trust matters may 2011
DESCRIPTION
SMHPT NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
Following the appointment of Aidan
Thomas as chief executive the Trust has
been welcoming more friendly faces into
its midst.
Barbara McLean has now stepped in as
director of nursing following Robert Bolas’
retirement. Barbara comes with a wealth
of experience of developing nursing
leadership and managing and delivering
mental health services. Her key priorities
are service user engagement, clinical
development and shared
learning.
Barbara is looking
forward to meeting staff and clinical
teams: “I want to make sure I am getting
on the wards and in departments. We run
a 24-hour service and I want to ensure
that staff who work out of office hours
have the opportunities for the same level
of development and learning.”
Roz Brooks, director of quality and
nursing at Norfolk and Waveney Mental
Health Trust, will take over the role post-
merger.
With the secondment of Robert Nesbitt to
NWMHFT, we have now been joined by
Paula Bourthis who takes over the role
of Trust secretary.
Some of her duties involve improving the
system for health records, tightening up
corporate governance and reviewing legal
arrangements.
Paula is already known to a number of
members of staff through some work she
completed last year
as part of the merger
assessments. Until
her retirement in
September her main
focus will be health
records.
At present, health
records are kept in a
number of places,
including basements
which are dirty,
damp and difficult
to access.
In addition, the records are kept in
alphabetical order, which presents
privacy and data protection problems.
Paula is working with project
managers Punna Athwall and Crissy
Webber towards a solution which will
see all the paper health records kept
at S Block in Bury St Edmunds, and
re-filed using a system called
Terminal Digit – this relies on records
being given a numerical reference
rather than using the patient’s name.
Paula’s core role, as Trust Secretary,
is a Board-level position. She is the
‘conscience’ of the Board, challenging
staff at all levels to ensure good
governance is achieved. This includes
making sure there are no financial
irregularities, that records are kept
appropriately and
that decisions are
followed up and not
allowed to fall by
the wayside.
Paula also leads on
Freedom of
Information Act
requests and
compliance with the
Data Protection Act.
Dr Hadrian Ball is
the new medical
director for the
Trust, having previously worked in Norfolk
for 10 years. He has also
been appointed medical director
designate for the merged Trust. “Before I
came here I was aware that the results of
service user surveys were stronger in
Suffolk than in Norfolk, and I am keen to
find out what is behind that,” he said.
“Since I’ve been here, I have been
extremely impressed with the IT
department. I’m very interested in the
concept of information systems and how
they can improve the productivity of
healthcare professionals.” Hadrian is
arranging visits to clinical and non-clinical
areas over the coming weeks and
months, and is keen to hear colleagues’
views. “I like listening to service user and
carer representatives and I generally try
to concentrate on putting into place the
systems and frameworks which allow
people to get on with their jobs and make
all the really important decisions.”
Hadrian is also the responsible clinical
officer and Caldicott Guardian.
Also in this issue: meet interim finance
director Keith Mansfield on page 7.
. Contact us at: member [email protected] . online: www.smhp.nhs.uk/trustmatters
Issue 55 . May 2011
Inside:• Executive team• Fire safety• Library services• Merger update• Clinical engagement• Service Governance Department• Equality survey results• Stepping Forward 12• Mental health and the media• Terrace Restaurant closure• Patient safety review• The Great Escape• Payment by Results success• Exploring shared decision-making• Farewells and fundraising• Working with voices• Beat the Blues campaign• Aidan meets staff and sets priorities• Meet Keith Mansfield• Employee Engagement Group• Getting to know you• Letters and compliments
Barbara McLean,
director of nursing
Paula Bourthis, Trust
Dr Hadrian Ball, medical
director
New faces welcomed
to the Trust Board
A key focus will
also be around the
governance of the Trust
– including making sure
that we spread the
learning, having that
drive to develop the
workforce. I also want to
make sure that we hear
the voices of service
users. I want to see how
involved they are, and
what that involvement
looks like.
People have been very
open and honest, which has been
very useful in assessing where we
are and where we need to be. My
overriding view was that there were
lots of good clinicians and staff who
wanted to do the right thing but they
were being hampered by a lack of
direction. The organisation at that
time felt tired, like it had run out of
steam. The changes the Board are
making now will address this.
I was impressed with the support
and corporate staff that I met as part of
the merger sessions. I was impressed
with how they were dealing with all the
uncertainty in a considered and dignified
way and although the merger presents a
great uncertainty for them as individuals,
none of them opposed the merger itself.
CET110223_TrustMattersMay11:pages 11/05/2011 13:16 Page 1
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All staff should receive training
in fire safety at least every 12
months. This is legal
requirement under the
Regulatory Reform (Fire
Safety) Order 2005, Health
and Safety at Work Act 1974
and the Management of
Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1999.
One of the Trust’s Fire Safety
Advisers who carries out
regular training sessions is
Richard Smith. “The training I
do includes knowledge of how
fires start, spread and grow,
potential causes of fire, good
housekeeping and fire
prevention; it also includes fire
safety awareness in the home.
After all, if you’re injured
tackling a fire at home, it has a
direct impact on your
availability for your employer”,
he said.
Richard (pictured) joined the
Trust in November 2010. He
began his career as a fire-
fighter in the West Midlands
Fire and Rescue Service
before moving to Suffolk Fire
and Rescue Service in 2004 to
take up a post as lead officer
on the Countries first Private
Finance Initiative scheme,
then he became the brigade’s
training officer and finally area
manager, east, responsible for
14 fire stations situated
around the coast from
Lowestoft to Felixstowe.
Richard undertakes around six
training sessions a week
covering the St Clement’s
site and various other
hospitals, clinics
and Trust
properties. His
colleague Malcolm
Codd generally
covers the North, Waveney and Great
Yarmouth whilst Ray Leonard, who
retires this month, generally covers
Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and the
West of the County. All three Advisers
also carry out detailed work place fire
risk assessments throughout both
counties as required.
The fire training covers:
- Fire chemistry (how fires start, stages
of combustion and fire spread.)
- Fire growth and fire protection within
buildings.
- Firefighting equipment (how to use the
extinguishers and classes of fire.)
- Hazard spotting and potential causes
of fire.
- Emergency action to take if you
discover a fire or hear the fire alarm
sound.
- Evacuation procedures and
strategies.
Training is usually carried out on site in
the area where people work however,
attendance at other establishments is
permitted where circumstances dictate.
Anyone wishing to arrange a work
place fire risk
assessment or a
fire training
session should
call the Estates
department on
01473 329750.
Fire
sa
fety
is e
ve
ryo
ne
’s b
usin
ess
RichardSmith, firesafetyadvisor
Approval date dueSuffolk will soon learn whether it will
merge with neighbouring Norfolk and
Waveney Mental Health Foundation
Trust. The two trusts have submitted a
business case and integration plan to
Monitor, which is an NHS regulatory
body and one of a number of
organisations that must approve the
merger. A decision is due mid-year.
Chief executive designate Aidan Thomas
said the submission to Monitor is one of
the most important steps in the
approvals process. “We were required to
make submissions to the Strategic
Health Authority, the Cooperation and
Competition Panel (CCP) and Monitor,”
he said. “If Monitor approves the merger
we have a green light to merge.
“The Merger Programme Management
Office, which is responsible for
overseeing the merger, is making sure
any request from Monitor is met swiftly.
This is designed to minimise the chance
of any delays in delivering their
decision.”
Aidan said the CCP has delivered its
advice and the Strategic Health Authority
has supported the merger.
“I am confident the merger will go ahead,
especially as we have strong support
from service users and other key
stakeholders.”
Preparation in the lead-up to themergerWork is already underway on the
structure of the combined Trust, with
most of the new executive directors
designate appointed.
“The executive directors designate are a
combination of staff from both Trusts,”
Aidan said. “These staff will step into
their roles when the merger takes place,
which is expected to be in July at the
earliest.”
A number of the directors designate are
already working in Suffolk following the
departure of several key staff.
“Our executive teams in Suffolk and
Norfolk have a large body of work to do
in preparation for the merger. This
includes aligning service governance
and finalising the locality structure,”
Aidan said. “It is also a busy time in
terms of staff as we match up human
resource policies and undertake the
TUPE process.
“The team working in Suffolk have been
focused on governance, as this is key
issue for the Trust.”
Are you up to date?More than 300 staff have registered to
receive electronic merger updates.
These updates include the merger staff
newsletter, which is published every
three weeks. To sign-up, write to the
Merger Programme Management Office
Merger update
Internet search engines, like Google,
provide a simple way to do a basic
search… but if you use these methods
alone, you won’t return the most credible
sources of information with which to
support your work. Academic journals
don’t always show up in search engines
and the results will display many
duplicates. Specialised databases, such
as NHS healthcare database PsychINFO,
will show each reference only once,
making it easier to scan through the
results. You can define your search to
specific fields such as author or title,
search using psychological index terms
or by keywords, and apply limitations
such as a date or population group.
Often, you are able to access the full-text
article immediately for free. Alternatively
you can save and email your results and
request articles that are not available to
you in full-text. If your role requires you to
employ evidence-based practice or you
are involved in conducting research then
you can book a database search training
session. Training can be delivered at a
location and time to fit in with you and
takes just an hour of your time. A
mediated literature searching service is
also available.
The full version of this article can beread on the Intranet under Trainingand Development > LibraryInformation and Knowledge services.
Searching beyond Google
CET110223_TrustMattersMay11:pages 11/05/2011 13:16 Page 2
Stepping Forward 12, the last in the
Trust’s current series of award-winning
engagement events took place at the
end of March. The events aim to
improve communication service users,
family carers, partner organisations and
Trust staff.
The event started with a welcome and
brief overview of the day and its aims by
Mayor Jane Chambers (Councillor for
Ipswich Borough and Suffolk County
Council) and Derek Jones, practice
educator, who facilitated the day.
The morning session was focused on
medication; how medicines work and
their side effects. The pharmacy team
also outlined the help and support
available for people who have queries
with their prescription. Esther Johnston,
head of pharmacy, hosted a question time
event with Trust clinical pharmacists
Karen Barker, Katherine Delargy and Sue
Galloway. Some of the questions people
asked included how to manage the side
effects of existing medication and which
foods can help improve mood and mental
wellbeing and why sometimes the same
medication looks different.
In the afternoon, the Trust’s director of
community engagement, Robert Nesbitt,
gave an update on the merger.
Following this, there was a feedback and
discussion session on previous Stepping
Forward events, along with consideration
of the direction that service user and
family carer engagement should take in
the future. At the end of the final session,
the Trust’s chairman, Lord Newton of
Braintree, presented Jeannie Wright with
a bouquet of flowers to thank her for all
her work in organising the Stepping
Forward series. Barbara Dale, from SUF,
also presented Jeannie with a gift.
To close the day, Jane Chambers thanked
everyone for coming and for their
continued input, which ensured the Trust
listened to people’s views.
As well as feeding back into the Trust as
a whole, there are also opportunities for
people to feed directly into the team who
may have provided their care.
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Changes to the executive team, see front
page, have brought a new and clearer focus
on clinical engagement.
Hadrian Ball, medical director, defined clinical
engagement as “the active partnership at
service level in all of the activities and
processes that are delivering the Trust’s
strategic objectives.
“Whether a strategy is clinical, financial,
estates, governance or workforce-related,
they should all point in the same direction,
closely bound together and have clinical
strategy at their core.”
A Clinical Cabinet has been set up to address
key many issues preventing effective
communications and clinical engagement.
The group comprises of senior managers as
well as clinical and medical leads and meets
regularly to resolve operational issues quickly.
Left to right: Mayor Jane Chambers, RobertNesbitt, Jeannie Wright and Derek Jones.
Robert Nesbitt, director of community
engagment, gives the latest merger updates.
Clinical engagement
Many thanks to all the staff who took
part in our equality survey at the end of
last year. 1 in 4 of you replied so it has
taken a while to complete the report! In
the next Trust Matters we’ll bring you
the highlights in a special article, or you
can read the full report at
www.smhp.nhs.uk> Information>
Equality and Diversity > Staff Equality
Survey 2010.
STOP PRESS! Following on from the
success of SMHPT’s membership
over the last three years, the new
merged Trust will be a Stonewall
Diversity Champion.
The Centre for Service Excellence, the
team that oversees governance in the
Trust, has been recently reorganised.
The new team name is the Service
Governance Department, and is based
in the main hospital building at St
Clement’s. The team covers:
• Complaints and serious incidents
requiring investigation (Nina Parkinson),
• Governance, Care Quality Commission
registration, clinical audit and the Quality
Account (Lisa Llewelyn), • Ligature audit
action plan (Risk manager Neil Paull),
and • Legal services and Mental Health
Act administration (Paula Bourthis).
Service Governance
Department
Equality survey -
results now out!
An Acute Care Forum has been set up to address clinical engagement concerns and
met for the first time on 10 May 2011. The main aim of this group is to provide
leadership and direction to the development of acute services across the whole
Trust. It ensures that the Trust’s clinical leads are communicating effectively and
working to the same goals. Although executive directors will be in attendance the
Forum will chaired by a senior clinician and/or a manager within clinical services.
Barbara Mclean, interim director of nursing, said: “The first Acute Care Forum went
extremely well. A work programme has been agreed, which looks at priorities for
services and included communication to clinicians and to Board level.”
The Forum follows key principles such as accessibility, relevance, efficiency and
care quality to underpin its work. It also provides a focus for agreeing acute service
priorities such as improving safety of service and the patient’s experience.
Barbara added: “The Forum will not only be looking at patient safety issues but will
be looking at the real concerns and demands on staff in the field.”
In 2010/11 a series of ‘Learning by
experience’ sessions occurred,
also aimed at improving
communication between clinicians.
These sessions were for clinical
staff, mainly those in senior
positions but not exclusively, to
review and learn from serious
untoward incidents. Staff read the
serious untoward incident report in
order to work out what was known
about the situation, what went
well, and what would have been
an more appropriate service, and
what should be fed back to whom.
The attendees were very positive
as the sessions give clinicians a
chance to reflect and learn without
feeling blamed.
CET110223_TrustMattersMay11:pages 11/05/2011 13:16 Page 3
I am a media student from Felixstowe and
since October I’ve been doing work
experience with the communications
team. As a big fan of the U.S. television
series “Criminal Minds”, and a regular
Eastenders watcher, I am very interested
in the representation of mental health in
the media. When I was asked to
investigate this topic further I couldn’t wait
to get started. I began by designing a
survey to ask the public what they thought
they knew about mental illnesses from the
media, and if they thought the media had
done a good job informing them about
mental health problems. I expected that
the majority would know very little about
mental health as, in my view, the media
distorts reality for entertainment
purposes. 1/5 participants said the media
is not very good at giving accurate
information on mental wellbeing although
many could name a range of mental
illnesses and answer questions such as
“In one year how many people will suffer
from some sort of mental illness”
correctly. This could be due to the BBC
and other channels trying to break down
the stigma by creating documentaries and
using the theme of mental wellbeing in
storylines. Celebrities like Stephen Fry
have been very open about their mental
health experiences, making it more
accepted.
I spoke to Caroline Giles, head of
marketing, about the awareness of mental
health problems. Symptoms being
featured in soap operas and online could
allow people to self-diagnose, and
therefore access the IAPT service. We
also discussed
that one of the
most common
responses to the
question “Why
do you think the
media’s
representation is
in accurate?”
was that in
television
programmes
people with
mental illnesses
get help and support from services and
the community. In reality people feel that
resources are scarce, showing that the
awareness of the help available is not as
prominent as the awareness of the
illnesses themselves. Caroline pointed
out that “broadcasters have a
responsibility to represent real issues
fairly and accurately.” In this case
producers could take the storyline to the
extreme for the purpose of entertainment,
yet argue that it could happen, giving a
bias view of mental health issues and
helping create the cycle of stigma.
As a media student I know how much the
media can influence our views. This study
has shown me that although we rely on
the media for information we cannot rely
on it not to show us the full picture. I think
the various channels promoting mental
health and wellbeing awareness are
doing a good by not only covering it in
fiction but also in documentaries such as
“Sectioned”, which has won various
awards for being so informative.
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Mental health and the media
Patient safety is our top priorityI am writing this to explain a little more
about the external review of patient
safety which was carried out at the Trust,
and to tell you what we are doing to put
right the issues identified.
The recommendations in the report are
wide-ranging and indicate the fact that
clinical and managerial leadership and
our systems were not working as they
should, rather than a reflection of our
healthcare.
The review which led to the report was
carried out in December 2010 and
January 2011 by an external assessment
team, led by an experienced professional
called Malcolm Rae – hence the name of
the document, the Rae Report.. They
interviewed staff and our service users,
examined our systems and processes
and made a series of recommendations.
We have already made changes as a
result of the report and will continue to
work through the programme in order to
address each recommendation.
The review itself was commissioned by
the Trust with NHS Suffolk, and was
sparked by the death of a young man
who died on one of our inpatient wards.
Prior to that, we had a cluster of five
homicides in 2009 which were the
subject of an independent review. The
work programme refers to nine
homicides, which is the five plus an
additional four which happened after
2009.
It’s tragic whenever a death happens.
The majority of mental health trusts have
experienced homicides and suicides,
although they all try to reduce the risk of
these. I don’t wish to detract from the
severity of what happened, but I do want
to stress that we are not unusual. An
important point, however, is that we must
learn from what happened and put
measures in place to reduce the
likelihood of it happening again.
What appears to have happened in the
past is that there were many action plans
and that these were either confusing or
had not been audited to ensure actions
had been taken. Those, plus other
governance issues, are the crux of the
Rae Report.
We are confident we will make all the
changes needed within the timescale set
out in the work programme. Over the last
few weeks, we have been putting in new
procedures, reorganised support teams
and cut through complicated processes
in order to address the
recommendations.
The list of improvements is long, but we
will address each and every
recommendation in order to improve the
systems and processed which underpin
quality healthcare.
Aidan Thomas, chief executive.If you have any questions orcomments, I would be pleased to hearfrom you: [email protected]: 01473 329603.See page 7 for more from Aidan.
The Terrace Restaurant, which currently
provides hot meals, snacks, beverages
and vending services for staff and
visitors, will sadly close the doors for the
last time on Friday 29th July.
Peter Richardson, managing director for
Suffolk Support Services, said: “For
many years now the restaurant has
proved to be very popular with patients,
staff and visitors. Our catering team here
at St Clement’s has been continually
praised for their hard work. Their BBQs
and special theme days have been
particularly successful. However, the
Trust Executive team has agreed that as
services begin to move off-site there will
be a considerable fall in the demand for
the service. It is therefore sensible and
cost effective to close the restaurant at
the end of July.”
The closure of the Terrace Restaurant
should deliver a considerable saving
towards the 2011/12 cost improvement
programme. Any costs incurred will be
absorbed by Suffolk Support Services.
Staff will be able to access an
independent sandwich van service and,
if necessary, additional delivery points
can be requested by teams. Any
departments that require food or
beverages for meetings or training will
need to make their own arrangements.
The catering staff will be holding a BBQ
during July to say goodbye (date TBA).
Questions? Call the ModernisationProject Office on 01473 329318 orPeter Richardson on 01473 329337.
Restaurant to
close its doors
CET110223_TrustMattersMay11:pages 11/05/2011 13:16 Page 4
Well done to clinical teams throughout the
Trust, who collectively met the Trust-wide
objective of ‘clustering’ 50% of service
users by the target date of 31 March
2011. At the beginning of March the figure
was at 38%, so teams should be rightly
pleased of their contribution. Reaching
the 50% mark means that the Trust can
now claim £89,000 of funding for patient
care.
‘Clustering’ refers to placing service users
in one of a series of care package
clusters - ultimately, the Trust’s
commissioners, who pay for healthcare
on behalf of the county, will pay per
headcount in each cluster. This system is
called ‘Payment by Results’.
The assertive outreach team based at
Trotman Court worked together to reach
a team rate of 100%. Team leader
Matthew Morris said that he supported
the care package principles of Payment
by Results, which set out what services
may be provided for service users.
Chief executive Aidan Thomas, who
visited the team, said: “I have worked in a
Primary Care Trust and seen how much
money has been given to acute general
hospitals compared to mental health
trusts. PbR can balance that and ensure
we get adequate funding which is the
best for our service users.”
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Back in April around 80 people in fancy
dress were blindfolded and dropped at a
secret location in the Suffolk countryside.
Their challenge was to find their way back
with no money, phones or maps!
Three teams from Suffolk Support
Services entered: The Outlaws (Robin
Hood, Maid Marion and Friar Tuck), Euro
Trash (an Englishman, an Irishman and a
Scotsman), and our own team The Super
Mario All-stars (Mario, Luigi and Princess
Peach).
When we were dropped off we didn’t
have a clue where we were. We flagged
down the first car we saw and the
gentleman driving said that Snape (our
first destination) was 6 miles away. I
desperately hoped he was wrong!
On the way back we had to complete
tasks at particular places and answer
certain questions. We answered the
question about the Snape village sign
then bumped into The Outlaws and
decided to work together. We retired to
the Crown Inn to glean some information
from the visitors. While Friar Tuck and
Maid Marion pumped the locals for
information, Robin Hood used the phone
to call the Black Tiles to find out their
soup of the day (question 7).
Our uneasy alliance continued as we
blagged a bus ride to Woodbridge waving
at less fortunate teams trudging down the
country lanes. Once in Woodbridge it was
every team for themselves. The Outlaws
took off with renewed vigour while we
struggled along with our Mario Karts
(who’s stupid idea were they?).
There was still one task to complete - we
had to get a copy of yesterday’s paper. In
desperation we started knocking on
people’s doors. We didn’t get a paper but
we did manage to cadge a lift to the
Maybush (the final destination)!
I’ve got to say I felt rather smug - surely
no one else had experienced such good
fortune! As we entered the grounds of the
Maybush a cheer went up and we saw
that we were actually the 6th team back.
Euro Trash, who were sitting in the
sunshine, explained that they’d had even
better luck than us! They had hitched a lift
to Woodbridge where they’d found an
internet café to research their answers.
The Outlaws found out that crime doesn’t
pay. They hijacked a lift that had stopped
for a team of pirates but only made it fifty
yards down the road before the driver
ejected them. To add insult to injury the
pirates went speeding past in another car!
Our teams raised just under £1,000 for
St. Elizabeth Hospice. Though none of us
won the Super Mario All-stars did take the
prize for best fancy dress! Thanks to
everyone who helped - you know who
you are!
Contributed by Luigi (also known asIain Armstrong).
Left to right: Lisa Weston (change manager), Ollie Riches (volunteer trainer), Boena Zeneli(information analyst), Iain Armstrong (informatics trainer), Abbie Wallace (RA agent), PasqualePascarella (informatics training officer), Ian Simmons (informatics trainer), Patrizio Pascarella(change manager) and Diane Weeding (RA agent).
The Great
Escape!
Healthtalkonline, the award-winning
website of personal health experiences,
has published a new section on the role
of shared decision-making between
patients and their doctors. The section is
based on extensive analysis of patient
interviews across a range of mental and
physical illnesses by the Health
Experiences Research Group, University
of Oxford. The research revealed wide
variations in the degree to which patients
are – or want to be – involved in
decisions about their treatment. The new
webage, which can be found by clicking
on ‘Improving Health care’ at
www.healthtalkonline.org, is intended to
help both patients and health
professionals better understand the
different types of relationship that they
might share.
Users of Healthtalkonline.org and
youthhealthtalk.org will find accounts of
issues such as diagnosis reactions,
doctor consultations, effect on work,
social life and relationships, decisions on
treatment options and side-effects.
For more information on the shared-decision making project contact:[email protected].
Exploring shared
decision-making
CET110223_TrustMattersMay11:pages 11/05/2011 13:16 Page 5
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A fundraising event held to mark the
transfer of the Trust’s substance misuse
services to CRI (Crime Reduction
Initiative) raised £750. Rather than just
holding a party to mark the end of an
era, staff decided to make the evening a
charity event. Suffolk charity FIND
(Families in Need) was chosen because
it helps many of the service’s clients.
FIND is a Christian-based charity which
provides emergency assistance to
families or individuals affected by poverty
or dispossession. It provides free food,
cooking utensils, clothing, toiletries, baby
equipment and nappies, bedding,
sleeping bags, curtains and furniture and
white goods. The party was attended by
many staff, past and present, including
the founders of the service over twenty
years ago, Tim Webb and Carey
Godfrey. Lee Harnden, associate
director, said: “Thanks to a lot of hard
work and meticulous planning, the
transfer of the service to CRI went very
smoothly. The main focus was ensuring
continuity of service for our clients and
the staff did an amazing job, so that
everything was in place when staff came
to work for the new organisation on April
1st. We spent many hours working with
HR’s change management team
facilitating one to one meetings for staff.
We identified what client information
needed to be transferred across and
gained written consent from 630 people
for that. We had weekly management
meetings and organised briefings for
staff so they knew what was happening
or if we didn’t know something we told
them we did not know. The relationship
with CRI was a good one and we are
now renting them two clinic rooms in the
West whilst they wait for planning
permission for their new base.”
A new training package designed to help
staff engage with service users who hear
voices has really taken off. By the end of
June, 130 clinical staff will have
completed the training with each new
session being fully booked within a week
of going live.
The one day training, ‘An Introduction to
Working with Voices,’ is a response to
feedback from last year’s ‘Giving
Psychosis a Voice’ conference attended
by 120 people. It challenges traditional
thinking that all voice hearers are
mentally ill and encourages people to see
voices as a meaningful experience rather
than a symptom.
Studies have found that 2-4% of people
who do not have a mental health
diagnosis across the world hear voices,
whereas only 1% of the whole population
are diagnosed with schizophrenia. The
majority of people who hear voices do not
need or seek psychiatric treatment.
For those that do seek help, traditional
treatment, which usually takes the form of
antipsychotic medication, can be very
helpful. However, evidence suggests that
even with such treatment, up to 60% of
people continue to experience voices. It
is therefore important that other
approaches are available.
The training is run by Matthew Morris,
locality manager for the East Suffolk
Outreach Team and his colleague, clinical
psychologist, Dr David Williams.
Sessions are held in Bury and Ipswich.
Dr Williams said: “The training aims to
give people an understanding of the
origins of the voice hearer’s movement
and some ways in which we can help
people who hear voices cope with and
find meaning in their experiences. The
day looks at what voices are, how they
are perceived and the impact they have.
Participants are encouraged to use their
imagination to understand what the
experience of hearing voices may be like.
The training also looks at common fears,
coping strategies and the impact life
history may have on the form that voices
take. It looks at longer term recovery
stories to see what can be learned and in
particular any underlying emotional
issues which feed into voices. The idea is
to normalise the client’s experiences to
help them find meaning in the voices and
a greater sense of personal power.”
Matthew Morris said: “The numbers
coming forward for the training show that
there is a real motivation in staff to
participate in learning they feel is
meaningful. We have excellent staff in
this Trust and they have been very
positive in engaging is something that
although challenging, is relevant to their
day to day practice.“
Feedback from staff attending the training
has been positive. Comments have
included:
- “Very enjoyable day: challenging and
thought provoking. I have a new insight
into some of the positive aspects
(protection) of voices and can directly link
this to my work experience.”
- “Excellent! I found some of the
exercises a bit emotionally challenging...,
but seriously found it really enjoyable and
educational.”
Matthew and David are also starting a 10
week group in May for service users
within Assertive Outreach in the East.
Matthew and David are also starting a 10
week group in May for service users
within Assertive Outreach in the East.
For details of future staff sessions, visit
the training and development tab on the
intranet and look for the training diary.
Further information is available at
www.intervoiceonline.org/information.
Farewells and
fundraising
As the Spring sun brightens the Suffolk
skies, there is a chance to look back at
the “Beat the Winter Blues” seasonal
campaign: ‘Suffolk Libraries’ mental
health and wellbeing information service
put together a campaign to lift the people
of Suffolk from the winter blues in
partnership with Trust link workers
Suzanne Wyard and Sarah Ray.
The campaign encouraged libraries to
have a musical theme with the emphasis
being on the “Beat” and for events to
have an information element on subjects
from debt advice to improving access to
psychology therapies (IAPT). The uptake
from libraries across the county was
encouraging and for those who did take
part the benefits were obvious.
The campaign started in February 2011
with a lively event at Felixstowe Library.
Steph Merret, Felixstowe library manager,
said: “Councillor Goodwin officially
launched the Beat the Winter Blues
campaign while customers browsed the
stalls collecting giveaways and
information while enjoying the upbeat
music chosen by students from Deben
High School. All the stall holders were
really friendly and welcomed the chance
to network with each other. They all
thought it was a worthwhile event for
them and customers.”
Woodbridge library had a similar day in
March 2011, including a live band,
smoothy bike, salsa dancing and health
walk led by NHS Suffolk. Music was
supplied by Sanguine Sea and stall
holders offered information on staying
healthy including gym and swimming
sessions at a local leisure centre.
One story that sticks in my mind is an
older customer who spoke to Suzanne
and Sarah at the Felixstowe event. She
said that she had been living with general
anxiety for most of her adult life and she
felt very unsupported by her general
practitioner. She was sent away with a
handful of advice, an appointment for
further support and a very large smile.
Events also took place at Great Cornard,
Halesworth and Southwold. My thanks
goes to all who took part in this event and
for making it a real success.
Contributed by David Grimmer, mentalhealth and wellbeing informationservice coordinator at Suffolk CountyCouncil.
Winter wellbeing campaign puts spring in step
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Since Aidan Thomas joined the Trust as
chief executive in March he has been
visiting various teams to meet staff and
get feedback on what matters most to
you. Aidan has already visited Wedgwood
House, Suffolk Support Services teams
including finance and estates, the
Newbourne Centre at Heath Road,
Foxhall House, assertive outreach
(briefly), Minsmere House and Walker
Close. He is visiting CAMHS this month
and will gradually work his way around all
service areas.
“It is really important to me as chief
executive to connect with staff across the
Trust,” Aidan said. ”I want to find out the
issues affecting different teams and have
the chance to see first hand the fantastic
work being done at the Trust.
“Everyone I have met has been
welcoming and friendly. I am looking
forward to working the odd shift in our
services too. Despite the governance
issues the trust has which receive a high
profile at present I wouldn’t hesitate to
recommend the services to a friend or
relative. I want to thanks staff for their
hard work dedication and commitment.”
Aidan has also been sharing with staff the
key issues that the Trust will be focusing
on in the coming months:
“My two top priorities are patient safety
(see article on page 2) and the cost
improvement plan.
“I’m reasonably optimistic that we will
achieve our financial target of 5% savings
this year and we have number of plans in
place to achieve this including the
introduction of locality management, and
some service redesign. But we are
getting additional financial support to help
with patient safety, and this means we
don’t have to worry about funding the
initiatives set out in our safety programme
this year.
“However, this additional money is for
one year only, so we need to keep up the
momentum on our savings plans. I have
asked Paula Clarke, associate director for
learning disabilities, to head up a cost
improvement plan programme board to
over see this work. This board will
replace the cost improvement plan
programme management office (PMO).
This work falls under QIPP (Quality,
Innovation, Prevention and Productivity),
a Department of Health initiative that I am
keen to promote in the Trust. The aim of
QIPP is to improve the quality of care
provided by NHS services, while also
improving efficiency.
“There have already been some fantastic
developments such as productive wards
and the information technology
modernisation programme. I want to build
on the work already done and embed
efficiency and productivity into the heart
of care delivery at the Trust.”
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Name and job titleMaria Perez Pedrero, CPN, Haverhill CMHT.
What is your most read book? Lord of the
Rings.
Marmite or peanut butter? Hate them both.
What do you love most about your job?When people get better.
What’s your ideal holiday location?A nice beach.
What was your first ever job? Healthcare
assistant at a psychiatric hospital.
If you were a superhero, what powerwould you have? Become invisible.
What is your favourite meal? Indian
What did you want to be when you werelittle? A nurse.
If you won the lottery, what would youbuy? A little island.
In the 2010 NHS staff survey, the Trust
appeared in the top 20% of mental
health trusts in 6 areas, including
commitment to work life balance, job-
relevant training and percentage of staff
experiencing violence. However, it came
in the bottom 20% in 13 areas.
A new Employee Engagement Group
(EEG) is being set up to address these
areas, which will meet bi-monthly and
produce a quarterly action plan. The
EEG aims to address the concerns by
providing leadership in the development
of staff networks, reviewing programmes
of work associated with employee
engagement and acting as champions of
the staff survey programme.
The group will include director of human
resources, Kate Coplestone and
representatives from all areas of the
Trust. Chief executive Aidan Thomas will
also attend periodically, demonstrating
commitment from the top.
The areas where the Trust’s
performance was weakest were:
- % of staff having well-structured
appraisals in the last 12 months (30% -
national average 40%)
- Impact of health and well-being on
ability to perform work or daily activities
(1.68 out of 5 – national average 1.62)
- % of staff able to contribute towards
improvements at work (61% - national
average 67%)
- % of staff experiencing harassment,
bullying or abuse from staff in the last 12
months (17% - national average 14%)
Areas where staff experience had
deteriorated most from the previous year
were:
- Impact of health and well-being on
ability to perform work or daily activities
(1.53, down from 1.68)
- Staff motivation at work (3.76, down
from 3.86)
- Work pressure felt by staff (2.99, down
from 3.10)
- Staff recommendation of the Trust as a
place to work or receive treatment (3.30,
down from 3.37)
If you have any questions about theEEG then you can contact workforceplanner Ben Askew on 01473 329282.
Trust acts on staff
survey results
Getting to know you
Get
tin
g t
o k
no
w M
aria
Per
ez P
edre
ro,
CP
N.
Keith Mansfield, pictured, has recently
joined the Trust as interim finance director
after Nick Gerrard moved on to pastures
new. Keith has 15 years experience as an
NHS director, having worked his way up
from the bottom of the ladder 40 years
ago. If the Trust merges Andrew Hopkins,
currently finance director at Norfolk and
Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation
Trust, will assume the role for the joint
organisation.
“In the short time I am here my aim is to
keep the ship
on a steady
course,“ Keith
said. “With
proposed NHS
reforms it is
critical that the
Trust lives
within its
means. During my time here I need to
ensure the Trust delivers excellent
services within the funding available.”
Meet director Keith Mansfield
CET110223_TrustMattersMay11:pages 11/05/2011 13:16 Page 7
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EDITORIAL: If you would like to contribute an article (and accompanying photo) for inclusion in the next Trust Matters please
email it to [email protected]. If you want to discuss ideas about potential features or make a suggestion about
improving the newsletter you can also email the above address or call Helen Abbott on 01473 329700.
The deadline for the July 2011 issue is June 20th.
To Shirley Foulger, CBT therapist,IAPT - Thank you for being there and for
all your help and support.
To Andrea Brown, Louise Tym, DrElizabeth Jupp and all the SEIPS team- I just wanted to say thank you for all
your support since I have been with the
early intervention team. You are a really
great team and do a great job. Keep up
the good work. Thanks for all the times
you’ve listened to me.
To Judith Thomas, team manager,Bury CMHT - I would like to thank you
for the help and useful advice you gave
us when A was ill. It was such a worrying
time, with difficult decisions to be made,
and your help was invaluable. He seems
to be settling in well in Stowmarket and
hopefully he will learn how to be self-
sufficient and look after himself.
To Natalie Bailey, CPN, Bury CMHT- If there are a million ways to say thank
you it is not enough. Your help and
support has been wonderful, thank you
so much.
To Denise Hender and Tracy Abbott,Work Life Balance team- Having worked for various NHS Trusts,
I can honestly say the support,
friendliness and quality of service given
by Denise and Tracy - but in my case
Denise in particular - has been
invaluable and far superior to any other
Trust to date.
To Mary Davis, senior case manager,IAPT - I wanted to pass on how
supportive I found our conversation. I
was feeling down at the time and was
worried I was wasting your time and
couldn’t be seen. The time you gave me
made a real difference.
To Emma Ellis and Paul Newbury,SEIPS - Just a few words of thanks to
you both for all your support you have
given to N and me. It was good to see
you today Emma.
To all staff on Redwald Unit - This is
just a small note to say a big thank you
to all the staff at Redwald. I’m sorry my
time has come to an end, but I shall
always remember the kindness of the
staff – nothing was too much trouble in
the care given.
To Dr Anna King - In your opening
comment of your letter you wrote “It was
a pleasure to meet with you”. I wish to
reciprocate, commenting that it was also
a pleasure to meet with you too. I
appreciate your diagnosis surrounding
the MCT, and having now studied the
MCT document I understand your
conclusions. I have taken notice of your
advice.
To ECT team - We felt we just had to
express our thanks again for the
dedication, care and love you showed
mum when she came to ECT. She loved
you all and you always treated her with
great dignity. Mental health is not easy
and you sometimes don’t get the
recognition you all deserve.
Our loss was very sad time but knowing
that people like you had done your very
best and more made it easier to bare.
We thank you all from the bottom of our
hearts!
To all staff on Bromeswell Ward - How
can I thank you enough for looking after
me over the past four weeks. You have
made me stay a pleasant one and I shall
miss your company. You keep me young.
I shall most likely be visiting your ward
again but hopefully not as a patient but
as a visitor.
To the IAPT East team - The service I
received was outstanding and the
manner in which it was delivered by my
therapist was exceptional - my deepest
gratitude.
To all staff on Westgate Ward - The
family wish to thank all the staff on
Westgate Ward very much indeed for the
care and consideration shown to my wife
and to her visitors during what has been
a very difficult time
To Barbara Oakley, Joan Aby andAnne Hopkins, Sudbury CMHT- I cannot thank you all enough for your
help and encouragement and support
that you gave S and me while I was very
ill. I am very well now once again. Thank
you all very much.
To all staff on Playford Ward - This is
just a small thank you for looking after
my daughter who has now been
transferred. You were all so kind and
patient with her in spite of her problems.
To the Crisis Resolution Home
Treatment Team
- I received a very good service and am
about to be discharged from Coastal
CMHT.
To Alma Yule, therapist, IAPT East
- Thanks for all your help and support.
To Denise Tourney-Godfrey, CPN, East
Ipswich CMHT - Thank you so much for
everything you have done to support me.
I have always looked forward to meeting
with you as you have always put me at
ease and made me laugh with your
fantastic sense of humour. You’re a
wonderful CPN and I will miss you.
To all staff on Westgate Ward - Thank
you all for the wonderful party and
presents. I have chosen the spot in the
garden for the lady and I shall use the
vouchers towards a water feature, so
when I am out in my garden I will think of
you all with much love.
To the Crisis Resolution Home
Treatment Team - I received a very
good service and am about to be
discharged from Coastal CMHT.
To all staff on Bromeswell Ward
- Thank you so much!
To Vicky Coomber, linkworker
- Thank you for your time at the surgery. I
enjoyed meeting you, and came away
feeling positive. I was on a roll last week,
but have taken a backward step over the
last couple of days. It is therefore
encouraging for me to know that there is
help out there, and I look forward to
meeting my advisor. I was impressed
with your knowledge about people’s
feelings and your caring disposition,
especially for someone so young. You
have a huge role to play in making
people happy, and I wish you well.
- I just wanted to write you a note to say
thank you. You were the first person I
had spoken to in such depth and I feel
better for being able to talk everything
through with someone unconnected with
it all. Anyway, thanks again for listening
and for doing the work you do.
Letters and compliments
If you have a letter you would like to share through Trust Matters, send it to Nicola Brown, Suffolk House, St Clement’s Hospital,
Ipswich or email [email protected] Letters may be edited and will be anonymised to protect service users’ identities.
CET110223_TrustMattersMay11:pages 11/05/2011 13:16 Page 8