwick (re-elected)
David Upson
Wolverhampton
Mary Bolland (re-elected)
Jean Smith (re-elected)
Janet Rhodes
David Hellyar
Jane James
Dudley
Matthew Morrison (re-elected)
Stephen Daniels
Dal Morlar
Staff Governors
Nursing/Learning Disabilities
Phil Cole (re-elected)
Nursing/Psychiatry
Oliveth Lawrence
We will soon be holding elections to recruit new
staff governors in the following categories so look
out for your nomination papers later this year:
Nursing/Children’s
Professional/Clinical
If any member of the public or staff would like to
know more about being a governor, please contact
the membership team.
The sun shone on
Dudley Play Week
Monday 4th to 8th August saw
the Membership Team take part in
Dudley Play Week which is organised
by Sycamore Adventure. The events
provide a range of information stalls
with all participants providing free play
or activities for children at a different
park each day across the Dudley
borough.
Primary Mental Health Care) who kept
the little ones occupied with active
story time.
This year saw the highest attendance
in the history of Play Week, with
3,132 children taking part in the free
activities. This was all down to the 37
statutory, voluntary and private service
providers joining forces during the
week to provide fantastic experiences
for children and families in Dudley.
Thanks to the support of some of our
new governors we were able to keep
the children entertained whilst we
talked to visitors about our services
and encouraged them to become a
member.
Dal Morlar (Dudley) was delighted
when he signed up his first member,
whilst Jane James (Wolverhampton)
got children creative with peg doll
making and Dave Upson (Sandwell)
entertained children (and adults) with
the puppets he uses for dementia
therapy. Additional thanks go to
Theodora Machingambi (Children’s
Don’t miss o
ut on
the fun
Put next year
’s dates in your
diary now – M
onday 3rd to
Friday 7th Aug
ust 2015.
Help us spread the word
As part of our membership programme, we regularly hold information sessions
in libraries across the Black Country and do talks to local groups to raise
awareness of the Trust.
We are always looking for ways to engage with our members and put them
in touch with governors who can speak on their behalf and help to change
the way we deliver services.
If you are a member of a group, that you think may be interested in
hearing about services provided by the Trust,
just give the membership team a call and
we can come along and do
an informal presentation
or just have a chat over
a cuppa.
07
Why staff have gone Back to Basics
Sheila Lloyd, Director of Nursing and Quality
As the back to basics initiative has been
on-going for a few months now I hope
the word is spreading and it needs no
explanation. But just in case there are people
who don’t know what it’s all about here’s a
reminder.
I came to the Trust on an interim basis in
March and needed to understand quickly
what the Trust was about. As I met and
talked to different people I was really
impressed by the many good things I saw
and heard, but there were also some issues
staff told me needed sorting out.
So one morning after I received a call to say
we’d failed an environment and cleaning
assessment, which I have to say made me
anxious, I decided something had to be
done, and quickly. As I talked to the nursing,
concierge and facilities and estates staff
involved it soon became clear that staff were
keen to focus on working together and to
improve the environments and cleanliness
of the estate. All staff were disappointed we
had failed the basics and were keen to work
together to make improvements. Sometimes
it’s good to fail as it brings people together
for the greater good.
upsetting, stressful and tough for everyone
involved. However, in the second week
we started to unblock the blockers, audits
were turning green and progress started to
be made. Staff could see that a clean, safe
environment is everybody’s business and
you really have got to work together and do
your bit to get the job done.
Through this process we all began to fully
understand the important role of our
concierge staff and the need for them to
work closely with nurse leaders and to be
able to act and make decisions that improve
the environment for our patients. All of
which led to the launch of Back to Basics – a
training programme for concierge, nursing
and estates and facilities staff.
Now we all know that not all of the Trust’s
estate is great but we have to be proud of
the estate we’ve got. We need to ensure
our environment is right and cleanliness
is a huge part of this. On my Walkabout
Wednesdays’ I see staff working together
and I hope you agree, the improvements
really are there for everyone to see.
If you have any views on our quality agenda
and how to take it forward please don’t
hesitate to get in touch at
[email protected].
I gave the teams a real challenge by
requesting daily audits of the environment
with daily teleconference calls for a two
week period. In the first week we cleared
our diaries to concentrate on the audits,
did extra work to get jobs done and had
our teleconference each day to understand
what needed doing in the next 24 hours
to move forward. We audited all sorts of
different areas and when audits failed it was
Back to basics call to action
Lots of things have happened since the launch of Back to Basics at the beginning of summer including:
The updating of
basic training for
housekeeping,
nursing and
facilities staff
Changing
cleaning
processes
Amending
cleaning practices
as appropriate
However, one of the major positives is that staff understand each other’s roles and the need to
communicate and work together to get their job done.
08
A day at Marbles with
Frank Bruno and Ruby Wax
As part of my induction as a new Chaplain in
the Trust’s Spiritual Care Team, I went to an
amazing event - a chat show style debate
involving Frank Bruno and Ruby Wax. The event
was organised to acknowledge the work of one
man, Kevin Robbins, who set-up and runs
‘Marbles’, a charity furniture outlet in Great
Bridge. Marbles is for anyone to use but was set
up for people recovering from mental ill health.
As the audience gathered, there was a
representation from several agencies involved
with mental health including, service users and
carers. Listening to the stories of others and
sitting amidst the furniture in the warehouse, it
felt as if we were in someone’s rather large
living room rather than an industrial furniture
outlet.
Marbles, offers emotional and practical support
for many who might otherwise be marginalised
in our communities. The name, as Kevin
explains, depicts the fine line that can often be
seen in a marble and sits well with the fine line
that exists between being well and becoming
mentally unwell. Kevin is open about his own
experience of mental ill health, and as a result
he is able to break down stigma and to
encourage others to speak out. Kevin says he
knows how difficult it is for someone to
re-settle into the community after a period as
an inpatient. His work is about using his
experience to help others. His own road to
recovery has been amazing.
Frank Bruno and Ruby Wax were present. Frank
told how he has suffered from bi-polar since
2003. He is a powerful role model for black
males who may be experiencing mental ill
health. Frank shared insight that might better
help service delivery to BME groups. Ruby
spoke about the ‘tidal wave’ of depression and
how this flatness affected her functioning and
daily life. There was a moving account from an
ex-police officer, who had also become
mentally unwell, as a result of depression and
bereavement. She said that it wasn’t until after
spending time as a patient that she really
understood what it was like for people going
through the system, particularly the periods
where someone may be held in police custody,
awaiting a bed or an assessment.
A number of the carers present bravely shared
their stories of misunderstandings and
mishandling relating to their experience of
mental health systems. The consistent theme
from speakers was that Marbles gave them a
sense of belonging and family.
well-established body of research that shows
the benefits of attending to the spiritual needs
of an individual as part of caring for the whole
person. As a new chaplain, I have been amazed
at the number of patients wanting prayer as a
form of comfort for distress to help on the
journey of personal recovery. It has been
pleasing to see how the Trust has recognised
this evidenced by the number of prayer rooms
available for use. Understanding the strength of
prayer, Marbles is currently looking to establish
prayer spaces in its units in Great Bridge and as
part of a café initiative also started in the area.
To ensure that the holistic needs of those who
use our services are met, the Spiritual Care
Team not only works within the Trust, but also
has links with community initiatives. For further
information contact the team on 0121 612
8067.
If you would like to make a donation or
referral to the charity please call 0121 525
8064 or visit www.marblessandwell.co.uk.
Linda Clifford-Hayes, Chaplain
My ears pricked up when someone
mentioned prayer as the vehicle
which helped in their time of
distress. There is a
Ruby and Kevin
Frank and Ruby
Frank and Ruby
09
Albion stars
bring smiles to
The Lighthouse
The football memories group at The Lighthouse
was pleased to be joined at their weekly get
together by two West Bromwich Albion stars on
Thursday 11th September.
The discussion, which was led by Chairman of West
Bromwich Albion Supporters Club, John Homer,
saw first-team players James Morrison and Boaz
Myhill share both personal and professional stories
of their favourite Albion matches with members
of the group, and told how the game of football
had them both hooked from a young age. The
afternoon was particularly close to the heart of
Boaz who briefly shared that his grandmother
suffers with Alzheimer’s.
David Hipgrave, Staff Nurse and Co-Ordinator of
the Football Memories Group said: “It was really
exciting for us to get first team players to attend
our group and nice to get a modern perspective on
the game.
These guys love football and their beloved Albion
and the enjoyment felt by our service users at
seeing these players is clear from the delight on
their faces. For people attending this group, talking
about football lifts their spirits, stimulates memories
and promotes wellbeing. I can’t thank John and the
players enough for taking time out to share their
thoughts and stories with members of the group.”
If you would like to show your support
for the football memories group please
contact David Hipgrave via email:
[email protected]
UNICEF praise for Pre-school Service
Well done to our Breastfeeding
Buddies and Health Visiting Team who
received excellent feedback following
their UNICEF Baby Friendly Level 3
assessment which took place on 6th
August.
service, including Breast Feeding
Buddies, Nursery Nurses and Health
Visitors, were openly praised by the
assessors for their hard work and for
the excellent service the mums are
receiving.
The UK Baby Friendly Initiative is
based on a global accreditation
programme by UNICEF and the World
Health Organisation. It is designed
to support breastfeeding and parent
infant relationships by working with
NHS trusts, other health care facilities
and higher education institutions.
It provides a framework for the
implementation of best practice with
the aim of ensuring that all parents
make informed decisions about
feeding their babies and are supported
in their chosen method. The process
involves a number of stages and
assessments before final accreditation
by UNICEF as Baby Friendly.
There is still work to be done in two
areas related to starting solid foods
and formula feeding mums but
the service is confident with all the
ongoing development work taking
place in these areas they will soon be
matching the high standards they’ve
already set.
During our recent assessment six
facilities were visited throughout
Dudley and a total of 49 mums
were interviewed. The Pre-school
Getting the
PLACE right
Patient-Led Assessments of the
Care Environment, better known as
PLACE, are a self-assessment of four
key non-clinical areas that contribute
to the environment in which health
care is delivered, and patients say are
important. The assessments focus on:
• Food and hydration
• Privacy and dignity
•Cleanliness
• Building and environment
A dedicated team of patient assessors,
identified from the patient experience
and involvement expert by experience
database, joined Trust staff to
complete the PLACE assessments to
identify how the Trust is currently
performing and also identify how
services might be improved for the
future.
Boaz Myhill (left) with Thomas Bennett
and James Morrison (right)
10
Well done everyone and keep up the
hard work!
The assessors, with a special interest
in both mental health and learning
disabilities, assisted staff to complete
the PLACE assessments at four of
our inpatient hospital sites. A group
discussion concluded each assessment
so that any areas identified, either on
current performance or improvements,
were recorded for submission to the
Department of Health.
Feedback from one our patient
assessors following the assessments
included: “The day went really well. It
was one of my best days.”
In response to feedback from the
PLACE assessments, the Trust has
invested significant capital monies to
address some of the issues highlighted
relating to the environment. This
includes a ‘back to basics’ initiative,
sponsored by the Director Nursing
and Quality that involves nursing staff
working closely with facilities and
estates colleagues to ensure anything
raised relating to the four areas above
are resolved quickly so that the patient
environment meets the expectations
of our patient assessors.
If you would like to get involved in
future PLACE visits or information
about registering as an expert by
experience, please contact the
Patient Experience and Involvement
team on 0121 612 8030.
The Research
and Innovation Team
Jo and Laura
The Team
Some of our studies:
The team has undergone numerous changes over
the last 12 months but since December 2013 I have
been the team manager, my name is Jo Tomkins, and
together with Laura Lord, who is a clinical studies
officer (CSO), and Sue Beardmore who is the team
administrator, we make up the team!
We are currently working on clinical studies with staff
across all divisions of the Trust, including:
The Research and Innovation (R&I) Department
supports the running of all research across the Trust.
We support Portfolio (clinical trials and other studies
that are included in the National Institute for Health
Research portfolio), as well as non-Portfolio studies
(smaller studies that are usually designed by students/
trainees/staff).
Some people might ask the question - why do we
do research?
The answer is simple: research is essential to find
out what treatments work best for patients, and to
improve service delivery and care. Without it we would
not know if we were providing the best possible care
for our patients.
So how can the R&I department
support you?
We aim to be the ‘friendly face’ of research,
approachable and flexible in our approach, to ensure
that research and innovation is embedded throughout
the Trust. We will:
• Support and co-ordinate research studies across
the Trust
• Provide advice and guidance on research ethics,
processes and how to obtain approval for your
project
• Enable staff to contribute to best practice
standards and hold the Trust accountable for
future development of new innovative ways to
support our service users, carers and the public
• Make new treatments, approaches and further
resources available to patient care by getting
involved in research study
• Mental Health - Adult Services:
Pattern - reviewing the progression of negative
symptoms in schizophrenia
This Trust was the quickest recruiter
nationally for this study
• Mental Health - Early Intervention Services:
CIRCLE - an interventional study looking at the
use of a psycho-educational package around the
use of cannabis for individuals suffering from
psychosis
Allowing service users to have a more
informed choice on the use of cannabis
• Learning Disabilities:
DNA LD - genetic study of differences in learning
disabilities
A national study comparing a variety of
illnesses including alcoholism, schizophrenia
and bipolar
• Children, Young People and Families:
FEM – NAT – a five year study into factors
contributing to the existence of Conduct Disorder
in females
First one of it’s kind!
The above are just a few of the studies we are
currently involved but we hope they give a flavour of
our work and how we can help you.
And finally…
If you want further information about any of our
studies or to talk to us about research and innovation
please contact us. We are based at The Beeches,
Penn Hospital, Wolverhampton,
e-mail: [email protected]
or contact us on the numbers below:
Jo Tomkins (R&I Manager) 01902 446 724
[email protected]
Laura Lord (CSO) 01902 446 724
[email protected]
11
A fond farewell to:
…Rosie Jenkins, Consultant Psychiatrist, and Sue Cooper, Health Care Assistant,
from their colleagues in Wolverhampton, on their respective retirements.
Rosie (pictured left) came to Wolverhampton in 1995, and has been a leading
light in establishing and developing the Older Adult Mental Health service in
Wolverhampton since that time.
Sue (pictured right) has worked in the service since 1979, starting in the inpatient setting, before spending the last 25 years in the community setting.
Both currently
work within
the North Older
Adults CMHT,
and will be greatly
missed by the
patients, carers
and colleagues
alike, and we would
like to wish them
both a very happy
and prosperous
retirement.
Rosie
Today’s the day the
teddy bears had a picnic
The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP)
Team took full advantage of the
summer sun this August as they hosted
their Annual Teddy Bears Picnic at Mary
Stevens Park in Stourbridge. The Picnic
was a great success with over 30 young
mums, 10 dads and 25 babies ranging
from 2 weeks to 14 months attending.
The picnic is an opportunity for the
young parents to meet other teens who
are either expecting or have a young
child, helping them to form friendships
and build their confidence.
Sue
Staff write
‘quality’ poems
Each month, at their Trust Induction, all
new members of staff are encouraged to
get in touch with their creative side, and
write a poem about ‘what high quality care
means to them’. Below is a small selection
of poems from staff who attended July’s
induction.
There was once
a professional
called Johnny
Who everybod
y thought was
bonny
He would alw
ays care
And informatio
n he would sh
are
Whatever the
weather
He would mak
e you feel bett
For patients an
er
d families he’d
be there.
BUT
There was also
a professional
named Mandy
Who made m
e feed sad and
angry
She would alw
ays be rude
And with othe
r staff membe
rs she was crud
Whatever the
e
weather
She would ne
ver deliver
For patients an
d families she’
d be sued.
The day included many fun and
interactive activities for the children,
parents and staff! Including feeding the
ducks, story time, painting, parachute
games, bubbles and of course the
traditional picnic.
Steph, who has been with the
programme for 15 months, commented
“This is the first time I have been
to something like this and it’s been
fantastic. When I became pregnant and
had my daughter Bella, my old friends
drifted away leaving me alone. I’ve
spoken to loads of people today and
I’m going to a Mummy Morning soon
with one of the other mums I’ve met
here. My FNP Nurse, Alison, is amazing
and without her I wouldn’t have a
clue, I feel confident with her and look
forward to her visits.”
A big thank you to Mothers Union who
provided the catering and bus passes
for the young families to attend and
the Park Rangers for providing a room,
play time and a buggy walk around
the park.
sed a dare
The NHS trainers propo
about
em
po
a
h
wit
up
To come
Quality Care
ciency
We had one thought, effi
rt,
po
sup
and
e’s another thought:
But not to be short her
y of care must assist
In order to be fair, qualit
wear and tear.
ay
ryd
patients in eve
al, show compassion.
Be thoughtful, be person
to all
Be positive and helpful
n.
hio
fas
ely
in a tim
HIGH QUALIT
Y CARE POEM
Try to
get it right first
time
Don’t make m
e wait in line
Tell me what’s
going on
Don’t look at
me like I’m go
ing on and on
Treat me like a
human being
Not conflicting,
both agreeing
Do it with a sm
ile
Do it with resp
ec
t
Let everyone kn
ow what to ex
Show me com
pect
passion, show
me you’re ther
Show me som
e
e HIGH QUALI
TY CARE
NEXT ISSUE…
Grapevine is your quarterly newsletter. If you would like to contribute your news
and views to the next edition, please send items to
[email protected] by Wednesday 29th October 2014
12