Erupting with enthusiasm - Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

Web World
Island castaway
Partnership
What do you think of Partnership Matters?
We want to know what you think about Partnership Matters. So to find
out more, we’ve created a short online survey. We want to know what
you like, what you don’t like and what you’d like to see in future. It’s
a magazine for you, so we really need to find out what you want to
be reading about. You’ll find a link to the survey on the staff website
homepage.
Visit: www.hampshirepartnership.nhs.uk/staff
Continuing your professional
development – CPDMH
The Centre for Professional Devleopment in Mental Health (CPDMH) have
got a brand new set of pages on the staff website. If you’re interested
in professional development, you should definitely check the pages
out. You’ll find an online calendar for all forthcoming events, as well
as FAQs, news and feedback. We are also looking into possible future
developments, such as online booking for courses. The pages can be
found here: http://www.hampshirepartnership.nhs.uk/cpdmh.
Music
Logging on just got easier…
You should have seen by now that there’s a big blue login button on
every page of the staff website. This lets you login at any point so you
can access all the extra information on the site, such as the telephone
directory, Team Brief etc. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll automatically be
taken back to the page you were already on, meaning you won’t have to
start again to find what you’re looking for.
Frozen Warnings by Nico. “After one album with the
Velvet Underground, this blonde German model went on
to become a true icon in her own right. Arranged by John
Cale, this song will remind me of Berlin, and of one day in
particular when I visited her grave in a remote cemetery in
the middle of a forest on the outskirts of that city.”
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Trains and Boats and Planes by Astrud Gilberto. “A
Burt Bacharach song given a dreamy vocal by Brazilian
Gilberto. Beautiful orchestral break in the middle. Always
a poignant reminder of travel, and people you have left
behind in far-flung places.”
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Colin’s Icelandic horses
Luxury Item
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A Large Hadron Collider. Like the one underneath
Geneva. Serves no useful purpose other than trying to
answer some of the most fundamental questions in the
world of nuclear physics. It will give me something to think
about when not listening to music or reading.
If you would like to take part in Island Castaway, please email your
choices together with a photograph, if possible, to:
[email protected]
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If you’ve got news for us contact Communications on 023 8087 4106 or at [email protected].
SLA 20204– NHS Creative – May 2010.
Solution:
Erupting with
enthusiasm
Alala by CSS. “A Brazilian band that play raucous Western
electro-pop. Their lyrics are quirky and sometimes awkward
in the way that Abba often found it difficult to compose
in their second language. But they have attitude, and this
song would remind me of the first time I saw them, and of
subsequent gigs.”
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro. A surreal and
dreamlike tale of a concert pianist arriving in a strange
Central European city. If you only ever read one book in your
life it should be this one. Bizarre, heart-warming and funny.
is just
one simple
THERE isTHERE
just one
simple
rule in Sudoku. Each row and each
rule in contain
Sudoku. the
Eachnumbers
row
column must
1 to 9, and so must each
and
each
must
3 x 3 box.
This
is acolumn
logic puzzle,
and you should not need to
contain
the
numbers
1
to
have to guess.
9, and so must each 3 x 3
box. This is a logic puzzle,
and you should not need to
have to guess.
Heroes by David Bowie. “Clanging, clunking, Berlininspired, sound of East meeting West. Bowie was the sound
of my youth, and no-one has captured his voice as well as
producer Tony Visconti managed to on this track, when he
sings. “I… I will be king…!!!”
Book
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Sudoku Puzzle
SUDOKU
May 2010 • Issue 12
This month, Nick Hand, from the Recruitment Department at
Tatchbury Mount, gives us his choices:
Set Me Free by John Cale “Cale’s sumptuous soundscape
of a life, works superbly with a widescreen, 21st century coproduction provided by Nick Franglen of Lemon Jelly.”
Remember – if you want to login to your training database (to book a
course, check the details of your training etc) you’ll need to login via
Personal Development & Training, which is a different login to that of the
staff website. Logon to training here:
http://www.hampshirepartnership.nhs.uk/pdant
Matters
What’s your favourite
music? What could you
happily listen to if you
were stranded on a desert
island, with nothing but
the clothes on your back
and a limitless supply of
coconuts?
Thought for the
month – The Church of
the militant Elvis wants
YOU!
EIP – Early intervention
in the classroom.
The Gallery – Antelope
House preview.
Face-to-Face –
Spirituality meets
psychosis.
Castaway – Concert
pianists and raucous
electro pop.
Improving mental health
and wellbeing together
Thought
for the month
with
Rev. Vanessa Lawrence
Clergy are not generally
known for their decision
making skills, and I am no
exception. A friend and I
once took so long trying to
decide whether to catch the
Isle of Wight ferry that was
at the terminal, or wait for some friends travelling
in another car behind us and catch the next one
together, that the ferry sailed away and our decision
was made for us.
We make decisions all the time, easy ones like
what’s for tea, and tough, life changing choices
about jobs and partners. God has created us in
an infinite incredible variety and so we all make
unique choices according to our personalities
and circumstances. We are fortunate that in this
country we usually have the freedom to make our
own choices about our faith and lifestyles in a way
that many people in the world are unable to do.
Although, of course, if we become ill and spend
some time in hospital, those freedoms become more
restricted.
As I write this, the date of the General Election has
just been announced, and so we have yet another
choice to make. And its a choice that becomes
increasingly difficult, as politicians of all parties,
aided and abetted by media and commentators,
seek to tie us up in knots of semantics and statistics.
So where does faith fit into this? Many people say
religion and politics dont mix, but actually, you
dont get a much more political figure than the Jesus
we see in the Christian Gospels. He was murdered
for exactly that reason: for challenging authority
and accepted norms, for demonstrating that the
hierarchical social system that gave power to a few,
and oppressed those with no voice, was not the
way of God.
So, who would Jesus vote for? Labour, Conservative,
Lib Dem... or the ‘Church of the Militant Elvis Party’
(I didn’t make that up!) Who knows? He lived 2000
years ago, in an entirely different culture. But what
we can know is that he would have been right
there in the middle - stirring up the complacent,
challenging those who were seeking power for
selfish gain and duck houses. He would have been
there, championing causes of justice, and freedom
from poverty and oppression for all in our society,
regardless of their faith, gender, sexuality or mental
well being.
Moves at Moorgreen
As part of NHS Southampton City’s redevelopment of the
Moorgreen Hospital site, the remaining clinical services for
patients in the Main Block was transferred to the Tom Rudd Unit at
Moorgreen during the last two weeks of April 2010.
These services provided by Hampshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust,
will move from the old and unsuitable facilities for older people to a
new and modern clinical care setting. It will also bring together services
currently spread across the site to create a single point of access for
patients. It means that the following services will be based at the Tom
Rudd Unit at Moorgreen from May 2010:
• Southampton Memory Service
including the Memory Assessment
and Research Centre (MARC)
• Inpatient wards
• South East Community Mental
Health Service
• DeNDRoN (Dementias and
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Research Network).
Antelope House
Come and see for yourself
The new Adult Mental Health Unit in Southampton is close to
completion.
Antelope House is on the Royal South Hants Hospital site and will replace
the Department of Psychiatry. It has 60 beds and has been designed
down to the last detail to make sure it is the best environment for service
users. It has en-suite single rooms, courtyard gardens, a sanctuary for a
bit of peace and quiet and activity rooms – not to mention a gym.
Everyone will be able to drop in and have a look around the new building
on Saturday May 22 from 9am until 5pm. There will also be staff and
stakeholder drop in days on Wednesday May 26 again from 9am to 5pm
and on Friday May 28 from midday until 5pm.
Antelope house will be up and running next month, and we’re hoping to
have an official opening in July. We’ll keep you posted on the guests and
the plans for the big day.
To see more images of Antelope House,
check out the gallery on page 11.
NEWS
EXTR A
All Change
As staff may have gathered from recent Special
Briefings, there are quite a few important
changes taking place within the Trust that we
all need to be aware of. To help make things a
little clearer, here is a round-up of some of these
recent and upcoming developments:
Service-Line
Management
Our Trust contains a number of specialist clinical areas.
For example, we have adult mental health, learning
difficulties, and older peoples’ mental health. At the
same time, the Trust is spread over a large geographical
patch. The idea behind service-line management is to take
each of these clinical areas and manage them as distinct
units (‘service-lines’). This will give each service-line more
autonomy – with its own resources, staffing and money.
Crucially, it will also allow clinicians to take the lead on service
improvement, resulting in better patient care. New clinical
leadership positions will be created, giving a much more clinicianled service, and even more patient focus.
Monitor, the independent regulator of all NHS Foundation Trusts,
strongly recommends that service-line management be adopted,
both to increase efficiency, and to improve things for patients.
We as a Trust are currently in the early stages of the process
that will take us through to service-line management. The
initial proposal went to staff consultation over the last couple
of months – where you were able to have your say. The views
of teams, units, and individual staff expressed during the
consultation will all feed into pilot schemes and trials, which will
enable the Trust to evolve into the most effective service-line
structure. The plan is for this process to take around three years
to complete.
For more information about service-line management in the
Trust, visit our service-line management pages, or read the special
briefings:
www.hampshirepartnership.nhs.uk/news-and-events/slm
And who am I going to vote for? Who knows?!
Answers on a postcard, please.....
www.hampshirepartnership.nhs.uk/news-and-events/
trust-news/special-briefings/briefings/
Community Services
in Hampshire,
Portsmouth and
Southampton
Hampshire Community Health Care
You may be aware that our Trust was recommended by
NHS Hampshire and the Strategic Health Authority (SHA)
to be the preferred provider to work more closely with
Hampshire Community Health Care (HCHC). The next step
is to create business case to show how this relationship
might work – this should be completed by the end of June.
Our Trust and HCHC cover a similar geographical area, and we
are both committed to keeping people healthy and independent
in their communities. By combining community, learning
disability, social care and mental health services we will ensure a
more holistic approach to patient care.
Solent Healthcare
NHS Southampton City and the SHA have also
recommended our Trust to be the preferred provider to
work more closely with the community services that Solent
Healthcare offers.
Solent Healthcare was recently created through an integration of
PCT provider services in Portsmouth and Southampton. The project
to integrate these organisations was know as Solent Kaleido.
Work is currently ongoing to understand this proposal further,
and any implications it may have for the constitution of the Trust.
Of course, there will be a number of changes related to
these closer relationships over the coming months, and no
doubt staff will have questions to ask. However, this will be
a gradual process, and it’s important to maintain things as
‘business as usual’.
We will keep all staff up-to-date on any developments during this
process through the usual channels, but if you have any queries
at all then please don’t hesitate to get in touch directly with Nick
Yeo, our Chief Exec: [email protected]
Also, check out any special briefings relating to HCHC and Solent
Healthcare here:
www.hampshirepartnership.nhs.uk/news-and-events/
trust-news/special-briefings/briefings/
What’s next?
To help everyone to understand these changes, and to have
their questions answered, a series of staff briefings have been
arranged, to take place throughout the Trust. These briefings will
give staff the opportunity to speak to directors about how these
changes are developing.
The final touches are put to Antelope House.
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Spotlight
Our friends and family are where we learn a lot about
ourselves and life. Formal education plays a role too. More
so now that health and social wellbeing is firmly embedded
in the curriculum.
So, the Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) team based at Romsey
has been working over the last 18 months teaching teenage
school pupils about mental health and psychosis. They are now
looking to extend this work by joining with colleagues from
Rethink and Solent Mind. They want to try to break down the
stigma and negative stereotypes attached to mental illness, so that
young people aren’t afraid or ashamed to seek help when they
need it.
“Young people who suffer from a mental illness often get
excluded from society. School, college, friends and family all suffer,
and that’s why we need to get to them early and help them get
back into the mainstream again.”
Laura Tasker patiently explains.
She’s a social worker and EIP
practitioner and has been
working on the schools project.
The early signs of psychosis
can look a lot like other
mental health conditions,
or even like normal teenage
behaviour – mood swings,
isolating behaviour – which
it’s often hard to spot
until an actual episode of
psychosis. What’s really
surprising is that even
hearing voices can be commonplace if
you’re tired, stressed or bereaved.
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Early Intervention –
in the classroom
Ben Vuckovic is the team leader for the Romsey based EIP team.
“First episodes of psychosis often occur when people are in their
late teens or early twenties. It is a time of change, when young
people are establishing their identity, developing roles and new
responsibilities whilst moving into adulthood…“
“Psychosis is a big label because of the stigma surrounding it, and
we are very careful to assess people thoroughly.”
EIP has an open referral system where anyone can refer, including
the young person themselves. That’s partly why the team that
goes into schools target year 10s aged 14 to 15. They want to
help teenagers understand about their mental health and to spot
any signs of psychosis.
“We’re passionate about making sure we reach the right people in
time during that crucial period. So that these young people don’t
miss out on their formative years, and drop out of society” Laura
continues.
Key to reaching people at that crucial period is to go into schools
and talk about psychosis. Laura admits it can be a struggle but
that younger people find it much easier to change their opinions
and be more open minded. In many cases they will relate it to
their own lives.
“Their personalities are really forming at this time. It’s a time when
they’re deciding what to think. We do make a difference.”
If you want to volunteer to help teach school children and
teenagers about mental health get in touch with the EIP team at
Romsey.
Coming up in the next issue we join the
team in the classroom.
Keeping a PRIVATE life
Granted the title doesn’t set the heart a
flutter but the issue is important. Same
sexed accommodation and measures
to respect people’s privacy and dignity
while their in our care has risen to the
top flight of the NHS agenda. We are no
exception, and we could be fined the
entire cost of a service user’s or patient’s
care if we breach the regulations.
So what does it mean to you and me? Well
we have to make sure that people in our
care have access to their own toilet and
wash facilities – and that the can effectively
get to those facilities without walking past
a member of the opposite sex. The images
of old Nightingale wards governed by stern
matrons may have long gone, but the
principle of keeping the sexes apart in a
modern environment remains.
Malcolm Campbell is Director of Operations
for Specialised Services but he’s also taken
on the task of making sure we meet the
standards for single sex accommodation.
“It’s something we need to do. People expect
to have their privacy and dignity respected
when they’re with us. They want to be able
to use the bathroom without having to share
it with a member of the opposite sex.
“Many of our facilities in hospitals have
en-suite facilities, but there are areas where
we have to make sure we take people’s
privacy into account. I know we all do it and
think about it, but now it’s become really
important we stick to the rules or we will be
fined”
Here’s what we are telling people about
how we’ll treat them –
• The room where your bed is will
only have patients of the same sex
as you
• Your toilet and bathroom will be
just for your gender, and will be close
to your bed area
There are some notable exceptions It’s possible you may share communal
areas like day rooms and dining areas
with the opposite sex.
Staff of both sexes may be in contact with
you as part of your care.
If you need help and specialist equipment
like a hoist to have a bath for example
the bathroom will be unisex but other
patients or service users will not be in the
bathroom at the same time.
In addition to leaflets explaining what people
can expect from the Trust there’s also a
video on the Trust website about same sex
accommodation and privacy and dignity.
Malcolm adds “As the trusts that we provide
services to feel the squeeze financially we
may have less money coming into out Trust
than we’re used to. It’s important that
we don’t get fined for simple breaches of
regulations like same sex accommodation in
order to protect our services.”
For more information on privacy and
dignity and same sexed accommodation
look on the website - http://www.
hampshirepartnership.nhs.uk/patients/
privacy
5
OFF
DUTY Erupting with enthusiasm
Colin’s Icelandic horses
Dr Colin Gibson
Within a few minutes of meeting
him, one thing becomes very clear –
Colin Gibson loves horses. His sheer
enthusiasm and passion for these
creatures is infectious. However, these
are not just any horses. These
are Icelandic horses: “They’re
descended from those used by
the Vikings, and the Mongol
Hordes of Genghis Khan.”
Colin’s PhD was in
Heideggarian Hermenutic
Phenomenology(!)
Colin Gibson is a qualified nurse,
currently working for the trust as the
Named Nurse for Child Protection, but
spends one day a week with the School
of Health Science at the University of
Southampton where, among other
things he is the Link Lecturer for
the PCT on the Isle of Wight – which
explains his suntan! On top of this, he
has completed a PhD – although he
confesses: “I remember when the letter
came through telling me I had been
awarded a doctorate – I was actually
hoping it was a letter from the vet
6
regarding my first horse Flo who had
been ‘vet checked’ to see if she was fit
to be purchased!”
Colin developed a passion for Iceland
in his days as a student nurse in the
late 1970s which saw him travelling
around the country with just a humble
tent by his side. “Iceland is such a
beautiful country. In summer, it is light
24 hours a day.” It was on a return
trip to Iceland, in his early forties, that
Colin discovered his love of horses
quite by accident when a cancelled
whale watching trip had him looking
for something to fill his afternoon. He
came across an advert for an evening
of horse riding and since then has not
looked back. “It was an incredible
experience, and I found that I could
travel over rough ground with out
my slightly arthritic knees feeling the
pain.” From there grew a real love for
the animals.
Horse Whispering
“If a horse trusts you it will do
anything for you. If instead you’re
aggressive, the horse may do as it’s
told at first - because it has to - but
eventually when you may need to
rely on its trust in you, things can get
dangerous for both of you.”
On his return to the UK, Colin
researched Icelandic Horses on the
internet and found a local breeder
in Dorset. Colin purchased ‘Flo’ (her
name translates as Flea) and five years
later reunited Flo with her long lost
daughter, ‘Flikka’ (her name translates
as Girl) and they now live in stables
surrounded by glorious open land
just outside Fordingbridge. Horses
of an Icelandic breed are small, pony
sized, with short but strong legs. The
mane and tail are full, with coarse
hair, and the tail is set low. The breed
is known to be hardy and an easy
keeper. Icelandic horses have a double
coat developed for extra insulation in
cold temperatures, although the area
around their lungs and chest has to
be clipped in autumn as they can get
too hot when ridden in the winter in
England.
The term ‘horse whisperer’ was coined
by an Irish horseman, Daniel Sullivan,
in the early nineteenth century who
gained a reputation for rehabilitating
difficult and troubled horses. Colin
adopts the approaches of Gawani
Ponyboy, a Native American, who write
down how Native American Indians
learned to work with horses. Monty
Roberts, the famous American cowboy
horse trainer uses these methods.
“Monty was a victim of child abuse, in
the hands of his violent father, who
treated horses in a similar, bullying,
way. To Monty – with horses and
people – Violence is never the answer.”
Colin also uses the ‘join-up’ and
‘follow-up’ technique: “The Native
Americans used this method as well,
which involves gaining the horse’s
trust. They would approach a wild
horse, adopting a non threatening
stance, then after a while they would
walk away. They repeated this until
eventually, as they walked away, the
horse would follow. Relationships
meant everything, and still do.”
This method reflects the way in
which wild horses operate in herds
with the lead mare taking the role
of leader, based in her experience,
relying on her trust in the best
interests of the herd – in effect Flo and
Flikka do the same, seeing Colin as the
lead mare!
The ideology of horse whispering has
even found its way into the workplace:
“The idea of gaining the trust and
acceptance of horses using these
techniques fits in with the notion of a
bad boss becoming isolated, whereas a
good leader is followed and respected.
The old ‘carrot versus stick’ approach
fails as it never gains the trust with
humans or with horses.” This has lead
to prominent horse whisperers giving
talks and demonstrations to business
leaders around the world.
Icelandic horses have five gaits ranging
from walk, an ambling pace, known as
the tölt, trot, canter or gallop to the
fifth gait, flying pace, where the horse
can reach speeds of up to 30 mph.
“They are very much the 4X4 of horses,
confident and able to cope with rough
country with ease.” Colin will often
take his horses out together and then
swap the horse he is riding during the
course of his amble to allow each to
have a bit of a break.
Colin visits his two greatest companions
every morning to say ‘hello’ and offer
them some breakfast on his way
into work in Fordingbridge. At the
weekends Colin likes to saddle up and
roam the New Forest often ‘ambling’
out for three or four hours at a time.
“The Godshill area near Fordingbridge
is one of the most beautiful places in
the country for riding” explains Colin.
Colin’s unrestrained enthusiasm for
his Icelandic horses has even seen him
take part in a documentary for BBC 2.
Back in 2002 he played an extra with
his beloved Flo in ‘Blood of the Vikings’
and proudly states that the side of Flo’s
head very briefly appears in shot!
7
Personalisation
A New Philosophy in Care
www.hampshirepartnership.co.uk/rio
Getting the best out of RiO
Mid Hants teams have been
using RiO since 31st January.
Since then, a great deal of
information has been entered
into the system. One of the
benefits of RiO is that all this
information is held on a clinical
information system, and can
then be used to improve clinical
management, and also Trust
planning.
The Trust is now starting to look at this
information and reports have been circulated
to team managers aimed at ensuring the
data is as complete as possible.
The area that we are looking at first is the
recording of demographic information such
as:
• Marital status
• Ethnic category
• First language
• Religion
• Accommodation status
• Employment status
• GP registration
• CPA level and care coordinator.
This is really important in not only ensuring
that we are delivering the best possible
service, but also because the Trust is
monitored on the quality of the information
it collects by the Care Quality Commission
(CQC).
So, please ensure that data you are
entering into RiO is as complete as
possible, as this will allow us all to use
the system to its full potential.
The next areas that we will be looking at will
aim to support clinical practice by reviewing
the outcome of appointments, together with
the completion and validation of progress
notes.
And the award goes to…
The Trust is requesting nominations for
Nurse of Year 2010.
The award will be presented to a nurse, who has made significant achievements in promoting and
executing the care of service users, either through service development, education development,
research, leadership or any sustainable improvement which has inspired significant confidence in the
care delivered by teams or individuals.
There has been a growing momentum in physical health, mental health,
and learning disability care, towards a change in the relationship between
individual patients/service users and public services.
Personalisation is the byword for this new
philosophy, and it means that people
who use our services will be enabled to
develop a different relationship with the
professeionals and support workers who
provide their care, and in the future they
will be free to choose, with professional
advice the specific services that they want,
when they want them.
It’s all about respect – treating service users
as equals and even experts in their ‘field’
and involving them as partners at all stages
of their care, and also in the development
of new policies which govern the way we
provide treatment and support.
This is no small change: “the last move of
this scale was the de-institutionalisation
project and care in the community” said
Lucy Butler of Hampshire County Council.
“Personalisation is a broad spectrum, which
will affect all service users in some way.”
where a pilot scheme will take place, to find
out how best to offer a personalised service
to people with mental health problems.
Over 120 clinicians, managers, staff, service
users and carers attended the event,
from many organisations including our
Trust, the local authority and third sector
organisations.
One attendee was the Trust’s Chief
Executive, Nick Yeo: “This is the start of a
journey” he said. “It’s so encouraging to see
so many people attending from different
organisations and working together in
partnership. It’s all about listening very
carefully to what service-users and staff
on the frontline are telling us. So, it’s
an exciting journey, but we have lots to
think about – this event has been a great
opportunity to start that process.”
But wait – don’t we already offer a
personalised service, wherever possible?
“Many people think we are already personcentred – but there is always more we can
do” says Lucy. “It’s also about getting the
small things right. Personalisation is about
taking it to the next level.”
One aspect of personalisation is the
provision of personal budgets to service
users who are eligible. These budgets
can be managed by the service users
themselves, by families or other carers, or
by health professionals – it’s all very flexible.
These budgets can be used to pay for
(‘commission’) services from providers, such
as our Trust.
Personalisation in mental health is the latest
development of this new approach, and it
was kicked off at a recent event in Fareham,
These new changes will mean a shift in the
way we deliver services to people. As well
as providing services to large organisations
like Primary Care Trusts, we will be able to
offer services to individuals or small groups
of service users. These service users will be
able to ‘shop around’ for the best, most
cost effective services, and so we will need
to really stay on our toes and adapt to this
new and changing landscape.
But it’s not just the public services who
need to stay ahead of the curve. For
personalisation to work, service users and
their carers need to be motivated and
willing to empower themselves. Mary
Wingfield, a service user and ambassador
for WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action
Planning) delivered a powerful speech at
the event, explaining how personalisation
and recovery had so much in common.
“Service users as well as staff will need to
take a brave step forward. The challenge
will be to find the ‘motivational key’ to
ensure service users take control of their
own lives, and at the same time for services
to take a step back, where appropriate,
from a paternal position.”
To find out more about personalisation,
check out these resources:
The National Mental Health Development
Unit: www.nmhdu.org.uk
New Horizons: www.newhorizons.
dh.gov.uk
The nurse may be nominated by a colleague, manager or member of the public.
Each nomination will be forwarded to the appropriate Directorate Associate Director of Nursing, where a local
multi-disciplinary panel will consider and select one Nurse to be their Directorate Nurse of the Year. These
nominations will then be considered by a Trust level multi-disciplinary panel who will select the Trust Nurse of the
Year 2010.
The Trust Nurse of the Year 2010 and Directorate Nurse of the Year 2010 awards will be presented at the
Nursing Conference on the 1st October 2010.
For more details, and to get hold of a nomination form, please contact Sue Clark ([email protected] ) or call 023 8087 4307.
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Face-to-face
The Gallery
Antelope House
…With Isabel Clarke
With the final stages of the project nearing completion, the
time has come to reveal some images of Antelope House in
Southampton – which will soon replace the Department of
Psychiatry as an Adult Mental Health Unit.
We hear about ‘lifelong learning’ all the time at the Trust, and there
are many opportunities for staff to continue gaining qualifications
and experience while they progress through their careers. Isabel
Clarke, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, seems to be one of those
people for whom life really is an ongoing voyage of discovery.
“I originally studied history at university, and then tried my
hand at teaching” explains Isabel. So where did the career in
psychology stem from?
“In my early 20s, the impetus was my friend’s breakdown. I
was appalled by the change in her, and what happened to her
in hospital. This was back in 1969 .”
This experience really touched Isabel: “I was spurred on by this initial
desire to help, as well as real intellectual curiosity.” Isabel did a great
deal of reading around the subject, took an Open University Degree
as well as voluntary work, and eventually completed her Clinical
Psychology Training.
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As you can see from the photos, Antelope house looks bright, airy
and spacious, with a contemporary feel to the design. Despite the
modern lines, the building looks really welcoming, with garden,
fountains, and wood panelling giving it that natural element.
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interested in this area.” It’s sometimes easy
to dismiss spirituality as something ‘new age’
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or as an alternative to a ‘scientific’ viewpoint,
whereas in fact it is possible for both to
side-by-side. Isabel has written books
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spirituality from a psychological
A really pioneering aspect of Isabel’s work
standpoint.
is that much of it is designed to take place
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within the acute inpatient setting. “This
is traditionally a very challenging place to
conduct therapy – the Trust is ahead of
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the country in this respect.” Isabel and her
colleague, Dr Hannah Wilson, have produced
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a book explaining how to set up
Sudoku Solution
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service in this setting, and are able to offer
training to staff wishing
to get
THERE
is involved.
just one simple
rule in Sudoku. Each row
and each column must
contain the numbers 1 to
9, and so must each 3 x 3
box. This is a logic puzzle,
and you should not need to
have to guess.
“We need to be alert for people’s spiritual
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“Therapy is conducted ‘blind’ to the service
user’s diagnosis.” In other words, service
users are not labelled with a particular
diagnosis, which their therapy is then based
on. Instead the client is treated as an
individual. “This was seen as quite a radical
step, until fairly recently.”
Solution:
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The feedback from these programmes has
been positive – with some service users
reporting that they felt significantly better
about themselves.
“Spirituality is a deep-rooted, fundamental
part of what it is to be human” explains
Isabel. “ This is backed up by cognitive
science.” Isabel is part of the Trust’s
Spirituality Network, which she sees as
extremely important. “It’s a great forum
to share best practice. Spirituality is often
something that is vague, and there are many
ways to be spiritual. It’s particularly relevant
during breakdown, or when searching for a
wider meaning.”
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Influenced by this, Isabel and her colleagues
have created the ‘What is Real?’ programme,
which explores how open service users are to
different ‘types of reality’. “We want people
to be able to recognise where they are – to be
able to distinguish the shared and unshared
experiences. By doing this they will be able to
value the positive side of their condition, and
also meet their ‘real world’ goals.”
As well as exploring innovative ways to help
service users feel better about themselves,
SUDOKU
Isabel and her colleagues
are carrying out
these programmes using cutting edge
techniques. These include using the Buddhist
concepts of mindfulness and acceptance,
which focuses people on the ‘here and now’.
This ‘Third Wave’ of cognitive therapy aims to
look at how people relate to their thoughts,
rather than trying to challenge what they
think.
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“A good example is David Bowie, who used
his high schizotypy for a successful career as
a musician – his half brother was diagnosed
with schizophrenia. Some people do not see
their condition as an illness. It’s important for
service users to see this”
Spirituality and
Mental ‘Illness’
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“We talk about something called schizotypy,
which describes the degree of openness to
unusual or ‘unshared’ experiences” explains
Isabel. There are many famous people,
including Joan of Arc, Ghandi, and Van Gogh
who could be described as ‘high schizotypes.’
These people are often very creative,
imaginative and sensitive, but crucially, many
are able to cope and even thrive within
society.
The Third Wave and
the Blind Therapists
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Many people, who could be labelled as
suffering from psychosis or schizophrenia,
have what researchers would describe as
‘benign psychosis’ – for example some
mediums, and members of certain religious
sects. “These people seem to be able to get
on with psychosis.”
After working at the Department of Psychiatry in Southampton
for 12 years, Isabel is now based at Woodhaven. Her enquiring
nature and sense of curiosity are still very keen and this is reflected
in the strikingly diverse range of research areas that Isabel and her
colleagues are exploring – and the passionate, enthusiastic way she
describes them: “We have a critical mass of great psychologists in the
area. We always try to be innovative, to evaluate what we do and to
carry out practice-based research.”
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What is real?
PM attended a tour of the building, along with service users and
staff from the local Early Intervention in Psychosis service.
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