Positive March 2011 by Hargrave Design

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Nottinghamshire Healthcare

NHS

NHS Trust

MARCH 2011

about mental health and learning disability

Trust wins national award for involvement

Left to right: David Hewerdine, Involvement Volunteer; Sharron Allen, Involvement Volunteer; Janet Sheard, Executive Director Nursing and Allied Health Professionals; Paul Sanguinazzi, Head of Involvement.

Success at the Patient Experience Network National Awards see page 3 PEAKS EVENT QUALITY AWARDS APPRENTICESHIP SUCCESS DIVERSITY MUSIC THERAPY INVOLVEMENT SPANTOMIME PLAYERS

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MESSAGE

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FROM THE BOARD

Next month 2,200 new colleagues from Nottinghamshire Community Health (the provider arm of NHS Nottinghamshire County) will be joining the Trust to deliver community services and we are working hard to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible for everyone concerned.

trying to reduce this by communicating with all staff involved and affected by the transition. We have been meeting to answer questions and discuss and explain the forthcoming changes so that everyone is fully informed.

More information about County Health Partnerships and the changes which will be taking place over the coming months as part of Transforming Community Services can be found in the article on page 15.

Our aim is to deliver the national objective of Transforming Community Services to meet, at a time of less funding growth, the continuing rise in demand for healthcare and to move care from hospital to a community basis. This can only be achieved with great staff working in those services. Therefore it is so very important that we provide the best support to those people joining the Trust, while not forgetting our existing colleagues who may be affected by the transfer or have concerns relating to the changes.

Changes to jobs can prove really stressful and cause uncertainty and we have been

If you have any questions or concerns or would just like to have a chat to someone

The staff are transferring to us as the host employer of County Health Partnerships; the new provider alliance that includes the Trust.

about this please don’t hesitate to contact me and we will do our very best to help.

Paul Smeeton Transition Programme Director for Transforming Community Services 01623 673848

Peaks event attracts national delegates A national conference on offence paralleling behaviour (OPB) organised by the Peaks Unit at Rampton Hospital was well attended by colleagues from around the country. The event, held on 3 and 4 February at The Mike Harris Learning and Development Centre, Rampton Hospital, drew visitors from nursing, psychology, occupational therapy and management backgrounds in mental health. Delegates also came from prison settings including HMPs New Hall (West Yorkshire), Gartree (Leicestershire), Dovegate (Staffordshire), Grendon (Buckinghamshire), Wymott (Preston), Stocken (Rutland), Frankland (Durham), Manchester, Full Sutton (York) and Whitemoor (Cambridgeshire). The two day event included presentations looking at the theory

Left: Michael Daffern gives his presentation.

underpinning the model, practice implications and some examples of actual clinical work. It was introduced and closed by Dr Mike Harris, Executive Director, Forensic Services. Delegates were also introduced to the book ‘Offence Paralleling Behaviour: A case formulation approach to offender assessment and intervention’, edited by Michael Daffern, Special Lecturer within the Division of Psychiatry at The University of Nottingham, Lawrence Jones, a clinical forensic psychologist who works at the Peaks Unit and John Shine, a consultant forensic psychologist working in London. The Peaks Management Team would like to acknowledge the help and support from the Forensic Learning & Development Team; their organisational skills and contribution to the day ensured the conference was a great success.

A J

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Trust picks up national award for involvement The Trust is celebrating after coming top at the recent Patient Experience Network National Awards, winning the category for programmes aimed at strengthening an organisation’s commitment to delivering excellent patient/service user experience.

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The Trust won the award in recognition of its innovative involvement strategy which ensures the needs, views, aspirations and recovery of service users and carers are at the heart of everything it does. The approach engages the whole of the organisation by working with service users and carers at all levels. Part of this work has been the creation of two involvement centres. More than 200 service users and carers are connected with the centres and take part in key forums, staff interviews and leadership programmes. Judges and delegates at the awards final commented how impressed they were with the Trust’s involvement ethos. Feedback from the judges included: “The breadth, spirit and comprehensive nature of the approach to involvement and patient experience is what makes it special and there is commitment to it at

every level.” and “What a fantastic initiative. Bold, comprehensive and with far reaching possibilities both within the Trust and externally.” Every part of the Trust is asked to meet five standards of involvement and regularly reports back on progress and changes made. A Service User and Carer Experience Group makes sure feedback is listened to and acted upon. Paul Sanguinazzi, Head of Involvement, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this award. Involvement has gone from strength to strength in the Trust and has proved to be a highly effective way to ensure that everything we do has the best interest of service users, carers and patients at its heart. It is a strategy which benefits everyone and will improve the quality and experience of our services. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make it such a success.”

Leadership series successfully launched The first in a series of events from the East Midlands Leadership Academy, which supports leadership development across the region, was successfully launched on 21 January. The alumni event, which was held at Eastwood Hall, was attended by over 40 former participants from a range of courses provided by the Leadership Academy. This included the Aspiring Chief Executives, Aspiring Directors, Breaking Through and Emerging Leaders Programmes. Guest speaker at the event was Sir Andrew Cash, Chief Executive of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Andrew delivered an inspiring session about his own leadership journey, discussed various styles and behaviours, and shared his views on successful leadership.

Above: an attentive audience. Top, left to right: Editors Michael Daffern, Lawrence Jones and John Shine with their book ‘Offence Paralleling Behaviour: A case formulation approach to offender assessment and intervention’

Attendees also took part in an insightful session, led by Joan Durose, Senior Associate HSMC, University of Birmingham, focused on leadership theories and concepts. Feedback from

this will help shape and influence the leadership agenda across the region. Professor Rachel Munton, Deputy Director of the East Midlands Leadership Academy, said: “This is the first alumni event we have held to bring together participants from all programmes delivered by the Leadership Academy. Developing high quality leadership across the region is essential to improve the patient, service user and carer experience. “We want to ensure that we continue the momentum, encouraging participants to continue their leadership development, as well as tracking their progress and drawing upon their knowledge and experience. This series provides that opportunity and we very much look forward to the next event.” Four alumni events are planned as part of the series. The next event will be held on 15 April at the National College in Nottingham. For more information contact Julian Eve, Academy Associate, on julian.eve@nottshc.nhs.uk.

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2010 Facilities Quality Awards winners The Facilities Quality Awards are annual awards which give the senior management team and Trust Board the opportunity to acknowledge Facilities staff ’s achievements (both professional and academic), working ethics and dedication within Forensic Services. This year’s event took place in January with support from Janet Sheard, Executive Director Nursing and Allied Health Professionals, Kay Mulcahy, Head of Facilities, Forensic, Dr Mike Harris, Executive Director, Forensic Services and Ian Tennant, Associate Director, Forensic Services. Employee of the month awards for the 12 months of 2010 went to: Stuart Lee, Estates Department, Rampton; Michelle Armes, Hotel Services, Wathwood; Carol Avery/Michelle Spence, Supplies, Rampton and Mansfield; Diane Fletcher, Housekeeping, Rampton; Lezley Walker, Facilities, Rampton; Katherine Holland, Catering Department, Rampton; Janine

Utley, Supplies, Mansfield; Sharon Burdet, Hotel Services, Arnold Lodge; Sue Turrell, Retail, Rampton; Georgina Pollard, Hotel Services, Arnold Lodge; Lisa Savill, Catering Department, Rampton; John Gabbott, Transport Department, Rampton. Janet Sheard also acknowledged The Hospitals Senior Management team and noted the Trust’s thanks to MITIE for the exceptional support provided during the adverse weather over Christmas. The winner of the MITIE unsung hero award was Sam (real name Richard Archer) for calmly averting a potential major incident when pipes in the boiler house started to freeze. The main quality award winners were: Mavis Drew, Hotel Services Wathwood - The Leadership Award; Liam Bailey, Housekeeping, Rampton - The New Member of Staff Award; Vincent Keep, Estates Department,

A few of the nominees, winners and supporters. Left to right: John Gabbott, Liam Bailey, Yvonne Denovan, Janet Sheard, Will Couch, Hazel Eggleton, Mavis Drew, Jane Baker, Carol Avery.

Rampton - Customer Services Award; Ray Crampton, Estates Department, Rampton - Lifetime Achievement Award; Mandy Cooper/Emma Johnson, Catering Department, Rampton - The Innovation, Performance & Creativity Award; Stuart Lee, Estates Department, Rampton - Education & Learning Award; Will Couch, Housekeeping, Rampton - The Unsung Hero Award. The following colleagues achieved academic achievement awards: Liz Beckett, Gemma Stanton, Lezley Walker, Carol Mansfield, Clare Saville, Dawn Robertson, Fiona Denovan, Ian Webster, Caz Cross-Swain, Stuart Lee, William Couch, Kay Spencer, Yvonne Denovan, Terri Lilley, Andrew Fosher, Clare Stocks and Mavis Drew. Congratulations to all the winners.

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Piloting the way for Recovery The Trust is one of only six selected as national demonstration sites for a project that enhances support for people with mental health problems to lead meaningful and productive lives; a concept known as ‘Recovery’. The project, ‘Supporting Recovery’, is delivered in partnership by the NHS Confederation, the Centre for Mental Health (formerly the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health) and the National Mental Health Development Unit. It uses methodology developed by the Centre for Mental Health based on structured selfassessment, goal setting, implementation and review in relation to ten challenges which organisations wishing to implement Recovery are advised to address. The ten organisational challenges are: 1. Changing the nature of day-to-day interactions and the quality of experience 2. Delivering comprehensive user-led education and training programmes 3. Establishing a ‘Recovery Education Centre’ to drive the programmes forward

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4. Ensuring organisational commitment, creating the ‘culture’; the importance of leadership 5. Increasing personalisation and choice 6. Changing processes for risk assessment and management 7. Redefining service user involvement 8. Transforming the workforce 9. Supporting staff in their recovery journeys 10. Increasing opportunities for building life ‘beyond illness’. To become a demonstration site the Trust was assessed as able to address these challenges and is recognised as a provider of Recovery-focused mental health services with the knowledge and experience to support other trusts to do the same. The

Trust will now take part in learning sets to share ideas and further the transformation of services into positive, strengths-based, Recovery-focused facilities, working in partnership with local communities. Julie Repper, Recovery Lead said: “We are delighted to be awarded demonstration site status as it recognises the progress we have already made in incorporating the Recovery principles into everything we do. However, we can always do better and are looking forward to further developing Recovery-focused approaches to provide an improved service and significant benefits to our service users.” The Supporting Recovery project will run until December 2012.

What do you think about Positive? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Please take a few moments of your time to tell us your views about Positive by completing an online survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/Positive2011. This newsletter is for you and about you. Your views are important to us and will help us to make sure Positive is a magazine that you want to read and contribute to. The survey will close on 1 April 2011. Thank you.

Health Informatics Service update: Trust plans to enhance electronic patient record The Trust is keen to further develop the electronic storage of patient/ service user information in a move towards an electronic patient record (EPR). Picking up on the good work undertaken so far in Forensic Services and Local Services, the Informatics Strategy Group recently agreed to pilot the following: The Clinical Noting functionality in the Trust’s existing patient information system RiO, to capture the patients’ ‘running record’ on three inpatient wards in the Local Services, Adult Mental

Health Directorate. This has been successfully used within the Forensic Directorate for a number of years and huge benefits have been realised. The Central Electronic Storage Area (CESA) will be implemented on four wards within the Personality Disorder Directorate at Rampton Hospital. This is to enhance the electronic management of ‘other’ elements of the patient record e.g. Care Programme Approach (CPA), Mental Health Act documentation. A variation of this system has been used successfully within Local

Services for a number of years to manage 24-hour availability/access to the latest patient/service user care plan. Each pilot is designed to test the concept and learn any lessons for a wider implementation in the longer term. Benefits include: • Improved access to information (24 hours), thereby reducing clinical risk • Reduced impact on staff time currently absorbed in tracking clinical records and information • Simultaneous access to

patient/service user information • Enhanced data quality in support of more effective assessment and care planning • Improved management of records standards. • A reduction in the duplication of effort Each pilot is scheduled to run for a period of six months. These projects are currently in the preliminary stages and more detailed local communications to relevant stakeholders and staff will follow.

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Apprenticeship success for Notts health community The Nottinghamshire Health and Social Care Community Workforce Team (NHSCCWT) is celebrating after being named ‘Employer of the Year 2010’ at the Nottinghamshire Training Network Awards held in January. NHSCCWT works across Nottinghamshire and is hosted by NHS Nottinghamshire County. It is committed to working towards a future in which Nottinghamshire has a world class workforce, and in which the team leads locally and regionally on workforce development planning, including delivering quality education opportunities.

Apprentices settle in to Trust working life The Trust currently has eight young apprentices aged 16 to 19 working in business and administrative roles in a range of departments. These are the experiences of two young apprentices so far: Matt Craven, Learning Disability Admin Team, Portland St, Kirkby-inAshfield “I was pleased that I got the chance to become an apprentice and was looking forward to the challenge. “I started with an induction, which gave me a broader knowledge of what the NHS does as a whole and an insight into what working life in the NHS would be like. I have also had lots of training, including ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) and a ‘Train the Trainer’ course, where we learned about creating a presentation and then made a presentation of our own. “I believe I have settled into my work team very well. It’s a good environment to be

The achievement of this award reflects the partnership work of the health community in recruiting and supporting over 100 apprentices aged 16-21 in roles within business administration, children and young people, health and social care and hospitality and catering.

part of. When I first started there were obviously a lot of things I didn’t know, so my colleagues would help me when needed. After completing the ECDL course I was able to help my colleagues if they were stuck on the computer, so I believe I have learnt a lot of things in my short time as an apprentice but I’ve also taught people a few things along the way. “I have found it quiet hectic in the world of work but this is something that I quite enjoy because I like being busy at work. I now have a broader knowledge of what the NHS is all about and how much work goes into an organisation to try and keep everything running as smoothly as possible. “Having enjoyed my apprenticeship so far, if a job were to come up in the future within the NHS I would seriously consider taking it. If this wasn’t to happen I would have to look elsewhere but I would probably look for a role in business administration because it is something I have enjoyed so far.” Matt’s supervisor, Sue Nawath, said: “Matt undertakes a range of general office duties for us and for our professional leads. Initially we weren’t sure what to make of an apprentice or how to approach the situation, but I’m pleased to say that it has worked out really well and Matt is a part

This achievement would not have been possible without the commitment, dedication and willingness to work together for the good of young people from all partners, both NHS Trusts and local training providers. The award reflects the unique approach that the

of the team. He is a good team player and brings good IT skills. He has even shown us how to do things!” Emily Walker, Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Team, Bassetlaw Hospital, Worksop “Before starting the apprenticeship I felt nervous about going into my first job and being around new people, but at the same time I was excited to try something new. “I had a week’s induction with Prostart before starting the induction for the Trust. In this we covered health and safety at work and equality and diversity and had the chance to meet other apprentices on the course. We then had a two day induction with the Trust and learned about the Trust and the history of the NHS. “I have nearly completed a course called ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence). From this I have gained more experience in using Microsoft Office and improved other skills. I will also be starting a word processing course in March. “Bassetlaw had a breakaway training day, from which I learned how to protect myself and be safe in the work place. I have also

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Left to right: Helen Elliott, Business Development Manager, Access Training; Claire Bates, Business Development Manager, Prostart Training; Ian Benison, Chief Executive, SLIC Training; Denise Newcomb, Managing Director, Prostart Training; Anne Roberts, East Midlands Strategic Health Authority; Christine Halsall, Community Macmillan Service Head; Jackie Brocklehurst, Workforce Planning & Modernisation Manager, NCtPCT; Sue Hepworth, Head of NHSCCWT; Jo Beckwith, Widening Participation Manager, NHSCCWT; Jordan McKenzie, Apprentice, NCtPCT; Denise Harrison, Head of Learning & Development (Local Services), Notts Healthcare; Nicky McNulty, Health and Social Care Team Leader, Access Training; Lesley Harrington, Health Centre Manager, Nottinghamshire Community Health; Jeanette McQuillan, Clerical Officer, Nottinghamshire Community Health.

Nottinghamshire health community has taken to supporting apprentices within the NHS. For further information about the recruitment of apprentices to your organisation or department please contact your apprentice lead or Jo Beckwith, Widening Participation Manager with the Nottinghamshire Health and Social Care Community Workforce Team on 01623 848888 or email jo.beckwith@nottspct.nhs.uk.

attended some training days with the apprentices at Duncan Macmillan House in Nottingham. “Since I started I have settled in well to my work place and have made friends with some of the other staff members. “I have found that the world of work is a lot different to college/school life. The positive side is that I can now make a living for myself and earn qualifications which I can always put on my CV. I don’t find it as easy as I did with school, but everyone has to start somewhere and so far I am enjoying myself. “When my apprenticeship ends, I am thinking about trying to start the Level 3 qualification. However, I may change my mind and start applying for jobs straight away. I want to make myself a great future and do well in life.”

Want to be an apprentice? The organisers are looking at recruiting a further group of business and admin apprentices to start in September. If you would like to consider having a young person to support your team please contact heather.porter@nottshc.nhs.uk for further information.

Mike Cooke with staff and service users at the flag raising

Flying the flag for diversity of our service users, carers and staff. This was reflected recently when we were named top healthcare organisation and 12th overall in Stonewall’s 2011 Workplace Equality Index which features the best employers in Britain for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.”

The Trust showed its support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) History Month by flying a rainbow flag at its headquarters throughout February. Mike Cooke, Chief Executive was joined by staff and service users as he hoisted the flag at Duncan Macmillan House. Catherine Conchar, Head of Equality and Diversity, said: “Each year we take pride in supporting LGBT History Month. As a Trust we are passionate about embracing and respecting the diversity

Visit NHS Discounts and save cash NHS Discounts has expanded their offering with the addition of a new insurance provider. Now users can save up to £300 in the event of a claim on car insurance and receive £75,000 legal expenses cover on home insurance free of charge. NHS discounts provides a wide variety of benefits and savings for NHS staff including moneysaving shopping, printable vouchers and dedicated staff helpline services. For great deals on summer holidays, high street shopping and essentials visit www.nhsdiscounts.com.

LGBT History Month takes place every February. It celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community and encourages everyone to recognise the positivity of diversity and differences in culture across society.

New home for Making Waves Making Waves is a voluntary sector organisation which aims to develop new and innovative ways of supporting people experiencing mental distress. It provides research, education and training and service evaluation of mental health services, and contributes to the development and evaluation of courses. Making Waves has moved. Telephone and fax numbers remain the same. The new address is McMurphy Suite, Wedgwood House, 70 Carlton Rd, Nottingham NG3 2AP. Telephone 0115 9505996 or 07853309724 or visit their website at www.makingwaves.org. Torsten Shaw, Making Waves Director, looks forward to welcoming you to the new premises.

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Healthy food for a healthy workforce There are a number of catering outlets on Trust premises and you may wonder how the product range is decided.

recognise that customers have the right to choose, which is why you will still find confectionary, cakes and chips on offer.

In all outlets the decision is a fine balance between offering healthy foods, minimising environmental impacts and charging reasonable prices. Our primary focus is on producing and selling as many healthy products as we can. However, we also

The list below gives examples of the range of healthy foods and products in many of our catering outlets: • Fresh fruit • Salads • Low fat snack bars/crisps • Wholemeal/granary bread/rolls and sandwiches with low fat fillings and fish • Low fat spread • Lean meat jacket potato fillings • Little/no salt in our homemade dishes • Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk in our homemade dishes and for teas/coffees • No/low sugar drinks • No/low fat yoghurts • Hospitality sandwiches include a selection of low fat fillings and fish • Table signage promoting ‘5 a day’ • Weightwatchers’ products and recipes using the ‘points’ system We have trained many of our catering staff in recognised dietary and nutrition

Music therapy project proves a success The Community Learning Disability Directorate recently completed a project which offered music therapy to several teams in the city and county, many of whom had not previously had access to it. The aims were to: • Gain evidence about the effectiveness of music therapy with adults with learning disabilities who had experienced abuse, trauma and neglect. • Focus on service users from deprived areas who may be isolated socially and emotionally. • Develop evaluation methods to gather evidence. • Use the results to inform changes and make recommendations for future music therapy provision with the specified client group. • Improve access to psychological therapies for learning disabled clients. The feedback was extremely positive and music therapy was seen to be an effective intervention for clients who had experienced abuse, trauma and neglect. It provided an alternative to verbal therapies for those with complex communication needs who found it difficult to process their emotional experiences verbally. All the service users who completed questionnaires said that music therapy had helped them; 70% said that it had helped a lot. Referrers, carers and professionals wrote about the positive benefits of music therapy and said they would like the service to be available in the future.

qualifications and most of our wall signs and pictures subtly promote healthier food items (e.g. jacket potatoes, salads, fruit). Reviews are also being carried out on the contents of vending machines. Several lines of confectionary are being replaced with dried fruits and some fizzy drinks are being replaced with flavoured waters. We continue to work with our suppliers, listen to the comments from our customers and do what we can to accommodate suggestions and new ideas. We look forward to seeing you in one of our catering outlets soon.

Jenny (not her real name) had been through many traumatic experiences. She was unable to communicate her feelings through words and mostly engaged with people through body language and vocal gestures. She was referred to music therapy after her mood deteriorated significantly. In the early stages of therapy, Jenny appeared withdrawn and unsettled in the sessions and would refuse opportunities to play the instruments. However, as the therapy progressed, she started to feel more relaxed and was able to engage in reciprocal musical exchanges with the therapist. Music therapy gave Jenny an opportunity to process her emotional experiences without needing to rely on words. Staff at the day centre also reported that Jenny became increasingly communicative and self assured in her interactions at the centre.

Grace Whiting, Music Therapist (left) and colleague Nathan Bettany.

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Nottinghamshire Healthcare

NHS

NHS Trust

about involvement

Taking part in an Invest to Lead session

Membership and involvement update The Trust now has more than 7,900 public members who continue to be involved in activities, with many working alongside our two involvement centres, volunteers and staff to make a positive difference. Feedback Feedback is important to us. One way we gather the views and opinions of people

who use our services is via the service user and carer experience survey. These surveys continue to be sent to every team in the Trust. Reports are generated and each team receives feedback about the number and type of responses about their service. The Service User and Carer Experience Group, which meets in the Involvement Centre at Duncan Macmillan House, ensures service users and carers receive feedback on the comments they raise and any action taken in response.

Patient Opinion Patient Opinion is another important part of gathering views on the services we provide. Jane Danforth, Involvement Officer, and a small team of service user volunteers deliver training workshops to raise awareness about the benefits of Patient Opinion. The workshop takes a step by step approach to posting patientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; opinions about the services received, and shows what happens to opinion and how responses are generated.

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Induction programme More involvement volunteers and members are getting involved in the Trust induction programme every month. They share their personal experiences of mental health, learning disability or substance misuse, and explain about the work of Involvement. They discuss what involvement means to them and raise awareness of the good work happening in our two involvement centres and across the Trust. Training and development Involvement places Recovery at the heart of everything it does and has created many learning and development opportunities for its volunteers. They are often encouraged to take part as a way of moving forward in their recovery and developing new skills whilst also supporting the work of the Trust to develop high quality services. City and Guilds Level 2 Introduction to Training, and City and Guilds Level 2 Mentoring courses have been run, along with many others. Rainbow Learning has also run IT workshops at Rosewood, giving volunteers the opportunity to develop new skills or brush up on existing ones. Invest to Lead 3 and the East Midlands Leadership Academy Following the success of the 2009/10 Invest to Lead 2 programme, the Trust ran Invest to Lead 3, to develop staff and volunteer leaders. Volunteers from both involvement centres took up the opportunity to participate in the fivemonth programme and have been invited to work with the East Midlands Leadership Academy. Forensic Services Some involvement volunteers in Forensic Services have developed regular links to the Patients’ Council at Rampton Hospital and the forums at Wathwood and Arnold Lodge. Others are working with Community Forensic Teams and their service users and carers via the Involvement Centre. They have developed a Participating Patients Group that has written an accessible leaflet about tribunals and is in the process of writing an easy-read version of a leaflet that describes the use of seclusion.

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Employment Resourcing Interview Forum (ERIF) The ERIF continues to grow and develop. Trevor Hogg, Rosewood Volunteer, leads on this development with support from Nigel Groves, Rosewood Centre Manger. Together they continue to develop systems and processes that support service users and carers to be involved in interviews.

students was fantastic. The Library has been invited to return to both colleges this month.

Trevor Hogg and Becky Cassidy, Involvement Support Officer at Rosewood, have delivered ERIF training to patients at Wathwood Hospital, with a view to them becoming involved in interviews for new staff.

Recovery Forum at Bassetlaw Hospital Rosewood was invited to attend the recovery forum at Bassetlaw Hospital to talk about involvement and the centre’s activities. Attendees heard about the involvement currently going on within their services and took part in positive discussion and feedback. It is hoped that there will be an improvement in the level of involvement in the north of the county as a result of the presentation.

Human Library There have been two recent Human Library events at colleges in the north of the county – North Notts College, Worksop and the Dukeries College, New Ollerton. The ten ‘books’ were all volunteers from Rosewood and the Involvement Centre, while the ‘readers’ were students studying health and social care. Both events were hugely successful and the feedback received from the

Involvement outreach from Duncan Macmillan House Members of the Involvement Team will be working with Hughendon Lodge and Kim Davies from Adult Mental Health to develop a forum at the Lodge where people can get involved and learn more about the Trust’s approach to involvement. Watch this space for more news and updates about reaching out to communities to get involved.

Voluntary and befriending services update Over the past few months there have been some exciting developments within the Befriending Scheme designed to bring it more in line with the Trust’s Recovery Strategy. Befriending matches are now time limited and focus on how the befriender can support the client in getting involved in social activities that they can continue when the befriending match ends. Ideally these will be communitybased activities with opportunities to develop new friendships. All befriending matches are reviewed regularly to monitor progress and set goals for the following six months. Another new development is the Befriending Club that started in February. This is a social gathering for current befrienders and their clients and a chance to share experiences and form new friendships. It gives everyone the opportunity to see what goes on in the Involvement Centres and encourages

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Lucy Jones, Public Governor Member, South Yorkshire and Rest of East Midlands I look forward to serving as a governor and am grateful for the opportunity. I see my role as promoting the welfare of service users and carers and supporting the local community to engage

with the Trust. I commend the Trust's commitment to providing high quality care, to yield better healthcare outcomes and to reduce the stigma of mental illness and learning disabilities. I also particularly support its work to improve and tailor its services and to empower service users, carers and the public. Mental healthcare is just as important as physical healthcare. Mental healthcare is about helping people to be happier through better perceptions, choices and skills – easy to say but

them to get involved in the work of the Trust. The volunteering services are also developing ideas and projects, working alongside colleagues in the Trust. One example is the development of a volunteer mentoring service within the new Woodlands Unit. This will involve training volunteers in mentoring skills and placing them alongside clients in the unit to offer peer support both on the unit and continuing in the community once they are discharged. Amongst other things the volunteer mentor will support them in attending outpatient appointments. A volunteer conference is being planned for National Volunteers Week in June to celebrate the work of volunteering within the Trust and showcase the work of volunteers with a view to creating new volunteering opportunities. Watch this space for more details. There is something for everyone in volunteering. Could your unit/ward benefit from a volunteer? Do you have a service user who may be interested in volunteering or being a befriender? If so please contact either Joanna Rapson on 9529424 or Sarah Mundell on 9555401.

often difficult to do. Mental ill health increasingly affects us all, reflecting the demands of modern life and work, population ageing and alienation. My work in the NHS and at policy level in the Department of Health has helped me understand some of the challenges our healthcare system is facing. Putting people more in control of their healthcare can transform their care experience and outcomes for the better. It maximises their freedom of choice, empowering them to take

responsibility for their own care and motivating them to take time to understand their condition and the options for their healthcare. It should also enable them to become partners with clinicians and other professionals in their healthcare. I would welcome any advice on how best I can represent others’ views or concerns. If you would like to get in touch with Lucy, please do so via the Membership Office: telephone 0800 012 1926 or email membership@nottshc.nhs.uk.

Stuart Maule, Public Governor Member for Nottinghamshire County Stuart Maule has been a member of the Trust for more than two years and in September 2010 was elected on to the Members’ Council as one of the public governor members for the Nottinghamshire County constituency. At 17 years old, Stuart is the Trust’s youngest governor member. He recently visited the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit at Thorneywood: “My visit helped me learn a lot about the services the unit provides for children and young people. I asked if my role as a governor would be useful. The response I received was enthusiastic and inspiring. They felt this was a way for them to be better represented at meetings such as the Members’ Council and to have their issues raised. “At the Members’ Council meeting in January I raised two issues: “The service user and carer experience surveys at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Unit

have a low response rate. The surveys are the same in every unit to help give an overall comparison for all the Trust’s services. However, the current feedback form is not relevant enough for the CAMHS Unit and children in the unit may not always understand the questionnaire. I have been working with Paul Sanguinazzi, Head of Involvement, to resolve this issue and increase the response rate for the CAMHS Unit. “Standards for CAMHS are currently set in accordance with other services within the Trust, again to ensure consistency and give a comparison across all services. However, there are many operational differences between adult’s and children’s services which make these targets irrelevant and sometimes unachievable within CAMHS. I will be working with Simon Smith, Executive Director of Local Services, to try and address this.” If you would like to get in touch with Stuart you can do so via the Membership Office: telephone 0800 012 1926 or email membership@nottshc.nhs.uk.

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Update from the Members’ Council The second meeting of the Members’ Council was held on 10 January at the Mansfield Civic Centre and focused on the Trust’s Business Plan. Before the meeting, governor members took part in a training session about the NHS and finance. The next meeting of the Members’ Council will be held on Tuesday 19 April. Members can represent their views via the Members’ Council and the governor member for the constituency in which they live. If you would like to get in touch with a governor member please contact the Membership Office on 0800 012 1623. More information is on the Trust’s website at www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk.

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Welcome to our new governor members The Members’ Council would like to introduce two new governors who have recently taken up vacant seats on the Council: Simon Wildgust, Nottinghamshire County Simon replaces Angela Brooks as public governor member for the Nottinghamshire County constituency following Angela’s decision to step down from the Council. Simon received the second highest number of votes in the election (for Nottinghamshire County). Joanna Rapson, Staff: Non-Clinical Joanna Rapson replaces Eimear Strong as staff governor member for non-clinical support services following Eimear’s resignation from the Trust. Joanna works as Voluntary Services Co-ordinator for the Trust. In the election for the non-clinical constituency the voting results were tied for the next two candidates. As both candidates were still willing to stand, an involvement volunteer drew formal lots to decide the new governor member. The process was witnessed by other volunteers and staff members.

Update on governor member activity

A lot has happened since the first Members’ Council meeting back in September 2010: • Four governor training sessions have taken place: mental health awareness, equality and diversity, learning disability awareness, and NHS finance. • Three governor members were involved in the open evening for the recruitment of the new Chairman. • Governor visits to Trust services are taking place. • A governor member steering Simon Wildgust group has been set up to help plan future meetings and progression of the Members’ Council. • Four governors put themselves forward to take part in the Performance sub-group. • Some governors Joanna Rapson are taking part in the communities of interest groups and were involved in developing a new carers’ community of interest. • The Governor Ambassador Scheme has been launched, giving governors the opportunity to be engaged more closely with services and feed back to the Members’ Council and Trust Board. Future developments for the Members’ Council Governors have also been invited to take up some of the following developmental opportunities: • Shadow a senior member of staff • Attend a training session on the new Transforming Community Services Directorate • Apply for the role of lead governor • Spend time at the Involvement Centres.

Stepping forward: dementia in BME communities The Trust’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Dementia Project Team has been awarded a grant from NHS East Midlands to develop awareness of dementia in BME communities and advise on appropriate services. In December Professor Mike Cooke, Chief Executive, met with the team at Highbury Hospital to discuss the work. The project aims to listen, explore and implement innovative evidence-based best practice and promote memory services work to the BME communities, which are under-using the health services against expected dementia incidence levels.

Andrea Ward, General Manager of Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP), has provided the support of MHSOP and senior leadership backing for this initiative. During the early stages of the project the team has contacted and engaged with some 15 BME community groups, giving dementia awareness presentations and meeting community managers and leaders. More than 20 community leads have been recruited and trained to undertake community development on dementia. The elders, carers, dementia service users and

community support staff from diverse backgrounds will offer an informed community perspective on an integrated care pathway for BME dementia service users and carers. The project will then seek out BME people with dementia and carers to listen to their stories of what has worked for them and what would

Andrea Ward (General Manager) meets with BME dementia community leads and trainers at a training event in October.

enhance their lives in living well with dementia. An additional grant has been offered to take the Nottinghamshire BME Dementia Project into the East Midlands region. A second project plan has been submitted and provisionally agreed. Watch this space for more details.

“He’s very elderly and has dementia. His family cares for him. They speak little English, are very religious and are particular about hygiene, worship and diet. Is there any place I can send him to? They don’t want him to go to a hospital or nursing home.” General practitioner

Mike Cooke meets with staff working on BME dementia. From left to right Javid Khalique (CDW MHSOP & Project Manager), David Connolly (Consultant Psychologist), Deborah Thompson (Modern Matron), Abdul Khan (CDW), Jill Guild (Strategic Health Authority) and Mike Cooke (CEO).

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‘Shaping Our Futures’ A consultation event held last month gave service users, carers, members and governor members an opportunity to hear and respond to the Trust’s business plans for 2011/12 and to get involved in shaping the plans for services that matter to them. More than 100 people attended the event which was opened by Paul Sanguinazzi, Head of Involvement for the Trust. Brenda Howard, Director of Business Development and Marketing, set the scene and talked of the challenges ahead including providing higher quality services with less money. Mike Harris, Executive Director of Forensic Services, and Simon Smith,

Executive Director of Local Services, spoke honestly and openly about their respective directorates and the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead. A number of short presentations then outlined specific plans and objectives from each directorate within Forensic and Local Services before attendees were allocated to discussion workshops according to their service interest, with an opportunity to rotate workshops later in the afternoon. Will Juckes, Involvement Volunteer, entertained the audience with performances of music and poetry at the beginning and end of the conference. The event sparked plenty of questions, thoughts and lively debate. There was some really good feedback and a

number of ideas on how to improve similar events in the future. • 95% of people said that they would be interested in attending a similar event next year. • 98% thought that the information

Let’s Build launches new training programme A new-look training programme for Let’s Build will be launched on Friday 18 March. Everyone is welcome to attend the event between 10am and 2pm at The Willows, Ransom Wood Business Park, Mansfield.

Are you the person responsible for training in your team or department? Perhaps you’re interested in attending a one day course or something more substantial leading to a formal qualification. The Let’s Build team will be on hand to discuss your training needs and ways they can support you to access

Spantomime Players take to the stage Staff and service users from the Social Inclusion and Wellbeing Service’s drama group wowed an expectant audience with their debut performance ‘Himderella’, a pantomime written and directed by Tim Wood, Training Area Leader. ‘The Spantomime Players’ performed in December at the Bonington Theatre,

the most appropriate training for you or your organisation. Light refreshments will also be available.

certification, diplomas in health and social care, teacher training qualifications and much, much more.

Let’s Build offers training about drugs and alcohol, substance misuse workforce policy development, Chartered Management Institute

Please call John Gough on 01623 652743 or email john.gough@nottshc.nhs.uk to let the team know if you plan to attend.

Arnold and their show was enjoyed by an audience of around 120 people. Not only was the performance well received, but more importantly those who took part overcame a number of personal difficulties including anxiety and confidence issues.

Baines; Val Wilkinson as Prince Harry and Dobbin; Ian Brown as Prince William; Carl Enever as Sam; Tim Wood as Ivor and Jack Frost.

As Amy, one of the audience members, put it: “a fantastic performance – you all obviously worked so hard and it all paid off with a hilarious pantomime. I look forward to next year’s show”.

The group was supported by technical staff from the Bonington Theatre and members of staff from the Social Inclusion and Wellbeing Service, making the show a real team effort, and a social inclusion event that was enjoyed by the cast and audience alike.

The cast of Himderella was: Neil Worthington as The Narrator; Ruth Boden as Celeste; Liz Hayto as Christine; Alieu Njai as Himderella; Val Lupton as a tree, Old Mother Frost/Fairy God Mother and Ivy; Helen Fretwell as a tree, Kim and

The Spantomime Players now hope to put on two performances each year – a pantomime and a summer performance of a short comedy, an original piece to be written by one of the actors. We look forward to the next production.

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Transforming Community Services

Main: Simon Smith, Executive Director Local Services, presents to the group. Inset: Will Juckes, Involvement Volunteer, reads poetry at the start of the conference.

sheets we provided on each directorate and their plans were very useful/useful. • 95% thought that the presentations were very useful/useful.

event”, “Workshops were a brilliant way to discuss plans and understand the structure of services” and “A good opportunity to understand what and why things are happening”.

Comments on the day included: “The day went really well and it was a useful exercise”, “A really useful

Services will now consider the feedback received from the event when finalising their plans.

Booklet brings Asperger Syndrome into focus Adults with Asperger Syndrome have documented their accounts of living with the condition in a new booklet entitled ‘Asperger Syndrome - Step into the Light: A Closer Look at this Hidden Disability’. The booklet is based on accounts gathered by the Trust’s Asperger Community of Interest, which also produced the document. It is aimed at prospective partner organisations of the Nottingham City Asperger Service (NCAS), and contains detailed information about all aspects of the much-misunderstood condition. “We surveyed adults with Asperger Syndrome and the results showed a real lack of awareness in Nottingham,” said Clare Astle, Social Inclusion Worker. “Our service users were telling us that when they sought advice from organisations there was a lack of knowledge about the condition. We felt there was a need to show the real impact of living with it.” The booklet describes experiences ranging from workplace attitudes to a simple trip to the pub. It also

highlights the difficulties people can encounter when claiming benefits or accessing health services. “The ultimate goal is to try and produce tailored publications for different organisations, if we can. We are looking for new organisations to partner with,” added Clare. Organisations that have already pledged support for the Asperger community include The National Autistic Society, Nottingham Trent University, the Carers Federation and Remploy. Graham Bolfry, who represented Remploy at the launch event, praised the booklet: “It’s getting that real picture out there. People with Asperger Syndrome often present themselves a lot better than people with other conditions, at least initially, so it can be difficult for people to understand,” he said, “but we’ve supported people with Asperger Syndrome into employment. One girl initially struggled with a job at a coffee shop. It was about getting across to her workmates why she behaved the way she did. She’s been working there over a year now.” If you would like to join the Asperger Community of Interest, please get in touch with Clare Astle on 0115 854 2207 or email clare.astle@nottshc.nhs.uk by Friday 11 March.

On 1 April 2,200 new colleagues will be joining the Trust to deliver community services. The group is transferring in from Nottingham Community Health as part of plans to transfer community service delivery from Nottinghamshire Community Health to County Health Partnerships. County Health Partnerships is the new provider alliance that includes the Trust, Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services (who currently provide out of hours and primary care services through a social enterprise), and Principia Providers in Health (a primary care clinician-led company). The Partnership was selected as the preferred provider for community services in November and since then a great deal of work has been going on to make sure that the services and the staff that provide them are transferred safely to their new employment with the Trust. The partnership sees this arrangement as a first step in the ‘Transforming Community Services’ agenda. It will allow an engagement approach to develop over time, which in turn will help develop services that will deliver more care for patients outside acute hospitals and based in the community, increasing the overall effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery. The partner primary care organisations will be supported to further establish themselves as provider organisations and to develop robust governance and service delivery experience. There will be opportunities to develop innovative new integrated models of physical and mental health care for people with longterm conditions that will be easier to explore in the partnership. The Partnership expects the transition will take six months or more from June 2011 onwards. Thereafter, it will aim to drive the integration approach through a business planning process, which will see the Partnership developing service strategies for a period of five years and an annual account for the year 2011/12. We look forward to our new colleagues joining us on 1 April.

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Open day for new rehabilitation unit An event held in January gave visitors the opportunity to find out about the development of a new locked unit at the Heather Close site in Mansfield. The unit will offer 18 beds to clients who have experienced a complex range of mental health issues and require long term support and treatment within a controlled environment. It will be a redevelopment of three of the six

l-r Mike Cooke, Chief Executive, Dr Phil Meats, Clinical Director Adult Mental Health (North), Sharon Eaton, Business/Development Manager at the open day

bungalows making up the Heather Close residential facility, which provides care and treatment for people recovering from enduring mental health conditions who are not yet ready to return home. The new unit will mean that people who previously had to leave their local area for such care will now be able to access it closer to home. Well over 100 staff, service users and carers attended the open day to view plans, colour boards and furniture, talk to the Design Team, learn about the keyless card system to be used in the unit and even taste samples from the proposed menu. They also voted for one of three suggestions for the unit’s name. It will now be called Bracken House. Three silk paintings also created on the day will be displayed in the new building. Caroline Pinnick, Project Lead, said: “Currently the provision of care packages for service users requiring an extended period of rehabilitation within a controlled environment is determined on an individual basis following a needs-

Latest Trust survey results In the latest Trust survey (October to December 2010) 89% of people rated our services as good, very good or excellent. Since June 2009 we have received 4194 responses to the survey. In the last quarter we received 760 responses, 657 from Local Services and 103 from Wathwood, Arnold Lodge and Community Forensic Services in Forensic Services. Following is a summary of the findings and how they compare with last quarter. Last quarter’s figures are in brackets. Our services were rated as excellent, very good or good by

90% (90%) of people in Local Services and by 83% (70%) in Forensic Services. Communication about care and treatment was rated as excellent, very good or good by 86% (88%) of people in Local Services and by 78% (67%) of people in Forensic Services. The percentage of people who said they were always treated with dignity and respect was 86% (85%) in Local Services and 86% (63%) in Forensic Services. The percentage of people who said they were either always or sometimes involved in decisions

Artist Andres Wynne with one of the silk paintings that will hang in the new unit.

focused assessment. The vast majority of these placements are outside Nottinghamshire and also within the private sector provision. It’s great that we will be able to provide this facility within the locality, enabling service users and carers the opportunity to be closer to and maintain their links to the communities in which they live.”

about their care was 91% (88%) in Local Services and 96% (83%) in Forensic Services. The percentage of people who said that our services had made their lives either a lot or a bit better was 84% (84%) in Local Services and 79% (69%) in Forensic Services. The survey contains five simple questions (seven in Forensic Services) to find out how people rate the service; whether they were treated well and if they believe it has made a difference to their lives. There is also an opportunity for people to comment on what they would most like to be improved and the best thing about the service. Results from the survey are provided to each team and directorate quarterly (sixmonthly in Forensic Services) so they can act on the feedback

and use it to help ensure they continue to provide a quality service. Survey analysis is carried out by the Institute of Mental Health.

Focus on Adult Mental Health Services in Nottingham City In this service 179 people gave their views and 83% rated services as good, very good or excellent. The percentage of respondents who said that these services had made their lives either a lot or a bit better was 74%. The top three issues raised were: lack of activities provided for people; the amount of time staff are able to spend with people and issues about the environment and facilities.

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Broomhill House celebrates Burns Night Friday 28 January saw 47 service users from Broomhill House, Framework and carers from the Broomhill’s Carers Group attend the third annual ‘Robert Burns Night Supper’, a celebration of the birthday of Scotland’s famous poet, at the Memorial Hall in Gedling. The night was a great success and everyone enjoyed the traditions of the supper, poems, addresses and speeches, as well as the main meal of haggis, neeps (swede) and tatties (potatoes) – or a chicken roast dinner for those not brave enough to enjoy the delicacy of the haggis. The supper was accompanied by some excellent entertainment provided by service users Tom and Sarah, whose music gave a more modern theme to the supper and added to the success of the night. Many thanks to Stuart Vanner for his rendition of the famous Robert Burns poem ‘Address to the Haggis’. If Robert Burns was looking down on the night he would have been very proud. Thanks also go to Angela Purdue for opening the supper with the traditional ‘Selkirk Grace’, Ray Boden for his ‘toast to the lasses’ and Adam Zagorski for giving everyone the history of Robert Burns’ life with a rendition of the ‘Immortal Memory of Robert Burns’.

Visiting speaker discusses bipolar disorder Early in December psychiatrist Dr Nick Stafford presented a workshop at Duncan Macmillan House titled ‘Understanding Bipolar’. The event was organised by Diane Lavelle, Senior Practitioner CPN, and hosted by Theo Stickley in the School of Nursing. It was attended by more than 80 people from both voluntary and statutory sectors. Dr Stafford works as a consultant psychiatrist in Leicester and is Vice Chair of MDF, The Bipolar Organisation. He leads on the psycho education/self-management training programme and has experienced bipolar disorder since his teens. His talk covered famous people with bipolar and their successes, current medical interest in bipolar disorder internationally, increased investment by government, health institutions and health-related businesses in bipolar disorder, current research into bipolar (diagnosis, brain scanning, neurophysiology), the use of new and old drugs and the continuing success of lithium in the treatment of bipolar and how it has reduced suicide. A big thank you to Dr Stafford for a very informative afternoon.

Diane Lavelle and Theo Stickley with Nick Stafford (centre)

A huge thanks goes to all the staff (Kirsty, Debbie, Ria, Angela, Marilyn and James) who helped in organising the event and preparing the three-course meals, and also to everyone who attended and made the night so successful.

New website points the way forward for race equality in healthcare The Race Equality Foundation is a charity that promotes race equality in health, housing and social care. It does this by exploring what is known about discrimination and disadvantage, and then using the evidence to develop interventions to help overcome barriers.

The Foundation has recently launched a ‘Better Health’ website, designed to help health practitioners improve service provision for black and minority ethnic communities. The site provides a forum to access and discuss the Foundation’s evidence-based briefing papers, which provide information and guidance on a variety of issues including: • The impact of personal or institutional racism on black and minority ethnic service users and staff. • Limitations in the provision of culturally, ethnically and linguistically appropriate health services. • Obstacles to participation and engagement by black and minority ethnic service users in health services, such as segregation, dispersal or language.

• Intersections between age, disability, gender, faith, poverty and ethnicity. • Best practice examples to tackle discrimination and disadvantage. The site includes a collection of related resources, web links and events listings and highlights the changing legislative background to equality issues, providing guidance to help practitioners embed good practice in their everyday work. To access the full collection of free-toview briefings, resources and web links, please visit www.better-health.org.uk. For further information and training opportunities using evidence-based practice contact Aneela Asim, Director of Health and Housing, at aneela@racefound.org.uk.

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Find medication information online with new Trust website The National Patient Survey has consistently demonstrated that many service users are not given sufficient information about their medication, specifically about its purposes and side effects. It is encouraging that the Mental Health Community Survey 2010 demonstrated that our Trust has made significant improvements (and is now better than the majority of trusts) in providing this information to service users. To build upon this success, and hopefully improve further, the Trust’s Pharmacy Services have implemented an online resource called ‘Choice and Medication’ which provides a wide range of information and advice about mental health medications and conditions. ‘Choice and Medication’ provides information on 18 different mental health

Bon voyage John Mazur 56-year-old John Mazur retired from his role as Kingsley Ward Manager on 31 December 2010.

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conditions and over 120 medicines, with at least 20 questions and answers for almost every mental health drug. Patient information leaflets summarising the online information can also be downloaded and printed for each of the medicines, with short, simple, pictorial versions for medicines commonly used within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). A handy chart on the site allows medications used in the treatment of specific mental health conditions to be compared. The chart can be downloaded and printed. ‘Choice and Medication’ is a comprehensive and user-friendly resource which should prove to be very useful to people directly accessing the Trust’s services, as well as carers. All information contained on the website is subject to a continuous programme of update and development. The ‘Choice and Medication’ website is available from the Trust internet site at www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk. Click on the ‘Information’ tab and then select ‘Learn More About Medicines’. Staff working in the Trust can also access the site from the Trust intranet by going to the Pharmacy pages.

described John as “a fantastic manager” and “fair and approachable”. John indulged in two retirement parties – one with management and past colleagues in the Music Room at Millbrook, and one on the ward with staff and patients on his last day at work.

He plans to spend his retirement John joined the NHS IN 1976 and joined travelling with his wife Mary. We wish Millbrook Mental Health Unit in 1987. John a ‘bon voyage’. During his career he achieved AIMS accreditation on the ward and has also John and colleagues at one of his two retirement parties. Left to right: Caroline Stark, Deborah Thompson, Kate been nominated for an OSCAR in the Humphries, Andrea Cain, John Mazur, Dr Geeta Santhram, forthcoming awards. Colleagues Tracy Siddall, Karen Kuchta, Nicola Snee, Jeanette Lee.

South Notts colleagues develop Recovery skills In November practitioners from the south of the county took part in their fifth practice development day. The themed day on Recovery saw staff from Broxtowe, Rushcliffe and Gedling community mental health teams, Early Intervention, Assertive Outreach and the Department of Psychology attend informative and interactive sessions given by practitioners in those areas. The aim of the days has always been to share practice across the south of the county on a diverse range of topics with people at the very frontline of services delivering sessions for colleagues. Following a short presentation on a time-line looking at what had been covered on previous days, David Waldron, Deputy Manager, A42, gave a presentation on Recovery from a ward perspective. This was followed by interactive sessions by Gedling/ Broxtowe and Rushcliffe practitioners including behavioural activation and social notions of Recovery. The Roads to Recovery organisation spoke to attendees and found a very useful opportunity to make links with practitioners for future involvement within services. Finally Rob Rodgers and his colleagues from Worksop gave a fun and thought-provoking session incorporating snakes and ladders! Overall the day was a success and provided the chance for practitioners to share the excellent practice that is going on, often unnoticed. Despite some practitioners’ nerves about presenting, participants were pleased (and relieved) to have done it. The group is now looking to extend further and become a county-wide forum, including colleagues in the north of the county. For more information about the group contact Dave Smith, Senior Occupational Therapist, Broxtowe and Hucknall CMHT on 0115 8541271 or email dave.smith@nottshc.nhs.uk or Dave Allen, Social Worker on david.allen@nottshc.nhs.uk or 0115 945 5990 Option 1.

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q What is your favourite hobby? a Spending time in the great

What is your job title and what does your role entail? a Support Secretary. I am part of the admin team in the Chief Executive’s office. This is a very varied role; one minute I can be typing executive summaries and the next, setting up a venue for a conference. Our team is responsible for the programme logistics for the Executive Leadership Council and Invest to Lead events, and this is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. We also support the other teams within Trust HQ such as the Chair’s office and Comms. I’m lucky to work with other teams within the Trust, such as the Involvement volunteers, where I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the Anti-Stigma work, including playing Tag rugby and helping out at Panthers matches.

How long have you been with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust? a Since April 2010, I started as a temporary administrator in the Business Development and Marketing Unit before moving to my current role.

outdoors.

q What keeps you awake at night? a Worrying. q What is your favourite film? a I just can’t choose between The

q&a

This month we talk to Support Secretary Charlotte Harris

q What was the last CD you bought? a Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons. They

What do you see as your priorities for Nottinghamshire Healthcare? a To meet the needs of a growing population in a tough economic climate without compromising patient care.

are an English folk rock band.

q What makes you angry? a Injustice, apathy and pessimism.

What is your employment background? a Before studying at University and in between I have held jobs along two themes. I have worked in administration in several business development offices and on a variety of Livestock Farms. From a 10,000 bird free-range Poultry Unit to Cattle Ranches in Montana.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? a Be the change that you want to see in the world.

111 urgent care phone service expands across the region Thanks to a proposal submitted by NHS East Midlands, the region is a pilot site for the new NHS 111 urgent care telephone service. Under the planned scheme callers should, wherever possible and via one

q What is your greatest achievement? a Graduating in 2009 with a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Biology.

q What are you most passionate about? a Good food and the production of it. q

What single thing would improve your working life at Nottinghamshire Healthcare? a A portal from home to work. I am an early bird and I always feel like there is something better that I could be doing with my energy first thing in the morning rather than commuting.

call, have access to an appropriate emergency or urgent care response such as advice, self care, treatment and care and referral. Where an appointment is needed this should be bookable. The NHS 111 service within Nottingham City and Lincolnshire has been fully operational since mid December and a wide

Shawkshank Redepemption and P.S I Love You. Both clearly for different reasons!

q What is your idea of bliss? a To finish renovating our house and farm and move in there with my fella.

q What three words would you use to describe yourself? a Energetic, reliable and determined. q What is your favourite holiday destination? a Devon. I spent three wonderful years living there. It is such a beautiful and varied landscape, and home to the warmest of people. q Who would you take to a desert island? a Gerard Butler, the male lead in the film 300, if you have seen it then you will know why! q Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time? a Having progressed to a different role within Nottinghamshire Healthcare, and making the most out of life. q Do you have a ‘claim to fame’? a No. q How would you like to be remembered? a That I put a smile on someone’s face.

variety of data is being collected to measure impact. The pilot is now set to expand at a far faster rate than originally anticipated and NHS Nottinghamshire County is joining Lincolnshire and Nottingham City in becoming a pathfinder site for the 111 service by November 2011.

The pilot of 111 is underpinned by a telephone clinical triage/assessment system (known as NHS Pathways) and by a comprehensive electronic skills-based directory of services which can monitor demand and capacity. For more information about the extension of the 111 Pathfinder Project across the East Midlands, please contact Martin Kay (Programme Lead) on 01623 673222.

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Glen Jarvis, Involvement Officer, Crime and Drugs Partnership, Rachel Redford, Woodlands Project Management Team Member, Kev Howard, Deputy Woodlands Manager, Liz Phillips, Service Manager, Let’s Build

Senior staff test new drug and alcohol facility A new regional inpatient unit has opened for people with drug and alcohol problems. The Woodlands, located at Highbury Hospital in Bulwell, was previously housed at the Wells Road Centre in Mapperley. Before patients moved in, senior managers from the Trust tested the environment with a ‘sleepover’, providing a chance to resolve any teething problems and to experience the facilities first-hand. Members of the executive board, staff who work in the facility and a service user and carer officer all took part. Simon Smith, Executive Director for Local Services, said: “This fit-for-purpose unit is long overdue. The new fresh environment provides a welcoming setting for some of the most disadvantaged of our service users. It was an interesting exercise to experience for ourselves what the service users face.” During the sleepover the team role-played an emergency call out, carried out an anti-barricade exercise and even took part in a mock staff attack to test the staff attack alarm system. Each room was also

checked to make sure equipment worked and furniture was comfortable and safe. Service users and carers were involved in the plans from the start of the proposals, taking part in planning meetings and offering constructive criticism, feedback and suggestions. Following the sleepover service users and carers visited the new facility to see the results. Woodlands consists of two buildings – Great Oaks and Tall Trees. Great Oaks comprises single bedrooms with ensuite facilities, each uniquely decorated to give a relaxed, homely and comfortable environment. Tall Trees is a two-storey building next door with a comfortable and welcoming reception area leading to two distinct areas – one for staff rest and office space and the other for service user Recovery activity.

Service users will also have access to a fully equipped multi-gym, lounge, meeting/ activity room, IT suite, sensory/ complementary therapy room and a large garden at the rear of the unit. The treatment programme at Woodlands is designed to offer a reduced length of stay and a wider range of therapies, with particular emphasis on links back into the community.

Richard Brown, Head of Capital Projects and Property with Laura McMullan, Staff Nurse, The Woodlands.

WHO WE ARE... WE NEED YOU! You may have picked up this copy of the newsletter not knowing what Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is. We provide mental health and learning disability services for the whole of Nottinghamshire. We also manage medium-secure units in Leicester and Rotherham, and the high-secure Rampton Hospital near Retford.

Printed on Revive · 100% recycled paper

If you have any ideas or suggestions for the newsletter, please contact Suzanne Aitken in the Trust Communications Team on 0115 955 5403 or via email at suzanne.aitken@nottshc.nhs.uk We are always pleased to receive articles for possible publication, but ask that they do not exceed 300 words. If any individuals other than yourself are mentioned in what you write or featured in accompanying photographs, please make sure you check with them that they are happy to be potentially featured. Please note that the Communications Team has full editorial control and may have to edit articles appropriately. Therefore, if you want to see the final version please ensure you send your article in with plenty of time before the deadline and state clearly what you require.

If you would like copies of any past editions of Positive, or if you are having any ‘distribution issues’ with the newsletter – whether you’re receiving too many copies, too few, or none at all then please contact us. If you would like your story in the May issue of Positive, please contact us by 9 April 2011. However, due to space constraints we cannot guarantee the publication of all articles received by the deadline. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, The Resource, Duncan MacMillan House, Porchester Road, Nottingham, NG3 6AA. Tel 0115 9691300 www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk