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Issue 57 . September 2011
Inside:Merger update
IAPT survey results
Felixstowe Allotment Group
Community survey
Memory clinic at conference
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month
Wedgwood building work
CAMHS research consortium
Whistleblowing
Agency worker regulations
Commemoration website
Personality disorder strategy
Foxhall House award shortlisting
Locality management
Terrace Restaurant closes its doors
Clinical supervision training
Farewell to Professor Robbins
Getting to know you
Top dementia care
Consultant research
ePEX record transfer success
Letters and compliments
. Contact us at: member ship@smhp.nhs.uk . online: www.smhp.nhs.uk/trustmatters
A big thank you goes out to staff who are getting involved in Suffolk Health
and Wellbeing Month in October. There are over 30 events registered
overall ranging from free Zumba, yoga and singing sessions, to stress
busting workshops, reminiscence road shows, an Open Secrets film
viewing and a ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ day. Find out more on the
webpages at www.themindsanctuary.com
Continues on page 3...
4 in 5 people who accessed
psychological therapies provided by
Improving Access to Psychological
Therapies (IAPT) were satisfied or very
satisfied with their therapist, a survey
has found. When asked how satisfied
they were overall with the therapist,
52.5% were very satisfied and a further
28% were satisfied.
IAPT caters for people with common
mental health problems such as
depression, anxiety and phobias in
partnership with Suffolk MIND.
An impressive 51% respondents said
they were very satisfied with their
working relationship with their therapist
and a further 30%t were satisfied.
The survey was carried out for the
period January to March 2011. Where
the results are less favourable than last
year this is thought to be because the
surveys were carried out anonymously
rather than completed in front of the
therapist.
Client comments included:
“My CBT therapist was excellent and
consequently my life is totally back to
normal.”
“My therapist was absolutely
fantastic and he has really helped me
to overcome my fears.”
“I was treated quickly and extremely
well in comfortable conditions.”
There is a common perception that
waiting times are too long which the
Trust is keen to dispel. 70% of those
questioned were satisfied or very
satisfied with the waiting time. Typically
patients are assessed within 10 days of
making contact with the service and
have their first treatment within 15 days.
Service users
positive about IAPT
The decision on whether the merger goes
ahead will be made at the end of
September. Monitor which is one of the
final organisation required to review the
merger plans, will meet with the Norfolk
and Waveney Trust in September.
A special meeting was held on 14
September to go through the proposal in
detail with the Board, and to discuss any
possible issues arising from the plans.
Monitor will then have its own board
meeting at which it will agree its
recommendation – in the form of a risk
rating between 1-5 (a rating of three and
above is considered acceptable). Monitor
will also provide a view on governance
(this is usually a traffic light – currently
green, but range from green – amber-
green – amber-red – red) on 28
September. However, the final decision
about whether the merger goes ahead is
not made until 30 September when the
Norfolk and Waveney Board of Directors
formally meet to consider the risk rating.
If the risk is considered acceptable, the
Board will approve the merger.
What happens then? If the Board of
Directors decide to go ahead,
documentation will be sent to the
Transaction Board and Secretary of State
to formalise the merger.
The proposed merger date is 1
November, at the earliest.
Have you say on the organisational
structure
All corporate and support services staff
involved in the formal consultation
process are encouraged to provide
feedback on the proposed new
organisational structure for the merged
Trust. The 90-day process with corporate
and support services and Suffolk Support
Services began on 1 September with all-
staff briefings in Norfolk and Suffolk.
A feedback system has been set up for
staff in Norfolk and Suffolk for staff to
make suggestions or comments about
the organisational structure and proposed
changes: staffconsultation@smhp.nhs.uk
What happens to the feedback?
Comments and queries are being
collated by the Human Resources Merger
Team and passed on to the relevant
Executive Workstream Lead for
consideration.
What if I have a question? The email
address is intended for feedback on the
structures and change management
processes. Personal queries and
concerns should be raised and dealt with
during individual one-to-one consultation
meetings or directed to your line manager
in the first instance. If you have an
urgent query that your line manager is
unable to answer which needs to be
resolved before your one to one meeting,
please call the HR Merger Team on
01603 421434.
Keep checking the staff consultation
page
A new intranet page has been developed
for the staff consultation process. It can
be found under Projects > Merger Project
> Merger Employee Consulation.
The page contains the latest information
during the staff consultation process.
Monitor’s decision:
what happens next?
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A new community health survey by Picker
Institute Europe for the Care Quality
Commission shows that the Trust is
achieving good patient satisfaction ratings
in line with the national average.
In the community survey the Trust scores
8 or above out of a possible 10 in 11 out
of 38 questions.
Lisa Llewellyn, Associate Director of
Governance and Patient Safety, said:
“The survey shows we are doing as well
or better than the national average and
there were no areas where we
underperformed compared with other
Trusts. In terms of overall categories, the
areas where we came out best were
questions about health and social care
workers (8.5 out of 10) and questions
about the care coordinator (8.4 out of 10).
The one weak area was in questions
about day to day living where we scored
overall 5.8 out of 10, but this was still in
line with the national average. We will
continue to work hard to improve our
performance so that hopefully next year
we can identify more areas where we are
above the average.”
Areas where the Trust scored particularly
well were: asked whether health and
social care workers treat them with
respect and dignity the satisfaction rating
was an impressive 9.3 out of 10. For the
important area of professionals listening
carefully to the patient the score was 8.6.
For knowing who their care coordinator
was, the score was 8.6, which was above
the national average. In an area where
Trusts have traditionally performed badly,
having the purpose of medication
explained, the score was a healthy 8.5.
For being given enough time to discuss
their condition and treatment, the score
was 8.4. For being given enough time to
express their views at a meeting, the
score was 8.3. For the competency with
which the care coordinator organises care
and services, the score was 8.3. For
having the professional take their views
into account, the score was 8.2. For being
able to contact their care coordinator if
they have a problem, the score was 8.2.
For having trust and confidence in the
professional, the score was 8.1. For being
asked how they are getting on with
medication, the score was 8.0.
Although the Trust has lower scores in
some other areas, these are all still in line
with the national average.
Areas that scored under 7 will be noted
for improvements. This includes receiving
help with care responsibilities, getting
help with physical health needs, for being
asked about use of non-prescription
drugs, for having an out of hours office
number, for help in finding and keeping
accommodation, for support finding or
keeping work, for getting help last time
they called in a crisis, for having a care
plan which sets out their goals, for being
told about medication side effects, for
finding talking therapy helpful, for being
given a chance to talk about what would
happen at a review meeting beforehand,
for involving a member of family or
someone close to the patient as much as
they would like, being given help to
achieve their goals and for being offered
a written copy of their care plan.
Community survey shows patient satisfaction
A Long Term Conditions Conference
was held at Trinity Park (Suffolk
Showground) on the 7th July 2011.
Among the delegates were GPs,
hospital doctors, nurses and
commissioners.
Dr Anna King, Associate Specialist in the
Ipswich Memory Clinic, gave a dynamic
presentation entitled “Dementia –
debunking the myths”.
In summarising her presentation, Dr
King said, “There are common
misconceptions, or myths about
dementia. I particularly wanted to
explain that dementia is not a normal
part of ageing, that it is important to
receive a diagnosis and that there is a
lot that can be done to help the patient
and their family.”
Delegates were also able to visit the
Memory Clinic stand (picture above)
manned by Dr Gill Collighan and Jackie
Carman, Team Manager.
Jackie said: “We are delighted with the
level of interest, links developed and
positive feedback received.”
Memory Clinic
attends conference
This summer saw the completion of a
greenhouse extension at Felixstowe
allotments. The allotment group was
started by Coastal CMHT ten years ago
at Railway Hill allotments off Coronation
Drive in Felixstowe. It runs every
Wednesday from 10.30 to 4.30 and
includes lunch. Some people come for an
hour, others all day. There are currently
13 attendees.
Senior occupational therapist, Jean
Fowler, said: “Gardening at home can be
lonely. The group is an ideal environment
for service users who need to adjust to
being with people and manage their
anxiety.
“The group has been very good for
people wanting to move on in their lives,
to gain confidence and a feeling of
mastery and pleasure. It ties in with goals
in their care plans and is part of their
treatment. One of our clients has now
moved on to volunteering in the garden
at Minsmere House in Ipswich.”
The garden comprises a quarter of an
acre with a pond, polytunnel, greenhouse
and tea shed. It is planted with
vegetables, flowers, fruit bushes and fruit
trees.
Service users harvest and take the
produce home. Surplus, including seeds
and fertiliser, is given away in the CMHT
office in return for donations which help
sustain the project.
Jean added: “Expanding the greenhouse
is brilliant because it means more than
two people will be able to work in there,
which will be good in the winter.
”We’re just putting the finishing touches
to it including a plastic covering. It has
taken about two months to do.”
Group member Colin, who has
fibromyalgia said: “Socially it a nice
group. I worked at Barnardo’s and did a
computer course at LearnDirect but I
have enjoyed this the most.”
Felixstowe allotment group:
blooming marvellous!
Below: The sun shines into the allotment group’s new greenhouse extension
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In November 2009,
the Trust identified
three quarters of a
million pounds
worth of desktop
devices - phones,
laptops and PCs - which were not being
used. The Trust actually had more
devices than staff and over the previous
12 months the number of desktop
computers had doubled. This led to the
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle project which
was launched in March 2010. Figures for
the first year of the project are now
available and show that the Trust is now
on course to reduce unnecessary costs
of around £0.3m annually. The project
quickly identified £150,000 of
‘tombstoned’ laptops – which had not
been used for a minimum of 30 days,
and some as long as a year. All unused
equipment was collected by IT and if
usable, rebuilt and redeployed. Some
staff were using old devices whilst new
ones in other areas were not being used.
Often quotes for new equipment led
instead to the redeployment of existing
equipment saving individual directorates
about £10,000 each. The reasons for the
surplus of equipment were various.
Devices were purchased each time a
new staff member was recruited or at
year end. Hardware was retained even
when there was no staff member in post
to use it. Sometimes equipment was
retained even when it had been
replaced. There was perception that
users could have more than one device
for their sole use and sometimes extra
devices were retained because of
reliability concerns. Staff working at
multiple sites sometimes accessed
numerous PCs instead of one laptop,
and many laptop users didn’t have use
of a docking station. As part of the
project, old and outdated equipment
which was underperforming was
replaced. Equipment was reclaimed in
areas where there was more than one
device per user and was then recycled.
The project aimed to ensure that
remaining devices were fit for purpose,
benefited from the correct peripherals
and were suitably located. Laptops and
desktops which were above minimum
specification were recycled and those
below specification were removed.
Laptop users were provided with docking
stations and flat screen monitors and
outdated PCs were removed. The
memory of some PCs was upgraded.
In the first year, the number of PCs and
laptops were reduced by around 300.
Over a four year period - the average
replacement time frame - it is projected
that the unnecessary costs will have
been reduced by £1m. All staff who have
been involved in the RRR project are to
be congratulated and thanked including
all those that volunteered info about
location of old and unused equipment.
Building work has started at Westgate
Ward, based at Wedgwood House in Bury
St Edmunds, to transform it into an ultra-
modern facility, perfect for patient-centred
care.
Staff spent the summer preparing for the
major refurbishment by decanting
inpatients into like-for-like areas where
they can continue caring for patients to
high standards.
The changes that are being made are
vital to creating a needs-led environment.
New features such as en-suite bathrooms
for all 17 bedrooms will allow staff to
provide dignity and improved quality of
care for patients during their stay.
The decant will allow changes to be made
with minimal disruption to inpatients,
allowing them to be moved out just once,
continue treatment as before, and then
move back in only when the
refurbishment is completed.
The building work will bring the ward,
which is part of the Trust’s older people’s
mental health services, in line with the
most modern mental health inpatients
environments in the country.
Julie Todd, Modernisation Project Lead,
said: “The work will be completed in two
phases, firstly transforming the 10-bed
side of the ward, followed by the 7-bed
dementia assessment unit.
“The project is part of a wider programme
of work to improve and modernise
services at the Trust.
“When the work is completed in July
2012, Westgate Ward will be brought up
to the standards of Foxhall House and the
new inpatient facilities at Heath Road,
both in Ipswich.”
The outside space will also be improved
with landscaped gardens providing
calming areas appropriate for the older
people being treated at Westgate Ward.
What is Suffolk
Health and
Wellbeing Month?
Suffolk Health and
Wellbeing Month is
a series of over 30
events taking place
during the month of
October. It includes events related to
World Mental Health Day, which occurs
on 10 October each year.
The month is focused on improving the
mental wellbeing of the people of Suffolk,
while also recognising the importance of
good general health in achieving this.
Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month
therefore includes activities that promote
an overall healthy lifestyle.
The Month has been coordinated in
partnership between The Mind
Sanctuary, Suffolk County Council and
the Trust.
Events have been organised by
organisations and therapists from the
public, voluntary and private sectors.
A full list of events can be found at
www.themindsanctuary.com
What are the aims of Suffolk Health
and Wellbeing Month?
The month aims to: reduce the stigma
surrounding mental health, promote local
services and organisations, and to
encourage people to take part in
activities that help them get involved in
their own wellbeing.
Why is Suffolk Health and Wellbeing
Month so important?
- 1 in 4 people experience a mental
health problem at some point in their life.
If we haven’t experienced it ourselves,
there’s a good chance that someone we
care about has.
- There is a strong link between our
physical health and our mental health.
Poor physical health can have a negative
impact on our mental health and vice
versa. We need to work towards an
overall state of good wellbeing.
- There are many local resources to
support individuals, organisations and
carers. There is no shame in asking for
help. Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month
brings everyone together across the
public, voluntary and private sectors to
raise awareness of wellbeing services,
together.
Is it too late to get involved?
If you would like an event added to the
Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month
event listings then get in touch with
Helen Abbott, Communications Officer,
on 01473 329700 as soon as possible.
Get ready for Suffolk Health and
Wellbeing Month this October!
Building work begins to
transform Wedgwood House
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The Agency Worker Regulations come
into force on 1 October 2011. From their
first day’s assignment with the Trust, an
agency worker is entitled to have access
to collective facilities and amenities and
access to information on job vacancies
(this includes staff rooms, parking
facilities and any other provision for
directly recruited staff within the Trust,
but does not include discretionary
benefits such as gym membership or
those benefits that are only accrued
through length of service). From the 12
week anniversary of the agency worker’s
assignment with the Trust, they are
entitled to the same basic terms and
conditions of employment as if they had
been employed directly by the Trust:
- Key elements of pay (such as pay
based on an annual salary, overtime
payments and shift allowances.)
- Duration of working time.
- Night work.
- Rest periods and rest breaks.
- Annual leave (which could be in the
form of a payment if over the statutory
minimum amount.)
- Paid time off for antenatal
appointments.
The Trust and employment agencies
must be prepared for how this will affect
day to day operations and ensure that
the appropriate governance measures
are in place prior to this date. The
HR Resourcing Team have therefore
produced pages on their Intranet pages
dedicated to the Regulations and their
application within the workplace. The
pages include presentation slides with
further details for managers, a position
statement from NHS Professionals and a
useful Frequently Asked Questions
section. For further detail relating to
specific cases, please contact your
HR Advisor in the first instance.
Contributed by Human Resources -
Resourcing Team.
You may remember that back in April and
May we asked staff to take part in a
survey about their awareness of whistle-
blowing and safeguarding procedures.
Thank you to everyone who took part.
We received fantastic feedback with 687
responses!
The findings of the survey showed that:
- 1 in 5 respondents say that they have a
good understanding of what the whistle-
blowing policy is about.
- 3 in 5 are aware of the ‘what to do if you
think something is wrong’ Intranet page.
- 2 in 5 feel the Trust would be supportive
if they raised a concern.
- The majority of people said they would
contact their line manager, or a
combination of their line manager and
someone else such as the safeguarding
team, if they had concerns about a child’s
safety.
- The majority of people also said they
would contact their line manager if they
thought an adult was at risk of harm or
exploitation.
- When asked how the Trust could be
more supportive, staff suggested a
number of changes including improving
communications, reviewing training and
development and promoting information
sharing.
We want to know if you think something
is wrong. You can make a difference. Our
service users trust us to do the right thing
but we can’t make a change if you don’t
share the problem.
Please take just a few moments to
familiarise yourself with the following:
- The Safeguarding Adults Policy and
Safeguarding Children Policy
- The Whistle-Blowing Policy/Procedure
- The Safeguarding and the ‘What to do if
you think something is wrong’ Intranet
page.
Whistle-blowing and
safeguarding survey results
Agency worker
regulations
A website has been launched to act as a
growing archive of stories, photos and
facts about St Clement’s Hospital ahead
of its closure later this year. Please visit
http://www.smhp.nhs.uk/stclements
Feedback from a research consortium
has showed positive results for the
Trust’s Children and Adolescent Mental
Health Services.
As a member of CORC - the CAMHS
Outcome Research Consortium - data
and results from the Trust’s CAMHS
service is analysed and compared to
other services in the country. The Trust’s
CAMHS service submitted a total of
1141 cases to be reviewed and
benchmarked against CORC’s total of
115388 cases. CAMHS scored positively
regarding the interventions offered to
service users. Just over 30% of cases
were offered cognitive behavioural
therapy against an overall CORC
average of 5.4%. This is in line with
NICE guidelines.
Evril Silver, Consultant Clinical
Psychologist, said: “Our young service
users were rated by clinicians at the start
of treatment as less well adjusted than
the young people seen in the rest of
CORC. The most important CORC
measure is the ‘Added Value Score’.
This indicates to what extent our young
people improved when compared to a
community sample. Our Added Value
Score was similar to other CAMHS
services in CORC.”
CAMHS results were extremely high
compared to the CORC average in
regards to input from other professionals
involved: medical staff were involved in
32.4% of cases compared to the CORC
average of 22.6%; nursing staff were
involved in 48.3% of cases compared to
14.6%; and clinical psychologists were
involved in 41.5% cases compared to
just 16%. Evril added: “On the scores
measured by clinicians it appears that
the young people we see have lower
average functioning i.e. more serious
difficulties, than those seen in most other
services. This means that our CAMHS
service is doing as well as other CAMHS
services nationally even though we are
seeing young people with more serious
difficulties.”
Feedback for the Trust’s CAMHS Eating
Disorders team was particularly
encouraging. Parents of young people
being seen by the service were very
positive, with all marking ‘certainly true’
for being treated well and the team
working together. This is in marked
contrast to the rest of CORC, who did
not score so highly in these areas.
In addition, the young people
themselves were also positive with all
indicating that they are being treated
well by staff, and that their views and
worries being heard and the team
working together. 72% of parents
working with the eating disorders team
said ‘a bit better’ or ‘much better’ when
asked about improvements made as a
result of the service. This was also
positive in other CAMHS areas with 68%
for CAMHS West, 59% for CAMHS East
and 58% for ADHD services.
CAMHS sees positive ratings
from research consortium
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This summer marked the end of an era as The Terrace Restaurant closed its doors for the final time. Catering staff and colleagues
from around St Clement’s Hospital gathered together for a special presentation ceremony and barbecue to mark the restaurant’s
final day. The restaurant had been running since 1996 in its current location and always received positive feedback from patients,
staff and visitors.
Meals will now be provided directly to the patients remaining on the St
Clement’s site at ward level. Staff will be able to access an
independent sandwich van service.
Photos from The Terrace
Restaurant’s final
day on 29 July
2011.
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Following criticism in the Rae Report,
work is underway to develop a new
personality disorder strategy for patients
who also have mental health problems.
The service will be the same across all
localities using existing experts and
training new ones. There will be a shift
from hospitalisation to wellbeing services.
The focus will be on long term rather than
short term risk. A key difference from
other services is that the clinical leads will
be psychological experts, not necessarily
consultant psychiatrists, although in some
cases this could mean medical staff with
psychological expertise.
The aims are to:
- Have better identification of who we are
taking about
- Understand the difference between
meeting a client’s need to reduce distress
and the service’s need to reduce risk
- Develop strategy within current
directives (there will not be a new
specialist service)
- Roll out supervision
- Develop new policies
- Clarify leadership
Awareness training will be set up to help
staff become aware of issues, identify
needs and be able to refer to appropriate
services. Clear policies will be developed
on awareness, assessment, risk
management, distress management,
clinical interventions and leadership.
The new supervision framework will be
used as a resource. Supervision will give
staff the space to reflect on the emotional
impact of their work, an opportunity to
discuss difficulties and to discuss
techniques and training needs.
Relationships with partner organisations
are seen as key as employment,
education and leisure are essential to
wellbeing.
Consultation events have been arranged
for staff to give feedback on the proposals
for a new personality disorder strategy:
- 21 September 2011, 9am - 11am
Meeting Room, Wedgwood House, Bury
St Edmunds
- 26 September 2011, 2pm - 4pm
Terrace Room, St Clement’s Hospital,
Ipswich
- 28 September 2011, 9am - 11am
Meeting room, Wedgwood House, Bury
St Edmunds
- 3 October 2011, 2pm-4pm
Terrace Room, St Clement’s Hospital,
Ipswich
Foxhall House at St Clement’s Hospital
has been shortlisted for a design
award. The Building Better Healthcare
Awards (BBH) are run by publisher,
Healthcare, Equipment and Supplies.
The shortlist covers 15 awards across
five categories. Foxhall House has
been shortlisted in the building design
category: award for best mental health
design. The architects were Devereux
and the building contractor, Kier
Eastern. Overall there were 202
entries.
Julie Todd, Project Manager, said;
“Everything in the new build has been
either purchased or designed to a high
specification to ensure a safe and
relaxing environment needed to
promote effective recovery.”
Jo Makosinski, editor of BBH, said “At a
time when the health service is having
to make cuts, seeing such innovation is
welcome evidence that the marketplace
is still thriving and that individuals and
companies have not stopped looking
for ways to bring about improvements
for patients and healthcare staff alike.”
The award ceremony will be held in
November.
Foxhall House
design award
shortlisting
Patient safety review: developing
a personality disorders strategy
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The roll-out of clinical supervision training
begins this month, with around ten Level
2 supervisors receiving a four-day train-
the-trainer programme. Altogether, we
have around forty Level 2 supervisors,
who are also in the process of identifying
interested and experienced staff to train
as Level 1 supervisors.
The new model of clinical supervision is
set out in Issue 10 of Trust Update.
In short, the new model will provide the
Trust and staff with a much clearer
process and a better system for alerting
the Trust to any areas which it needs to
improve its support to clinical teams.
In total, we will be training around 200
staff to deliver Level 1 supervision, with
four-day training programmes starting in
October. I’d like to thank Sara Hyde in
Education and Workforce Development
for the stirling work she has been doing
to organise all the training sessions and
bookings. There will be several cohorts of
staff going through the training for each
locality, with the aim that the Level 1
training will be complete by March.
There are also several two-hour
Introduction to Clinical Supervision
sessions being delivered in September
and October. These are for staff who do
not know much about the new system
and may have questions they would like
answered in order to determine whether
they become supervisors or not. Dates of
training and introduction sessions will
shortly be available on the training diary
on the intranet (under ‘Education and
Workforce Development’)
Staff should also shortly be able to obtain
Trust material regarding clinical
supervision on the intranet, and posters
explaining the model and system should
be starting to appear across your walls in
the near future.
Questions or comments? Contact
Anna Vizor, Consultant Clinical
Psychologist by emailing
anna.vizor@smhp.nhs.uk
Clinical supervision training begins
The next couple of years will be a
challenging time for the Trust but it will
emerge better and stronger than ever.
That’s the view of Professor Ian Robbins,
who has now left the Trust after four
years as Associate Director of
Psychological Services.
Under his leadership, an understanding
of the role of psychology staff and of
allied health professionals has been
greatly enhanced. Prof Robbins said this
was in contrast to when he arrived in
1997, when psychology staff were
perceived as being ‘peripheral’, as he
explained: “They were very positive
about my arrival because they had not
had anybody in a lead role for some
time, so they didn’t feel they had voice
and representation with the Trust
management,” he said. “They realised
things needed to change – they just
needed somebody to help them change
in a way which was good for them and
good for the organisation. I think since
then psychologists have been embedded
throughout, at the heart of clinical work
and providing good clinical leadership.”
The establishment of the Trust’s
Improving Access to Psychological
Therapies – IAPT – service in 2008 owes
much to Professor Robbins who, with
colleagues, was instrumental in the
design of the service and its subsequent
success. The IAPT service was ahead of
similar services, joining the first wave of
the IAPT roll-out across the country.
More than 60 low intensity and high
intensity workers were recruited and
trained, at a time when the volume of GP
referrals was almost overwhelming for
the service. Fast forward three years and
the IAPT service has been named as the
best in the east of England in terms of
recovery rate and cost effectiveness.
Although he looks back on his time with
the Trust with fondness, Professor
Robbins says he will miss the friends
and colleagues with whom he has spent
the last three years so closely. “We have
some dedicated and loyal people in the
Trust and it’s been a pleasure working
here,” he said. “When I came,
psychology staff were not really being
used to the range of their abilities. I hope
the Trust retains the professional
structure which they are now used to
working in.”
As a worldwide expert in post-traumatic
stress disorder, Professor Robbins is
embarking on several projects with
veterans and combat groups in order to
provide support for soldiers feeling the
psychological effects of conflict.
He leaves the Trust with fond memories,
some firm friends and everyone’s best
wishes for the future.
This month sees the start of the Trust’s
new locality management structure.
Whereas before, the Trust’s clinical
services were run on a service line basis,
the new structure is based on geography.
It is designed to improve the experience
of service users as they come into the
Trust and ensure they receive a joined-up
service.
Daren Clark and Sandra Cowie are the
service directors of the West and East
localities respectively. They each oversee
a Wellbeing service in each part of the
county, a community and acute service for
the same areas, and specialist services.
The Wellbeing service:
The Wellbeing service is a primary care
service, including the Linkworker service,
Improving Access to Psychological
Therapies (IAPT), the child and
adolescent mental health service, Primary
Care Health Workers and the future single
point of assessment.
Community and acute services:
This includes the adult and Later Life
inpatient wards, home treatment and
crisis resolution, community mental health
teams for both adult and Later Life,
assertive outreach, early intervention and
out of hours services. The broad remit is
about assessment, treatment and
recovery.
In the West:
Consultant Clinical Psychologist Anna
Vizor is the interim Lead Clinician for the
West Suffolk locality until substantive
appointments can be made.
Nettie Burns, former service line manager
for Later Life services, is the new
manager for the Wellbeing service in
West locality.
Paula Clarke, former associate director
for Learning Disability services and, more
recently, the lead for the cost
improvement plan, is the new manager
for community and acute services in West
locality.
Kate Dunne is specialist services
manager in the West. She will be
overseeing Child and Adolescent Mental
Health Services and CAMHS Learning
Disability services across the county as
well as Learning Disability services in the
West and the West eating disorders
service.
In the East:
Dr Vivien Peeler, Consultant Psychiatrist,
and Heather Balleny, Consultant Clinical
Psychologist, have been appointed as the
substantive Lead Clinicians for East
Suffolk locality.
Nina Parkinson, former associate director
for clinical governance, is the new
manager of the Wellbeing service in the
East locality.
Margaret Little, who was managing our
adult acute inpatient services, is now the
manager for community and acute
services in East locality.
Karen Clements, who has been managing
criminal justice services, is the manager
for specialist services in the East locality.
Karen’s remit will include criminal justice
services across Suffolk, Foxhall House,
Chilton Houses, Learning Disability
services at Walker Close, the East
community and the East eating disorders
service.
Locality management begins
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Ben Underwood, Consultant Psychiatrist
at the Trust, has been honoured with a
PhD and prizes from leading national
organisations for his continued research
into Huntington’s Disease. He has
conducted research into the degenerative
disease for the past 7 years.
In July Ben received his doctorate from
Cambridge University following a period
of study under Professor David
Rubinsztein. His research into
Huntington’s Disease, a hereditary
disorder that causes brain cells to die,
focused on drugs and genes which
modify laboratory models of the disease.
Huntington’s Disease produces physical
symptoms such as speech problems and
involuntary movements, as well as mental
health problems including problems with
memory and depression.
Ben said: “Huntington’s disease is a
crucial disease to study. The fact that it is
inherited provides advantages in terms of
understanding the mechanism of disease
and potentially designing treatments. This
is important not only for sufferers of this
particular condition, but it is hoped that
the knowledge we gain may have
application to other, more common, brain
diseases.”
Ben has also recently been awarded the
Eastern Division of the Royal College of
Psychiatrists Prize for Research, and
gained second place in the Royal Society
of Medicine Mental Health Foundation
annual prizes. During the summer, Ben
had the honour of presenting his research
at the International Congress in Brighton
after winning a bursary from the Royal
College of Psychiatrists.
He added: “I was delighted to receive
these awards, and I am very grateful to
the patients, Professor Rubinsztein and
Action Medical Research, who funded the
work. My next step is to secure more
funding so I can continue to try to bridge
the gap between the laboratory and
patients.”
Trust consultant honoured for research into Huntington’s Disease
Many, many thanks are due to our IT
teams for ensuring the safe transfer of
patient records to the updated version of
our electronic patient system ePEX.
I know that the process was not without
its challenges, as our IT staff had to
research the process, identify and plan
for risks and develop a number of work-
arounds which ensured that some 4.500
live records were transferred with the
least amount of risk and disruption. It
wasn’t a simple task. In fact some of the
team agreed to stay until 9pm on a
Friday night and actually ended up going
home at 3am on Saturday morning to
ensure that ePEX was back on line for
the weekend. Kate Walker, Chief
Information Officer, expressed her
particular thanks at the determination
and commitment of staff on this project
The changes to the electronic system
were requested by our clinical teams as
part of the improvements to FACE, and
our electronic assessment tool within
ePEX. The updates have saved around
3000 hours of clinician time. I am
particularly pleased with the collaborative
way in which our IT teams and clinical
staff worked together on this.
If the IT staff had not been able to
automate the data transfer, we would
have been looking at weeks of
disruption, during which there would
have been a considerable risk to patient
safety. Apart from the disruption caused
if we had to do this manually, each file
would have needed to be checked by a
clinician at the point of transfer – there
were too many points at which a manual
transfer could have gone wrong.
But, thanks to careful planning, the
transfer went really well. Thanks to
everyone involved in this important piece
of work.
Contributed by Barbara McLean,
Director of Nursing and Quality
ePEX patient
record transfer
What did you want to
be when you were
little? I wanted to follow
my dad and be in the
RAF. As it turns out I
have eventually
followed my mum into
the NHS!
If you could introduce one rule into the
working day what would it be?
Every Friday someone in the office
brings in cakes for everyone - a
popular idea I bet!
John Mawdsley, Trust
Liaison Coordinator
(NHS Professionals)
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Living
somewhere nice in the countryside! Professionally
I’d love to progress in my current role.
What is your favourite book?
My favourite book is American
Gods by Neil Gaiman.
If you could have
one super-power
what would it be?
Definitely the power of
flight. Superman was
always my favourite!
If you won the lottery
tomorrow what would
you do with the money?
Buy my parents and sister
new houses, treat my friends to a holiday then go
away on holiday for a few months around the world.Marmite or peanut
butter? I prefer Vegemite.
A report from the Prescribing Observatory
for Mental Health Services, part of Royal
College of Psychiatrists, has found a
lower instance of antipsychotics being
given to dementia patients at the Trust
than the national average.
The National Dementia Strategy has a
set a target of reducing the prescribing of
antipsychotics by two thirds in two years.
Around two thirds of current prescriptions
are thought to be unnecessary and carry
unwelcome side effects such as
increased risk of strokes and premature
death.
The report found that 11 per cent of
Suffolk patients were given
antipsychotics, compared with 19 per
cent nationally. Of the 11 per cent, two
per cent also had a psychotic illness.
Cutting antipsychotics could save 1,800
lives nationally and cut strokes by 1,620
and could also save money. It is
estimated that only 20 per cent of those
given the drugs show improvement.
Dr Rob Butler, Consultant Psychiatrist in
older people’s mental health, said:
“Suffolk’s low figures could suggest that
staff are providing better alternative care,
with better interactions between staff and
patients and more personalised care.
Many people receiving antipsychotics are
not deriving any benefit from them. The
low rates in Suffolk are good news
because they mean that fewer people are
at risk of the harms these drugs can
cause.”
In the national sample there was a
marked variation in the proportion of
patients prescribed antipsychotic
medication according to clinical setting.
Around 50 per cent of dementia patients
in hospital were given the drugs but only
10 per cent of those being treated in their
homes. Suffolk was top of the table for
the proportion of patients being treated at
home.
Top care for dementia patients
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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 helen.abbott@smhp.nhs.uk. 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 November 2011 issue is October 21st.
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 nicola.brown@smhp.nhs.uk Letters may be edited and will be anonymised to protect service users’ identities.
To all staff on Southgate Ward
Many thanks for all of your support and
help over the last few weeks, you have
been a great help in assisting my
recovery.
To all staff at Sudbury CMHT
I couldn’t have done it without you and
will miss you!
To all staff on Southgate Ward
Just to say a massive thank you for all
your help and support you gave me
during my stay. I’d like to especially thank
Carol, Dean, Becks and Abby for their
compassion and listening ears and for
helping me ground my thinking.
To all staff at West IAPT
This is to thank you. Last week I had a
20 minute conversation on the phone.
This was in preparation for the meeting
with a counsellor, when they’re available.
It gave me great encouragement and I
look forward to the interview when it can
be arranged. Once again, thank you.
To Nick Gould, CBT Therapist, East
IAPT
I wanted to write to say thank you very
much for all your support over the last
few months. You have really turned my
thoughts and made me challenge them.
Even when I have come to a session
feeling very negative and thinking you
would not be able to help, you have
managed to make me feel like I can carry
on and I can beat this anxiety.
I feel in a much better place now and
hope this will continue.
I have always felt very comfortable
talking to you and am always surprised at
how much I learn about myself through
the questions you ask me! You are
definitely the right man for your job!
To all staff on Southgate Ward
I have nothing but praise for the hospital
medical staff and facilities and food. Not
only was I correctly diagnosed after 56
years by the exceptional Dr Michael, who
has probably saved me from an early
grave, but the quality of the nursing staff
who provide 24 hour care was
unparalleled. This includes many of the
agency staff also.
I was astonished by the quality of the
bedrooms and bathroom and the dining
room, TV room, activity room, music
room and the occupational therapy
creative art rooms, and the gymnasium.
None of this was expected as well as a
courtyard garden. All of it added to my
recovery as did the fellowship with
patients and staff alike.
To all staff at Newmarket CMHT
Words never say it all. Thank God for
Newmarket Mental Health Team.
To Dr Akmal, Consultant Psychiatrist,
Walker Close
My wife and I would like to thank you
most sincerely for the time and
consideration given to our son. Your very
clear explanations have enabled us to
understand some of the erractic
behaviour he sometimes shows.
To Debbie Pepperhill, Staff Nurse,
Wedgwood House
To you especially thank you very much
for the beautiful person that you are, and
a special thank you to all on Southgate!
My special thanks to the rest of the team
– and big big kiss to you my dear..
To Lisa Myers, Community Support
Worker, East Ipswich CMHT
We must thank you for your help and
courtesy. We are looking forward to
planning some treats for ourselves! Quite
a morale boost during difficult times for
us. We have now had our meeting which
was productive and reassuring. M
continues to have good days and not so
good days but we appreciate all the help
and understanding he receives from your
colleagues.
To Michelle Noakes, Case Manager,
East IAPT
I am just writing to thank you so very
much for all the help you have given to
me. I didn’t realise how low I had sunk
but you could obviously see this and
gave me the confidence to believe in
myself again. You taught me how to build
myself up without the pressure to
succeed. I could go on and tell you how
happy I am in so many different aspects
of my life at the moment, my positive
plans for the future and how you’ve
helped me be prepared for the less
attractive things that may lie ahead but I
probably would not finish writing.
To all at West CRHTT
Thank you so much for all your support
and kindness over the last ten weeks.
Take care and love and best wishes to
you all and thank you again.
To all at East CRHTT
Thank you so very much for your help,
support and kindess over the past few
weeks.
To Julie Piotrowski, CBT Therapist,
Walker Close
The discovery of CBT has been life-
changing and I find that I’m viewing my
whole world in a very different way now.
My thanks to you for helping me to break
down that ‘hard rock’ within my mind and
for enabling me to see that there is
another way to deal with my thoughts!
Many thanks!!!
To Nicola Brown, Head of
Communications
Thank you for being a lovely person to
work with. It’s not been that much but it’s
always been positive and productive and
I’ve looked forward to seeing you. Keep
up your good work
Letters and compliments
A thank you
drawing by a
young service
user to Lesley
Drew,
Community
Nurse,
Lothingland
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