trust talk feb - Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS

Issue 38 April/May 2011
P4
P3
Ardenleigh wins a
Patient Safety Award
New text message
service launched
P5
Volunteers help make a
difference in our trust
P6
Community engaged
over our new hospital
P7
Epic mental health walk
reaches Birmingham
Chief executive’s message
Spring has finally arrived bringing with
it not only the sun and longer days,
but also new starts as our trust enters
what promises to be a challenging
financial year.
As the shape of the brave new NHS is
becoming clearer, and while I am confident
our trust can face the new challenges that
presents together, we cannot afford to
become complacent in our efforts.
However our trust’s recent awards success
continued at the national Patient Safety
Awards, proving that our staff are still keen to
blaze an innovative trail to improve our
services.
The team at Ardenleigh beat six other
projects to win the patient safety in mental
health award for their multi-agency approach
to reducing violence at the forensic unit in
Erdington.
This year has also seen us continue to
shape our services to be most efficient for the
resources we have, such as the changes to
PALS turns back
the clock
Changes to our Patient Advice and
Liaison Service (PALS) opening hours
will take effect from April 1, 2011.
PALS has grown considerably since it was
established in 2002, to become a roundthe-clock service.
However, after more than two years
operating 24-hours a day, seven days a
week, our trust in now focusing PALS
helpline hours on its busiest period,
between 8am and 8pm on weekdays, from
Friday, April 1.
Calls received out of hours will still be
directed to relevant services - such as outof-hours GPs, NHS Direct, Samaritans and
the new Carers Emergency Response
Service – by our trained operators.
Denise Wilson, the trust’s director of
quality, improvement and patient experience,
said: “After looking at call data, the number
of calls falls significantly after 8pm, many of
which are from a small number of known,
regular callers.
“These changes will enable PALS staff to
spend more time engaging with patients
and carers, providing them with advice and
information within their own care setting.”
l Our PALS can be contacted by calling
0800 953 0045, texting 07985 883 509
or emailing [email protected]
how PALS will operate, and we remain
committed to providing world class care in
21st century facilities.
Work began in February to prepare the site
of our new hospital in Yardley Green Road,
Bordesley Green, which will provide an
85-bed unit and create more than 300 jobs.
It is hoped Yardley Green will be completed
before the end of 2012.
Progress on this project can be followed on
our website, where details of new jobs may be
found as they arise, or via our Twitter feed
@BSMHFT.
Looking ahead the £17.7m Juniper Centre in
Moseley will be officially opened on May 19,
and on June 4 our trust will join forces with
charities and voluntary organisations to
promote Volunteers’ Week in Centenary
Square, Birmingham.
Sue Turner, chief executive.
Walk to Work Week
Now that spring has finally sprung and
the days are longer, why not try taking a
stroll during the day.
National Walk to Work Week takes place
next month (May 9-13) which highlights the
health benefits of this free activity.
Walking requires no special equipment, can
be fitted into your daily journey to or from
l For more information visit
www.walkingworks.org.uk/walk-towork-week-2011
Image courtesy of NHS Photo Library.
Do you have a story which could feature in Trust Talk?
If so, then contact the editor, Emma Brady on
0121 301 1298 or email [email protected].
Deadline for the June issue is May 6, 2011.
2
work, at lunchtime or throughout the day.
It is a great way to remain active if you are
desk-bound at work.
During the week you’ll be able keep track of
your walking online, see how the miles
walked and calories burned add up, and earn
online rewards for your achievements.
Why not start a friendly competition with
your colleagues to see who will be
workplace’s top walker at the end of
the week.
To get the most out of Walk to Work Week
try to get as many colleagues involved as
possible, alternatively try joining up with other
teams or workplaces.
A presentation to help explain to others
what Walk to Work Week is all about and
what they can expect is available online at
Walk to Work Week website.
Trust Talk
deadlines
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be submitted by the dates listed below.
ISSUE
DEADLINE
June 2011
May 6
October 2011
September 2
August 2011
December 2011
July 8
November 4
Our trust wins a prestigious Patient Safety Award
Our trust has won an HSJ/Nursing Times
Patient Safety Award for its innovative
approach to reducing violence.
Staff at Ardenleigh – a forensic unit for
child and adolescent mental health services
(FCAMHS) – worked with West Midlands
Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to
tackle challenging and violent behaviour on
the specialist unit in Erdington, Birmingham.
This initiative to promote patient, staff and
public safety at Ardenleigh beat six other
projects to win the patient safety in
mental health category at the annual Patient
Safety Awards ceremony, held in London on
March 9.
West Midlands Police have a liaison officer
at the unit, Pc Karen Burnham, who works
with young service users through mediation
to resolve issues before they escalate further.
Pc Burnham, who has worked with the team
there for two years, said: “Ardenleigh is a
community and this project has provided a
way, through partnership working, to achieve
what previously had been thought impossible.
“All partners have seen improvements since
this project was launched in 2009, especially
the staff and the young people at this unit.”
Fiona McGruer, programme director for the
trust’s youth programme, said: “This is a
challenging service involving specialist work,
but this project has helped our team and our
partners who work with young people tackle
this issue, and violence levels at Ardenleigh
have been significantly reduced as a result,
ensuring the unit is a safe place for patients
and staff.”
The team from Ardenleigh collect their Patient Safety Award.
Sue Turner, chief executive of our trust,
congratulated everyone involved in the unit’s
award-winning initiative.
“Winning this Patient Safety Award is
fantastic news for all the hard work we and
the police have put into this initiative, but
ultimately it’s good news for our patients and
their families,” she said.
“To get national recognition like this is the
culmination of the team’s hard work in
collaboration with our partners in West
Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution
Service. We certainly have much to be
proud of.”
The Patient Safety Awards, hosted by the
Health Service Journal and Nursing Times,
celebrate excellence in one of the most
challenging areas of modern healthcare.
Judges compiled shortlists from nearly
400 entries across the 15 categories.
Opening the ceremony Alistair McLellan,
editor of the HSJ, praised shortlisted
candidates for not allowing themselves to be
distracted by “cost pressures and
organisational upheavals.”
He said: ”They have refused to accept those
constraints as an excuse for failing to reduce
patient harm. For that alone they are worthy
of recognition”.
Jenni Middleton, Nursing Times’ editor,
said: “We know from these awards that there
are healthcare professionals who are doing
a phenomenal job, who are proud to put
safety first.”
to delivering services.
Funding for research has increased over
the past few years, emphasising its
significance in the treatment and care of
service users.
Professor Max Birchwood, director of
research and innovation, said: “Research is a
crucial part of the trust. It helps us to develop
and market effective and high quality
services.
“With the changes in the way the NHS
will deliver its services in the future, quality
and innovation will be high on the agenda
and the trust is in a strong position to deliver
this well.”
During the event Dr Peter Bentham, who
leads on research into neurodegenerative
disorders and cognitive impairment, spoke
about an ongoing Alzheimer’s trial, while
Dr Clare Eddy, a senior research fellow,
spoke about her investigation into social
cognition of movement disorders.
Professor Birchwood added:
“Overall research and innovation has a lot of
impact on trust services, with our research
being recognised both nationally and
internationally.”
Research and development showcase
Our research and innovation team came
together to showcase its work at a
special event staged in Birmingham.
The exhibition, which took place at the
Centennial Centre in Ladywood on March
16, aimed to highlight the innovative work
which takes place within our trust.
It gave members of the research and
development team a chance to promote their
achievements within the department, which
has been praised both nationally and
internationally for its work.
Research and innovation has had to
adapt to the many changes within the
NHS over the past few years, as it moves
towards a more outcome-focused approach
Assembly of
governors
Our next assembly of governors
meeting will take place in June, in
Moseley.
The meeting, which will take place on
June 9, will be held in public at the
Uffculme centre, 52 Queensbridge Road,
Moseley, Birmingham. Time to be confirmed.
l Further information about this event
can be obtained by calling 0121 301
1274 or visiting www.bsmhft.nhs.uk
l For more information on our
research and innovation team call
0121 678 4327 or email
donna.o’[email protected]
3
Our trust and Staffordshire
University to share their expertise
Our trust and Staffordshire University
have signed an agreement to work
together to help educate staff and
develop world class services across the
West Midlands.
Chief executive Sue Turner and Hilary
Jones, dean of the university’s faculty of
health signed a memorandum of
understanding during a ceremony at its
Stafford campus on March 2.
This agreement will enable both
organisations develop and share their
expertise in ageing and mental health.
Both are committed to explore teaching,
training and development opportunities for
staff, alongside clinical support and
supervision and opportunities for research.
Sue said: “Mental health services in
Birmingham have a proud track record of
innovation and research, most recently with
developments in young people’s services,
acute health care settings and prisons, as
well as forensic services.
“So as we sign this agreement to an
ongoing partnership with Staffordshire
University, we have much to learn from each
other and much to celebrate.”
Hilary said: “We’re delighted to be joining
forces with a clinical partner, who is
committed to developing research and
development around ageing.”
Sue Turner and Hilary Jones sign the agreement.
Professor George Tadros, consultant in old
age psychiatry, and professor of ageing and
mental health at the university, said: “With the
growing ageing population and the need to
provide better quality care for older people,
our trust and Staffordshire University are
committed to develop the best possible
training for staff and students.”
Cakes for Comic Relief
Every other year across the country
people come together to raise money for
Comic Relief on Red Nose Day, and our
trust was no exception in March.
Mark Hillier and Angharad Newbold set out their cake
stall for Comic Relief.
Dates for your diary
APRIL
11
Members’ seminar on eating disorders
at Phoenix Hall, 1 Towpath Close,
Bordesley Village. Call 0121 301
1060 to book a place. 10am to 12pm.
11-17 Depression Awareness Week.
For more information visit
www.depressionalliance.org
14
Imagine depression support group
meet at St Matthew’s Church, Great
Barr. Call 0121 353 6544 for more
details. 1pm to 5pm.
4
Staff at B1, the trust’s headquarters in
Ladywood, were busy baking and buying
cakes to raise money for Comic Relief.
A tasty variety of homemade cakes were
enjoyed by staff and visitors on March 18,
who raised nearly £120.
Mark Hillier, head of patient and public
involvement, and Angharad Newbold, clinical
governance manager, were faced by
colleagues keen to have a cake and support
the good cause.
As Comic Relief took place before the
monthly Dress Down Day, which regularly
raises money for charities linked to mental
health in Birmingham and Solihull, staff were
encouraged to wear something red or silly for
a small donation too.
MAY
5
16
28
Solihull Carers Group meet at the
Lyndon Clinic, Hobs Meadow, Solihull.
Call 0121 678 4800 for more
details. 2pm.
Birmingham Carers’ Forum meet at
the Council House, Victoria Square,
city centre. Call 0121 675 8176 for
details. 11am to 1pm.
Birmingham Gay Pride parade, through
the city centre ending at the Arcadian
Centre, Hurst Street. Noon to 8pm
Trust launches text
messaging service
Keeping up to date with appointments,
events and the latest news from across
our trust is about to become easier,
with a new text messaging service.
To improve communication with service
users and levels of patient care, an
appointment reminder service will be trialled
by several community mental health teams
during April and May.
Harry Watton, Longbridge, Riverside and
Yewcroft teams will be the first to use text
alerts to remind people of appointments
with clinical staff.
Clinical teams will ask patients’ permission
to send text messages to their mobile
phone, and will request consent for
appointment alerts, event notification and
trust news, depending on which type of
texts they are happy to receive.
The message will remind the recipient of
the time, date and venue, in case it has
been forgotten or needs to be rearranged.
This service will be made available to
others teams across the trust later in
the summer.
The response to an initial text messaging
pilot scheme has been very positive from
both service users and staff.
Research shows more and more people in
the UK now own a mobile phone, and are
more likely to use text messages to
communicate with others.
Text updates on trust events and news will
be available later this year.
Service users can be notified of events
relevant to their care, such as a social event
or group activity, and news of trustwide
events such as competitions or seminars.
Care teams who will be using the text
messaging service, will be discussing it with
service users soon and gaining their
consent before providing the service.
Help us be green
Trust Talk is committed to being
‘green’, so we are offering readers the
chance to receive the magazine
electronically.
By sending it out as an email we will
require less paper copies to be printed,
therefore helping to save trees as well as
cutting costs.
Also if your base, unit or office frequently
receives too many copies, please let the
editor know.
l If you want to receive Trust Talk via
email send your name, current
address and preferred email address
to [email protected]
Help make a difference through volunteering
Volunteers are set to play a major part in
the Big Society, which Prime Minister
David Cameron hopes will empower local
communities to contribute to services
and facilities in their area.
However our trust has pioneered the
inclusion of volunteers for some time,
enabling members of our local communities
to participate in providing a caring
environment for service users.
Volunteers are able to enhance patient
experience and we have opportunities in
various parts of our trust. If a patient does not
have friends or relatives living close by, a
volunteer may be recruited to visit them, to
ensure they have some social contact,
someone to talk to.
The benefit of volunteering has a positive
impact on the volunteer – the routine and
contact with staff and service users can
provide volunteers with a sense of purpose
and responsibility. It can improve self esteem
and enable volunteers to gain new skills and
experience.
Many of our volunteers say that they are
happy in their role and often develop it
further or increase the amount of
volunteering they do.
Min Gurung and Christopher Kynaston both
Christopher Kynaston wanted to volunteer to ‘give something back’ to our trust after his treatment.
volunteer within the trust’s early intervention
service, assisting its Youthspace team.
Christopher first got a taste of volunteering
through Fairbridge, an organisation which
works closely with our early intervention
Min Gurung has found volunteering a good way to gain valuable experience.
How do I volunteer?
Anyone over the age of 16 can register
to become a volunteer, and our trust is
joining forces with partner organisations
to showcase opportunities at a special
event in Birmingham in June.
Volunteers do not undertake the same
duties as staff but they can make a real
difference to the services our trust provides.
To celebrate Volunteers’ Week and the
European Year of Volunteering, staff will be
on hand to answer any enquiries about
volunteering during the event in Centenary
Square, in the city centre, on June 4.
To find out more details about this
Volunteers’ Week event, and volutneering
with our trust, visit our website
www.bsmhft.nhs.uk.
Staff can register their opportunities with
Naomi Hawkins, our volunteer co-ordinator –
and Trust Talk’s cover star – on 0121 301
1012 or email [email protected].
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer
service to provide a support network for
young people with mental health issues.
“After an intensive four years at university
studying politics, I had paid employment but
the symptoms of my schizophrenia meant that
life was quite difficult,” he said.
“I got support from the early intervention
service, and my illness was managed, but I
found that I needed a routine and something
productive to be involved with.
“The trust’s services gave me so much
support when I needed it that I wanted to give
something back, so now I chair Youthspace
meetings and work closely with senior staff.”
Min, originally from Nepal, discovered
volunteering not only boosted his CV but has
kept him occupied after graduating from
university.
He said: “I have a degree in IT and I love
technology, so volunteering to keep the
Youthspace website updated is a good
opportunity to make sure I keep improving
my skills.
“Volunteering is a good way to learn about
an organisation. I hope to get paid employment. Ideally I would love to work for this trust
but I know the volunteering I do is good for
my CV and will help when I apply for any job.”
can also register their interest through
these channels.
For more information about volunteering,
try visiting these websites:
l BVSC, Centre for Voluntary Action:
www.bvsc.org
l Volunteering England:
www.volunteering.org.uk
l Volunteers’ Week 2011:
www.volunteersweek.org.uk
5
Bordesley Green community engaged over our
After years of planning and permissions,
work on our trust’s newest facility in
Birmingham has finally began.
The Yardley Green hospital development will
create more than 300 jobs for the surrounding
community in Bordesley Green and beyond.
With funding finalised by the Department of
Health, and final planning permission granted
by Birmingham City Council, work began on
clearing the site in Yardley Green Road in
February.
However, the groundwork in preparing for
this multi-million pound facility is not just about
clearing soil and digging foundations.
Our trust’s community engagement team
have been staging a variety of events,
including educational plays and seminars, in
the local area since January to tackle the
stigma around mental health.
One in four people will experience a mental
health problem during their lifetime.
A series of talks on topics such as learning
disabilities, domestic violence, eating disorders
and how drugs can impact health and
wellbeing, have been held at Phoenix Hall, in
Bordesley Village, to help increase public
awareness of mental health issues.
More than 100 people have attended free
performances of Unsent Letters – a play
delivered in partnership by our trust,
Birmingham Rep and the Hearth Centre – at
Lakhvir Rellon addresses one of the mental health seminars.
Artists’ impression of the trust’s new Yardley Green development.
venues across the city including the Midland
Arts Centre, The Drum, Birmingham University,
St Paul’s Vicarage in Bordesley Green, and
Small Heath Methodist Church.
The play centres on Peggy, a service user in
a medium secure unit, regarded as an unfit
mother by her son, Bradley, who is put up for
adoption at the age of seven. Peggy can only
communicate with him through birthday cards
sent to an anonymous PO Box address.
A series of monologues which represent the
letters she can’t send to him over the years,
which give an insight into the stigma
experienced by people with mental health
difficulties – and how it can affect those
around them.
Each performance was followed by a debate
and a wide ranging discussion on what can be
done to reduce the stigma surrounding
mental health.
Community screenings of a short film called
The Revolving Door, which shows how
important it is for services and communities to
work together to help those struggling with
their mental health, have also taken place.
Lakhvir Rellon, director of community
engagement, said: “Mental ill health and
society’s reaction to it remains one of the last
taboos in communities
“Through discussions, events, seminars and
talks, our team aims to increase public
awareness and promote understanding of
these issues across Birmingham and Solihull”
Letters were also hand-delivered to hundreds
of homes in the vicinity of the new hospital,
to let them know when work would begin and
the trust’s vacancy bulletin outlining job
opportunities are being distributed within
the community on a fortnightly basis.
Interserve, who will build the new hospital,
Why mental health matters
6
WHETHER IT’S DIFFICULTIES
WITH LEARNING
WHETHER IT’S DRUGS
THAT THEY’VE TAKEN
WHETHER IT’S BEING MADE
REDUNDANT
OR NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES,
MENTAL ILLNESS CAN AFFECT
CHILDREN
OR SOMETHING IN THEIR GENES,
MENTAL ILLNESS CAN
AFFECT ADOLESCENTS
OR PROBLEMS WITH THE WIFE,
MENTAL ILLNESS CAN AFFECT
PEOPLE
BEFORE THEY START SCHOOL.
IN THEIR TEENS.
THROUGHOUT THEIR WORKING
LIFE.
new hospital
were chosen as the main contractor because
they are a member of the Considerate
Contractors scheme, which means they
promise to keep disruption to the local
community to a minimum.
Progress can be monitored on our website
www.bsmhft.nhs.uk and via our Twitter
account @BSMHFT, while information on
jobs at Yardley Green can also be found on
the NHS Jobs website – www.jobs.nhs.uk.
Anyone with questions about this
development can call 0800 988 3367,
which is staffed 24 hours a day seven
days a week, by people who speak
English, Punjabi and Mirpuri.
Alternatively queries can be sent via
email to [email protected]
Trust supports epic mental health walk
our Uffculme centre in Moseley on April 4,
In May 1986, football fan Tony Russell
embarked on an epic 2,355 mile walk
to explain why he is going the distance to
raise awareness, as well as funds, about
visiting every professional football club in
England and Wales to raise money for
mental health.
He said: “I called this walk What’s It All
cancer research.
About? because for a long time I thought part
Now, 25 years later, the 56-year-old from
Barnsley in Yorkshire, is visiting mental health
of my own mental health problems were
caused by the fact I think deeply about things.
organisations all over England to raise money
for Breakthrough Art, a user-led arts in mental
I will be talking to politicians, celebrities, senior
health officials along the way, and maybe get
health organisation, and Combat Stress which
supports ex-service personnel with conditions
some answers.
like post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I’m doing this primarily to raise awareness of
mental health, as I was shocked to learn that
The walk started in Beckenham, Kent, on
March 22 and along the way he
less than one per cent of all
charitable donations go to mental
will talk to politicians, celebrities
health organisations.”
and senior health officials
including our chief executive
On his original journey, Tony was
Sue Turner, who will join him on
joined by personalities including
cricketer Ian Botham, snooker player
the What’s It All About? walk
Steve Davis, EastEnders actor Leslie
when it reaches Birmingham on
Grantham and former England
April 3 and 4.
Charity walker Tony Russell.
After leaving Birmingham
manager Bobby Robson.
Tony will walk through 22 cities including
l To find out more about Tony’s walk
Leicester, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool,
and how to support it, visit
before finishing in Newcastle on May 23.
www.breakthroughmhart.com/
Tony, founder of Breakthrough Art, will
an-epic-walk or follow him on Twitter
also give a special member seminar at
@tonyr2011
Cartoon competition
In February Trust Talk launched cartoon
competition, to give readers a chance to
draw their own cartoon strip to feature
this edition.
The winning entry below was drawn by
Dr Gareth Rees, based at Little Bromwich
Centre, who will receive a selection of arts
materials.
Trust Talk is running the competition again,
calling for entries based on the theme of
“Ways to boost wellbeing in the summer”.
All entries must be black and white, line
drawn, eight-frame cartoon strips but must not
be coloured or shaded, with each caption
being no more than 30 words. It must be the
artist’s own original work. A template is
available at www.bsmhft.nhs.uk
Post entries to Trust Talk Cartoon
Competition, Communications
Department, FREEPOST Plus RRXE
GTKC-GRBZ, BSMHFT, Trust HQ, 50
Summer Hill Road, Birmingham, B1 3RB.
Digital entries can be submitted via email
to [email protected]
The deadline for entries is Friday,
May 6, 2011.
written and illustrated by Dr Gareth Rees
WHETHER IT’S BECOMING
MORE FORGETFUL
WHETHER IT’S GRIEVING
FOR LOVED ONES
OR UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE,
MENTAL ILLNESS CAN AFFECT
PEOPLE
OR LOSING THEIR SELF WORTH,
MENTAL ILLNESS CAN AFFECT
PEOPLE TILL
WHEN THEY REACH OLDER AGE.
THEIR LAST DAYS ON EARTH.
MENTAL ILLNESS AFFECTS
ONE IN FOUR PEOPLE DURING
THEIR LIFETIME, BUT MENTAL
HEALTH MATTERS TO EVERYBODY.
THERE IS NO HEALTH WITHOUT
MENTAL HEALTH.
7
Can exercise help
new mums with
‘baby blues’?
The team at Riverside.
Tales from Riverside: How
three teams became one
As the NHS prepares to face a major
reorganisation, one of our trust’s teams
in east Birmingham shares its own
experience of working in new ways.
Riverside community mental health team
(CMHT) was formed last August, bringing
together the three community teams of
Shard End and Sheldon, South Yardley, and
Acocks Green.
With the merger and reduction in clinical
resources, the team was challenged to come
up with innovative new ways of working to
improve patient experience, motivate staff
and provide best treatment.
A special Meet the Riverside Team event
was held in October to showcase our vision
on new ways of working within a CMHT.
Attendees included chief executive Sue
Turner, medical director Dr Peter Lewis and
Dee Wilson executive director of quality,
innovation and patient experience.
During this event, the team took the
opportunity to talk about the changes that
had taken place, the formation of the new
team with the appointment of two
consultants Dr Vincent Udenze and Dr
Rajashree Ray and team manager Donna
Lloyd.
Ideas about how to improve the service to
make it better and what motivates staff came
from the team and were ratified at an away
day held prior to the event.
Dr Jan Birtle, clinical director of CAPS
welcomed everyone before the team’s senior
clinicians presented the talk, which focused
on improving management and delivery of
community mental health services.
The Riverside service model included
innovative ways of working, like the concept
of a developmental role for clinicians to
become lead clinicians or champions within
the team. The clinical leads were introduced
by Caroline Wilde.
This was recognised as a fantastic way of
using skill mix within the team and offering
patients a range of expertise.
Riverside’s team have also approved flexible
working hours to extend community mental
health team’s services, enabling them to offer
patients, families and GPs appointments and
CPA reviews between 8am and 8pm on
selected weekdays.
A needs-based care coordination role was
also put forward as an innovative concept,
which will look a patients’ individual needs
and reflect any complexities.
Programme director Alison Simpson and
lead consultant Dr Udenze, provided an
update on the access and wellbeing CMHT
exit pathway project, and discussed the
experience of working with the independent
sector organisation.
Finally Sandra Pinnock, Patient Advice and
Liaison Service manager, outlined action
being taken to improve patient care, and
explained future projects such as patient
information packs and groups were also
being planned.
New mothers diagnosed with postnatal
depression are being invited to take part
in a study at Birmingham University, to
see if regular exercise can reduce its
symptoms.
Postnatal depression (PND) affects about
one in ten new mothers, with symptoms
including low mood, irritability, fatigue, anxiety,
forgetfulness, inability to cope and feelings of
guilt or worthlessness.
This can impact on the mother, her baby
and their family as a whole.
While doctors may refer women diagnosed
with PND onto talking therapies or prescribe
medication such as antidepressants, this
study aims to find out if regular exercise
such as walking can help too.
Researchers want to recruit 200 women
with PND from across the West Midlands
into the PAM-PeRS study, with the help of
GPs and health visitors.
All mothers continue with any treatment
suggested by their doctor, but half will also
receive support to become more active from
a physical activity facilitator (PAF), who will
find out from each woman what activities she
likes and what is available in her local
community.
Dr Amanda Daley, who is leading the
project, said: “Mostly, women will be
encouraged to pram-walk as it is free, active
and gets women out of the house.
“Each woman will meet the PAF twice at
home, and then stay in touch by phone.
Women will be followed up after six months
to see if those who met the PAF have
reduced symptoms of PND compared to
those women who did not.”
l If you would like more information on
this study please contact the trial
coordinator Ruth Blamey on 0121 414
6891 or email [email protected]
Team on the move
Erdington community health team
moved out of the Underwood Centre
last month.
On March 25 the team, previously based
in Underwood Close, Erdington, relocated to
our Northcroft site.
The team can now be contacted at
Northcroft Hospital, 190 Reservoir Road,
Erdington, B23 6DW, or by calling
0121 301 5200.
Our research innovators at Devon House
Devon House adult psychotherapy
service is involved in various research
projects that develop the evidence-base
and awareness of it, within
psychodynamic psychotherapy.
The research and development team, based
at Radclyffe House in Edgbaston, have a
coordinated research and evaluation work
stream, which includes a routine outcomes
8
system to review effectiveness of therapy and
assessment of service user satisfaction.
It also has links with other trust services,
Hear Me See Me, local universities and
CORE-IMS – an outcomes development
organisation – to progress projects, set
benchmarks and produce practice-based
evidence.
Our trust’s research and innovation team are
demonstrating quality in clinical service
provision and working with our partners and
stakeholders in this climate of delivering
outcomes of patient choice.
For more information about the team’s
work contact Rachel Hirschfield on
0121 678 4326 or email
[email protected]
Birmingham neuropsychiatry team hit
the right note at BNPA meeting
Members of our trust’s neuropsychiatry
team struck a chord in more ways than
one at the British Neuropsychiatry
Association (BNPA)’s annual meeting in
London.
For the second year running, BNPA’s
annual event, held at the Institute of Child
Health on February 10, was dominated by
presentations made by our trust’s clinicians.
BNPA’s meeting is open to clinicians of all
disciplines with an interest in
neuropsychiatry, and this year four of the
nine members’ presentations and five out of
the nine posters were from our specialists in
Birmingham.
Dr Anita Pierce scooped the prize for best
poster for her Cochrane review of atypical
anti-psychotic medications in Tourette’s
syndrome, part of her thesis for her MSc in
clinical psychiatry at Birmingham University.
Dr Andrea Cavanna was heavily involved,
with his name featured in eight of nine
abstracts, including his collaborations with
the University of Pavia in Italy.
Dr Cavanna said: “We should be really
proud of what we have achieved here.
“Birmingham neuropsychiatry produces the
most high quality research of any
neuropsychiatry unit in the UK.”
Another delegate referred to the service as
a “powerhouse” and a “role model for
fledgling services”.
The team, based at the Barberry in
Edgbaston, were particularly proud of
medical student Matthew Barns, who made
The Babinski Boys: Dr Hugh Rickards (keyboards), Brian Malden (trumpet), Jon Raphael (bass), Ed Davies (drums)
and Martin Leeson (alto sax) perform at the BNPA conference.
his first presentation about his work on
impulse control disorders in Parkinson’s
disease.
As well as hitting the right note with
delegates during the two-day conference,
Dr Hugh Rickards, consultant in
neuropsychiatry and BNPA secretary, did so
in the evening with his newly-formed jazz
band, The Babinski Boys.
His band colleagues also include a former
EEG technician, a furniture maker,
weatherman, and a professor of
anaesthetics.
They played into the night performing old
jazz standards as well as newer tracks, much
to the delegates’ delight.
Dr Rickards said: “It’s nice that, after a hard
day’s science and conferencing, we still have
time to relax and have some fun.”
RiO update: Early adopters announced
The RiO programme team have been
working hard on developing the
application, ready for implementation
across our trust.
RiO will replace the ePEX and Paragon
care records systems. Its introduction will
bring new ways of working for all staff and is
an important part of transforming and
modernising our services.
In time, there will be just one care record
available at point of care, which will improve
patient care, reduce risks and manage our
services better.
RiO will ensure alerts, critical risk and care
plan information are readily available and
notified to the right people, which will reduce
risks for both service users and staff.
This will be rolled out in a phased approach
across the trust with both male and female
secure services, older people’s services and
CAMHS being the first areas due to go live
between May and July.
As a result, the training programme for
these early adopters is due to commence
shortly. Staff from those areas will be notified
of training dates and will be expected to
attend training sessions.
To coincide with RiO training, the team are
also running a number of basic IT skills
workshops, for staff who might need to
brush up on their basic IT skills.
If you work in any of the early adopters
services and would like more information on
the training sessions, email
[email protected]
For further information about the
RiO programme, please contact
Sandra Kelley on 0121 301 1102 or
email [email protected]
9
International Women’s Day celebrations
Staff and service users enjoyed a Zumba
class as part of a special event to
celebrate International Women’s Day last
month.
The Azaadi Community Drug Team staged a
day long event at Nechells Green Community
Centre on March 8 to showcase the variety of
support available to women to help them
embrace recovery from addiction.
Azaadi’s own women’s group was also
launched at the event, to enable female
service users to get support with their path to
recovery and abstinence.
Representatives from support organisations
including Eespro, Zephyr, Aquarius, Lateef
Project, Safe Project and Phoenix Futures,
also attended to provide information about
their services.
Community advice and taster sessions
where also delivered by Inspire Futures, an
organisation based in Alum Rock.
Other activities included beauty therapy,
henna art and flower arranging. The event
ended with Zumba dancing to help promote
importance of keeping fit for physical health.
The International Women’s Day event was
well attended and hailed as a success, thanks
to all involved.
l For more information about Azaadi
and the women’s group, contact Nick
Maiden at East Birmingham Community
Drug Team on 0121 685 7777.
Staff and service users enjoy the Zumba dancing class.
Recovery group proves popular with
Azaadi’s service users
A new recovery group set up by the
Azaadi community drugs team has gone
from strength to strength in its first six
months.
The group, which is open to all service users
who access our trust’s addiction services, was
launched at the team’s base in Washwood
Heath last November.
Drug workers John Rogers and Manjit
Singh established the Azaadi Recovery Group
to offer peer support to patients who are
different stages of their journey from
addiction to recovery.
John explained: “Service users who are
successfully travelling the road of recovery
are able to offer support and deliver a
message of hope to those who have just
entered treatment.”
The first meeting on November 8 was
attended by two ex-service users who came
to share their experiences of recovery.
From initial attendance of two or three
people, weekly attendance has quadrupled to
eight or nine.
Drug workers based at Azaadi community
drugs team regularly discuss how the group
benefits service users and pass details to
John Rogers, who texts an invitation to
prospective new members.
As a result of the group’s growth other
10
professionals have been invited to deliver
presentations and take question and answer
sessions on issues such as prescribing and
detoxification options.
Feeback from recovery group attendees has
been very positive.
Ex-service user FH said: “The work that is
going on here at Azaadi CDT around recovery
is really great. I wish CDTs were doing this 15
years ago. I get a real buzz having attended
these group meetings.”
CH shared that “since coming to the group
my panic attacks have reduced from three or
four a week to one panic attack in three
weeks. I am now doing other activities, I am
not so preoccupied with my daily methadone
script now, and I now see that if I do want to
reduce that it can be done as these lads are
living proof.”
TO, an Azaadi service user, added: “I will
attend again in the future when work permits
as I would like to share my experience
especially with the younger people so they
don’t have to suffer like I did”
l Azaadi Recovery Group meets every
Monday at 2pm at 296 Washwood Heath
Road, Washwood Heath, B8 2UL. For
information contact John Rogers or
Manjit Singh on 0121 685 7777.
Thanks to the
Azaadi team
This personal
testimony comes
from June*, who
lives in
Birmingham, and
is now clean from
drugs as a result
of accessing our
addiction services.
“I should start with
my choice of drugs,
which were heroin
and crack. I’ve been
clean from heroin for five years now, and it’s
been a year since I used crack.
“It took me a few goes to get where I am
today, and if it wasn’t for the support from
the Azaadi team and my partner, I’m not
sure I would have. I have achieved a lot of
my goals, but still want more.
“I have just been reunited with my son,
who I haven’t seen for 10 years because of
the drugs. It’s the best reward I could ever
have asked for, becoming drug free.
“I am also renewing my relationship with
my family, who I also haven’t seen for seven
years.
“At the time I was using, I thought there
was no ending to it. But now I’m at the end
of the struggle, I see it was the best thing I
could have done for myself. Because we are
worth it.
“All the best to you all who are just starting
your treatment. This is the beginning of your
life, grab it with both hands, accept the
support you are offered. It’s out there.
“The support from the team at Azaadi was
the help I needed, and I thank them for
giving me my life back, and giving me the
chance to prove to myself there is light at
the end of the tunnel.”
l Trust Talk would like to thank June for
sharing her story. Her name has been
changed to protect her identiy.
Member seminars
Our trust organises a wide range of
seminars on mental health topics for our
members.
These are held at Phoenix Hall, 1 Towpath
Close, Bordesley Green, Birmingham.
The next seminar is on eating disorders led
by Pam Virdi, a psychotherapist with our
eating disorders service, on Monday,
April 11 at 10am.
l For more information and to book
a place contact the community
engagement team on
0121 301 1060 or email
[email protected]
Christmas card
competition
Spring has barely sprung but Trust Talk is
launching our trust’s Christmas card design
competition in April.
All staff, service users and members are invited
to enter a festive drawing, design or painting
which could feature on our trust’s Christmas card
for 2011.
One overall winner, who will receive a
certificate and gift voucher, will be chosen by our
chief executive Sue Turner, along with three
runners-up who will also receive a gift voucher.
Their Christmas card designs will feature in the
December issue of Trust Talk.
All entries should have a Christmas theme,
created using either felt-tip pens, paint, crayons,
pencils or computer design/graphics. Collages
and photograph-based designs will not be
accepted.
All artwork should be on A4 paper, either
portrait or landscape, but must not be folded.
Entries may be scanned and submitted digitally
via email, but image resolution must be at least
300dpi, if help is needed with this contact the
trust on the number below.
All entrants must also provide the following
information with their design: Name, age, email
address and telephone number. Please state
whether you are member of staff, service user or
member.
Entries should be marked Christmas card
design competition 2011, and can be emailed to
[email protected] or sent by post to
Laura Brace, chief executive’s department,
BSMHFT Trust HQ, 50 Summer Hill Road,
Birmingham, B1 3RB
The deadline for entries is Friday, September 2.
Entries received after this will not be considered.
Unfortunately we cannot return artwork but
unsuccessful entries may be collected from
B1 reception from December 1. Details of this
will be posted on our website.
Entrants submitting artwork for the competition
are consenting for it to be used by our trust for
its Christmas card and any related promotional
material.
l For more information call Laura Brace
on 0121 301 1305 or email
[email protected]
Share your stories
Our trust is seeking to learn from the ways
patients and carers make use of our
services, and their own experiences.
We are looking for a selection of people to
share personal stories of how things were
during their time with us.
The stories will be recorded, anonymously if
requested, to help us better understand the
patient or carer journey.
If this interests you, please contact Mark
Hillier, our head of patient and public
involvement, to find out more on 0121 301
1284 or email [email protected]
l Trust Talk also wants to hear from
service users who wish to contribute to
the magazine. Call the editor on 0121
301 1298 or email
[email protected]
Governor Spotlight:
John Robinson
Service user governor –
Birmingham East and North
Why did you become a governor of
our trust?
I became a governor of the trust to make a
difference for service users in the
Birmingham and Solihull. Hopefully, I will
help them have a say in how the trust and its
services are run. I have always been
interested in community issues, as I was a
city councillor for Birmingham before I
became ill with depression.
What motivates your interest in mental
health and our trust?
I have a very big motivation for my interest;
I have suffered from a mental health issue
myself since 2003. However, I have now
come through it myself and have proven that
you can overcome it and recover. I am now
looking for work myself at the moment. From
my experiences I really also understand the
stigma associated with mental health, as
there have been issues about having to
declare that I have had a mental health
condition on job applications forms.
Have your experiences of mental health
helped you in your role as a trust
governor? If so, how?
From my own personal experience, I do
understand what people are going through
and how they have experienced the service.
I have seen the big changes myself, from the
old workhouse to modern hospitals. When I
first became ill I was in a dark, 25-bed ward
with just a curtain between each bed. To see
some of our new centres, they have single
rooms with ensuite facilities and bright day
rooms, which are much better for service
users and staff to work in.
part in patient environment PEAT
inspections, tendering processes and
reviews because I can evaluate services
from a service user’s point of view. Through
these meetings I have met lots of trust staff
and members, and I always have a talk to
them and discuss issues. I also took part in
the Strictly Come Cleaning campaign, which
was good fun but it had a serious side to it.
What would you like to see our trust
achieve over the next 12 months?
I’d love to see it achieve a higher
membership of the trust and that members
give 100 per cent – there’s nothing wrong
with aiming high. I would really like to see
the trust aim high in standards and keep up
the good work it already does. To be the
best mental health trust in the country.
How do you relax in order to maintain
your own wellbeing?
I have been teaching myself the saxophone…
I like to sit down and have a blast. Music is a
great distraction from things. This helps me
to relax and focus the mind. I also think it’s
good to look forward to the summer to
come.
As we are a foundation trust, how do you
plan to communicate with your
constituency?
By visiting sites and day centres, talking to
people and then feeding back to the
assembly of governors and debating the
issue. I am keen to concentrate on the
serious issues, the things that actually make
a difference. Obviously first, investigating the
issue as best I can myself, so I have all the
facts needed to discuss it. I have a lot of
involvement with the trust. I regularly take
Contact details: John Robinson, c/o Foundation Trust Office,
B1 – Trust HQ, 50 Summer Hill Road, Ladywood, Birmingham, B1 3RB
Email: [email protected] Tel: 0121 301 1229
11
Photography Corner
Runner-up: Ben Evans, Hodge Hill, Birmingham –
Cocky cock-a-doodle-do.
How you can enter
Photos can be colour or black and white
images and must not feature people, be the
photographer’s own work, and digital entries
should not be larger than 4MB.
Winner: Mike Kendall, Kings Heath, Birmingham – Dash.
Runner-up: Mrs M Harper, Northfield,
Birmingham – A local fox’s siesta.
Trust Talk’s call for photos for this
new feature, inspired by Arts All Over
The Place, attracted dozens of entries
which were all of a very high standard.
As a result, the editor and judges have
decided to continue the Photography
Corner competition, and look forward
to receiving many more impressive
images for June’s issue.
Anagrams
Below are 10 words which are linked to
features in this issue of Trust Talk.
Can you figure out what they are?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
STREVOULEN
ERSOSNIPED
TASYFE
GNAECLIN
NIALWGK
RAPPYHOGOTH
ANTOROC
TEPSAINT
RICEVES
DUGEBT
Answers: Volunteers, depression, safety,
cleaning, walking, photography, cartoon,
patients, service, budget.
12
Word Search
Words to find:
arts
assembly
awards
carers
dignity
exercise
gardening
governor
happy
healthy
juniper
spring
The best entries will receive a £30 voucher
and will be printed in the June issue of
Trust Talk. This month’s competition
attracted a lot of animal photos, so it was
suggested that Spring would be a good
theme for this month’s competition.
Deadline for entries is Friday, May 6, 2011.
Email digital entries to
[email protected].
If submitting hard copies, send them to:
Photography Corner, Communications
Department, FREEPOST Plus
RRXE GTKC-GRBZ, BSMHFT, Trust HQ,
50 Summer Hill Road, Birmingham,
B1 3RB.