Spring/Summer 2015
NEWSLETTER OF THE RECOVERY ACADEMY
Branching Out
Our Spring term prospectus is out now The Recovery Academy’s Spring term prospectus for courses from May – September 2015 is out now! There are over 40 free courses available for anyone with mental health and substance misuse problems, their families and carers as well as health care professionals, which are held in community centres, local hospitals, theatres and learning centres across Greater Manchester. New courses in the Academy’s fifth prospectus include: Faith
and Recovery, Making Sense of Experiences through Psychological Assessment and ‘formulation’, Overcoming Stigma, and To Tell or not to Tell – Sharing your Story. We have also added a new category ‘Taking Back Control’. The aim of this new category is to introduce service users and carers to information so that they feel more in control of their recovery journey. GMW’s Recovery Academy has been delivering highquality courses since May 2013. We already have over 1,800 students registered with
Branching Out Recovery, Health and Wellbeing Academy Newsletter Spring/Summer 2015
Inside: this issue Adult Learners’ Week .......................
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Celebrating Dementia Awareness Week and Carers Week ....................
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Study buddies ...................................
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Our work with HMP Haverigg ..........
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FST SMaRT garage services ...............
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THINKphysical ...................................
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the Academy and this figure is growing all the time. Availability is on a first come first served basis, so make sure you apply for a Recovery Academy course now. To get your personal copy of the prospectus, together with information you need about the Recovery Academy experience, visit www.gmw.nhs.uk/recovery. Page
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Adult Learners’ Week 2015 Celebration of Learning event Everyone is welcome to attend this event, which will celebrate the learning achievements of our staff and service users and the difference this makes to individual, to patient and to organisational wellbeing as part of Adult Learners Week 2015 (13 - 19 June 2015). If you would like to know more about courses that will help you to increase your knowledge and understanding of mental health and substance misuse, or if you’re looking to begin or develop your career in the NHS and want to find out about the training on offer, this is an event you just can’t miss!
Please join us on Friday 19 June 2015 from 10am till 1pm at Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided on your arrival at the venue with a conference brunch (warm croissant with fruit preserves, selection of Danish pastries, fresh orange juice with freshly brewed coffee, tea and infusions) provided in the morning break. Please confirm your attendance by 12 June to Helen Macklin by calling 0161 772 3782 or emailing helen.macklin@gmw.nhs.uk.
Carers Week is coming soon - take part! Carers Week (8 – 14 June 2015) is a wonderful opportunity to recognise, support and celebrate carers throughout the UK. Every year over 2 million people take on new caring responsibilities caring is something that will affect us all. This year’s Carers Week is all about working together to build Carer Friendly Communities.
Celebrating Dementia Awareness Week Dementia Awareness Week took place from 17-23 May and this year’s theme was ‘Do something different for Dementia’. To mark the day we raised awareness of Recovery Academy courses, which aim to improve the lives of people with dementia; promoting that life doesn’t end when dementia begins, and what everyone can do to help support those with dementia. Our Dementia Friends sessions aim to inspire others to make the lives of those with dementia a little bit easier. Living Well with Dementia is a course for people with a recent diagnosis of dementia, their carers, relatives, friends and healthcare professionals who support people with dementia. Courses, Dates and Times Dementia Friends are 1 hour 30 minutes long and are held on 17 June 2015 and 8 July 2015 Living Well with Dementia takes place from 9.30am – 3.30pm on the 18 September 2015 in Prestwich. See the prospectus for more information about these courses and the venues they take place: www.gmw.nhs.uk/recovery
We have planned publicity and carers social events throughout the week and will be promoting the Recovery Academy’s “Health and Wellbeing for Carers” course, which takes place on 24 June at Royal Bolton Hospital. We look forward to you joining us to help us to celebrate Carers Week! Visit our website www.gmw.nhs.uk - for more information about these events. Page
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Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
A Recovery Academy student, who attended our Living with Bipolar Disorder course, provided us with the following feedback:
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I came away from the course feeling that it is not all doom and gloom, that bi-polar disorder can be managed to a greater degree than I thought possible and above all that I am not alone and that there is help out there if you ask for it. Thank you once again.”
Study buddies We are committed to ensuring open access to all students and recognise that there can be factors that make accessing and attending courses and learning more difficult. If you or anyone you know need support for whatever reason, please let us know. We operate a buddying system where we can arrange for a member of the Recovery Academy team with lived experience to support you before and during the course. If you would like support from a study buddy, please contact us on 0161 772 3782 or email us at recoveryacademy@gmw.nhs.uk to discuss your needs. Well done to Recovery Academy volunteer, Wayne Edwards, who recently spoke at an educational meeting for the public and mental health care professionals on psychosis and schizophrenia.
Our work with HMP Haverigg The Recovery Academy was successful in securing money from the Trust’s Dragon’s Den, an initiative which funds small innovative projects across our services, to pilot a new project offering learning opportunities to prisoners at HMP Haverigg in Cumbria. A prospectus for the Recovery Academy’s HMP Haverigg campus was developed by staff and prisoners and is now being promoted within the prison. The prisoners involved applied for the role of Peer Navigator and went through a recruitment and selection process, and rigorous training programme in order to develop the knowledge and skills to be able to fulfil their role. The prospectus features seven courses
Wayne spoke alongside senior lecturers from the University of Manchester, GPs and C.E.Os. as well as Professor Tony Morrison, Associate Director for Early Intervention and Dr Peter Haddad, Consultant Psychiatrist, at GMW.
Branching Out Recovery, Health and Wellbeing Academy Newsletter Spring/Summer 2015
on offer to learners in the prison, ranging from how to prepare for a detox, managing thoughts, feelings and behaviours, ‘Spice’ awareness, managing triggers and cravings in addiction and combatting bullying. We currently provide mental health and substance misuse services within the prison through our Unity service, so it was a natural step to offer free educational courses that can be attended by learners in prison. We hope that by educating both prisoners and staff about mental health and substance misuse problems and by promoting recovery within the secure environment we can improve health and wellbeing within the custodial setting, better prepare prisoners for release and reduce the likelihood of reoffending As always, the Academy will fully evaluate this project. If the project is successful, we hope to roll it out in other prisons that the Trust works with in the future.
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Recovery, Health and Wellbeing Academy Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 3BL Tel: 0161 772 3782 Email: recoveryacademy@gmw.nhs.uk Website: www.gmw.nhs.uk/recovery
Special Offer • £25.00 MOT
Thinkphysical
to all Recovery Academy students
• 20% off all servicing and repair work • Free Seasonal Safety Check
Clinical staff and service users from GMW took part in a flash mob dance outside J17 in Prestwich on 28 May 2015! The flash mob was led by Dr Karina Lovell, Director of Research and Professor of Mental Health at the University of Manchester. Dr Karina is running “THINKphysical” the first festival of its kind as part of CLAHRC (Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care), which aims to raise awareness of the importance of improving the physical health of people with severe and enduring mental illness (SMI).
Members of the Motor Industry Code of Practice.
To make a booking or for further information please call us and quote promotional code – GMW004
Call 0161 743 0300 Unit 2, Oakwood Trading Estate, Mode Wheel Road, Salford M5 5DQ
SMaRT garage services is a First Step Trust initiative. | positive action positive results Charity reg. 1077 959 | Company no. 373 0562 | www.firststeptrust.org.uk
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The festival is taking place between 14 and 19 June 2015 and will bring together academic, healthcare and charity organisations alongside service users, carers and the general public in a week-long series of community events. GMW’s flash mob dance was filmed to be shown during the festival week. Our Central Nursing Team will also be providing “help yourself to health” checks during the festival week in the Waterdale Restaurant at Prestwich Hospital on 15 June 2015. For more information please contact Delphine Corgié (Project Manager) by emailing: delphine.corgie@srft.nhs.uk or by visiting http://clahrc-gm.nihr.ac.uk/thinkphysical/. Get social and join the conversation on Twitter: #THINKphysical. Page
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Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust