The PEACE team provides high quality, round the year courses for Oxford Health and NHS Professional colleagues who require training in how to manage challenging situations when there is a risk of harm to patients or staff.

Accepting the August Exceptional People Team Award PEACE Manager Kirsty Smith said:

“Every member of the PEACE team (including our amazing ward-based coaches) brings such passion, dedication and commitment to their work. I think this award shines a light on the fact the whole team really does their best every day to live the values of Positive Engagement and Caring Environments. An anonymous piece of feedback the team recently received from a member of staff after attending their first training course really sums this up best. ‘(The PEACE Team) feels like family to me. A BIG THANK YOU.’”

The nomination

The PEACE Training team was nominated by PEACE Learning Environment Lead Phil Rae for the wide range of training they provide throughout the Trust and to their partner agencies.

The team covers the training needs of staff particularly within inpatient services with the overall aim of making services safer for those who use them and those who provide them.

Phil commented:

“The PEACE Training team provides training in conflict resolution, reducing restrictive interventions and practices for many disciplines throughout the Trust and to their partner agencies. The team covers the training needs of staff particularly within inpatient services with the overall aim of making services safer for those who use them and those who provide them.

“There is an incredibly strong ethos in the PEACE team of making sure services are safe for patients. We achieve that through the training provided which draws upon a large range of knowledge and understanding of various models and approaches of care within Mental Health and Learning Disability services. The team consistently receive positive feedback from the course participants, particularly about making a difficult subject engaging, interesting and enjoyable to learn about.

“The members of the PEACE team have a deep understanding of what is required to provide high standards of care. They aim to instil in staff who attend courses approaches such as unconditional, positive regard for patients; maintaining respect and empathy; taking every opportunity to positively engage with patients and remaining polite, kind and compassionate when managing difficult situations and behaviours of concern.

“The team has supported each of the inpatient wards to build skills in the use of the Safety Pod – a very large bean bag which can be used to help patients regain their composure whilst having physical interventions used by staff to help keep them safe. This has resulted in a reduction in the use of a particular restraint position deemed to carry a greater risk. It has also been used to provide an alternative and ultimately safer way to exit seclusion, which was rolled out to staff during the COVID 19 pandemic and has been successfully implemented on an increasing number of wards.”