In support of the Dying Matters campaign, Age UK Oxfordshire is holding an important event at the Oxford Town Hall on Tuesday 15 May, between 10am and 3pm, aimed at helping people to reflect, celebrate and plan on this very important issue.  The Oxford Health NHS FT’s Oxfordshire Community Matron Service will be present at this event, offering advice, information and support to people on what can often be a difficult subject.

The Oxfordshire Community Matrons can help support patients, their families and the people caring for them.  They help patients to plan ahead and talk about their preferences and the care that they would like to see in place as they near the end of their life.  They work closely with GPs, District Nurses, Specialist Nurses and other services to help patients meet their wishes and remain as independent as possible.

Pat Gordon, Community Matron, said:  “It is really important that people who are nearing the end of their life talk about their wishes with their friends and relatives and with the professionals involved in their care.  We can help support them to do this and to think about what is important to them, the care that they would like to receive now and as their health deteriorates.  The Dying Matters campaign is an important way of changing people’s behaviours and attitudes towards death, dying and bereavement”.

For more information about the Oxfordshire Community Matron Service please telephone 01235 205573.

 On a sunny and dry Friday afternoon staff, service users, Trust Governors, local dignitaries and health and social care colleagues joined our Chair and Chief Executive in celebrating the start of construction work on our brand new mental health facility for Buckinghamshire.

This event formally marked the the building work of an 80 bedded adult and older adult inpatient unit which is due to open late next year. The development costing £42.8 million has been capitally funded by the Trust and will be a purpose built state of the art facility for the benefit of the residents of Buckinghamshire. The final design has been made possible with input from staff, service users and their carers and families and is being built in partnership with Kier Construction Major Projects.

Guests watched as the Chairman, Martin Howell, Chief Executive, Julie Waldron, Director of Nursing and Clinical Standards, Ros Alstead, Clinical Lead, Michele Harding and Stakeholder Group Member Jeanette Hocking turned the sod with specially engraved shovels. These shovels will now be donated to our adult and older adult gardening groups.

There is now a commerative book, which along with one of the shovels will be displayed in the new development once it has been completed to mark this very special day.

For more information on the development please contact Elika Saedi, Communications and Involvement Manager: elika.saedi@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

Visit: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GRMGD5W

Developed in collaboration with Oxford Mental Health Forum

Involvement Poster

GPs and other healthcare professionals can continue to make referrals through existing routes eg directly to the service, should they prefer to do so. 

The new service is available 7 days a week, between 08.00hrs and 20.00hrs, 365 days of the year.  It is staffed by a team of experienced clinicians who come from a variety of community settings and who have extensive experience and knowledge of current practices within Oxford Health NHS FT. 

The aim of the SPA is to make referrals to community services easier, more efficient and to ensure that care is provided by the most appropriate person and service according to the patient’s needs.  The SPA team will complete the referral process over the telephone, resulting in a reduction in the amount of electronic or paper referral forms, ensuring a quicker and smoother hand over of care.  The team will then evaluate the patient’s needs before linking with services to discuss the referral, agree an action plan and ensure a safe handover of care. 

To make a referral to the SPA team please telephone:  0845 219 1500

For further information about the Single Point of Access service please contact OxfordHealth.SPA@nhs.net

The first talk, by Dr Rob Ferris, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, focused on “Reducing Violence and Mental Disorder” and was well received by those who attended.  In a thought-provoking session, Dr Ferris discussed how our Forensic Psychiatry Department works with patients and explored some of the ethical dilemmas that can arise for staff when trying to balance the potentially conflicting interests of our patients and public protection.

The second talk will take place on 29 May, when Dr Svetlana Hemsley, Specialist Trainee, will talk about “Aging Gracefully:  An Introduction to Dementia”.  Dr Hemsley will explore the causes and types of Dementia, including brain pathology, treatment and where possible preventative measures.  She will also touch on the current research within Oxford and the hope for the future.

Then on 26 June Dr Nick Hindley, Consultant Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist, will talk about “High risk young people, mental health and the criminal justice system”.  The experiences of young people in the criminal justice system and the need for attention to their mental health and mental health difficulties have given cause for concern over many years.  Dr Hindley, who leads a nationally recognised mental health service for young people who are considered to present a high risk of harm to others, will outline some of the ongoing dilemmas and clinical challenges that have arisen from the team’s work.

The talks will take place at 7.30pm at Science Oxford, London Place, OX4 1BD.  Everyone is welcome to attend and no prior knowledge of the subject matter is needed. People are advised to book a place in advance of the talk by visiting: http://www.scienceoxfordlive.com/whats-on-calendar

Entrance to the events is free for Oxford Health NHS FT Members and also Members of Science Oxford.  Please bring proof of membership with you on the night.  Entrance for all other attendees is £5.  To become a Member of the Oxford Health NHS FT, please go to:  http://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/about-us/foundation-trust/

More young people in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset, Dorset and Gloucestershire are set to benefit from ‘Children and Young People’s IAPT’ (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) which enables clinicians to be trained to provide therapies that address depression, anxiety and other behavioural problems. 

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, which provides young people’s mental health services to a number of counties in the South of England, and The Charlie Waller Institute at the University of Reading, are jointly involved in a three-year pilot project that began in November last year.

Yvonne Taylor, Director of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Children and Families Division, said: “We are delighted to officially launch our IAPT collaborative which aims to transform our existing services by adopting elements of the adult IAPT programme to improve services for children and young people. Close collaboration between the therapist and young person is a key element of this approach. Young people are also pivotal in shaping our services.”

Half of children and young people with long-term mental health problems first experience symptoms before the age of 14 and three quarters of them before their mid-twenties.  Early and effective intervention when problems first appear can make a significant difference.

Young service users have central to developing the project. Members of Article 12 Council, a young people’s group, have been involved in the interviewing process for trainee therapies and supervisors.  They sat on the interview panel over a series of days, asked their own set of questions and gave their views on prospective candidates which were taken into account when recruiting.

Young people have also designed and delivered a training session to young people’s mental health professionals about the importance of participation of young people in how services are developed and delivered. Currently, they are making a film to raise awareness of what increasing access to psychological therapies (IAPT) means to them.

It is anticipated that the implementation of e-rostering will bring about a number of benefits which include:

• a reduction in the amount of time that staff and managers spend dealing with payroll activities, allowing time to be re-invested back into the wards and patient care,
• web based access to the system, enabling staff to view the rota, request leave and shifts and sign off time sheets from home,
• consistent and clear processes across all wards, including rota management,
• a reduction in duplications and manual reporting,
• the opportunity to refresh employees’ understanding of relevant HR policies.

The new system will be rolled out to all inpatient units/wards from September 2012 to May 2013 once assurances are in place that the staff are fully trained in using the system, that it positively supports the operational running of the ward, effectively interfaces with payroll and that all major issues have been resolved.  For further information about this pilot project please contact Ema Dwyer, Implementation Manager (ema.dwyer@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk).

The event was well attended and it was great to talk with the A12 members who have been involved in the development of the service including recruitment and training. I am looking forward to watching the film they are currently making about improving access to psychological therapies for children and young people.

While I was at the launch event, our Communications team was holding the first of our Health Matters talks at Science Oxford. Dr Ferris from our Forensic Services delivered a talk on reducing violence in mental health to over 40 members of the public. The feedback we have received has been positive and I hear the Q&A session prompted some lively debate. Keep checking our website and social networking pages for more information about our series of Health Matters events.

Finally, Tuesday evening was also host to a Governor Seminar where my Executive Director colleagues briefed our Governors on our annual planning arrangements and asked them for feedback and views.

After such a busy start to the week I hope we all have a restful weekend.

The initiative, which has seen a range of uniforms introduced to reflect the various roles at the unit (previously no staff wore uniforms at all) is part of the Leading Improvement in Patient Safety (LIPS) programme. Wide-ranging consultation has taken place with young people, their families, staff and visitors with regards to styles and colours of uniforms, along with other practical concerns. Infection control issues were also high on the agenda, as it was discussed which uniforms were most suitable for Marlborough House.

Marlborough House staff show their new uniforms

To date, the majority of comments made have been extremely positive from all stakeholders; most notably, regarding the very obvious impact upon the perception and experience of safety, professionalism and identity.

Very good idea to put nurses back in uniform, they all look smart and much more professional now, in fact some of the staff I thought were nurses to my surprise are not (Carer, telephone feedback)

Safer for my child, as early it is important to know who is who on an Inpatient Unit (Family face-to-face feedback)

I really like the change, it means far more consistency.  It reminds me that the staff who care for me are skilled and that this is a hospital, which can sometimes be forgotten (Young person)

Young people have responded well to this project, I think there has been less incidence of verbal abuse towards staff, and actually, I have witnessed better behaved children and young people with staff in uniform (Staff member)

I like the professional corporate look, and I cannot wait to get mine as I envy those in the trial (Staff member)

I think uniform is a great idea, and I find myself walking tall with pride and job satisfaction when I put on my uniform in the mornings even though I am not a qualified nurse, I am proud to work at Marlborough House, but don’t like the ironing bit (Staff member)

I quite like the nurses in uniform, it makes me feel safe and in capable hands, it is also less intimidating and much more reassuring, I think it is a good change (Young person)

Uniforms would protect my dignity and modesty especially if  involved in a C+R incident,  I was involved in a major violent incident last summer and had my blouse ripped off me. That would not have happened if I had a nurse’s tunic on as they are made of very tough material and in fact have a zip as well as popper studs (Staff member)

The consultation is still continuing and the pilot will be formally evaluated in six months’ time. Other clinical areas have expressed an interest and have planned visits to the unit to discuss the project.

 For further information, please contact Amanda Cadder, Matron, on 07881827013 or Jill Addis, Nurse Consultant and LIPS Lead on 07770 641189.

This survey asks for your views on what abuse is and how to report it, which helps us to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to help protect vulnerable adults. We want all people, especially those who are vulnerable due to age or disability, to feel safe and protected from abuse.

This survey should only take 10 minutes to complete and your feedback will help us to raise awareness of safeguarding across Buckinghamshire.

http://bucksconsultation.buckscc.gov.uk/bucksccp/KMS/dmart.aspx?noip=1&strTab=PublicDMart&filter_SurveyId=936

Thank you for taking part.