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Graphic art competition down to top three

After weeks of fierce competition the ‘Squash Stigma in mental health’ graphic art competition has come to a close. The top three have been shortlisted and are now awaiting the results next week.

The campaign is being run by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) for young people in an attempt to help combat the stigma often associated with mental health.

The competition was to design a character called “Stigma”, presented in three different situations:
1) The character “Stigma”
2) To follow the caption “Squash Stigma”
3) To follow the caption “Don’t let Stigma get in the way of friendship”

The three designers who have been shortlisted are Alana Tam and David Duffy (from Hills Road Sixth Form College) as well as Matthew Long (from Anglia Ruskin University).

The winner’s character will feature on posters displayed in schools, libraries, leisure centres and hospitals in and around Cambridgeshire. The competition is currently being judged by a panel including graphic artists and people working in mental health.

Andrea Grosbois, project manager for the campaign at CPFT, said: “The entries we received were all at such a high standard it has been really hard to narrow it down to three. Stigma and discrimination is a reality for young people with a mental illness, and is one of their greatest barriers to a complete and satisfying life. Through this campaign we are really hoping to tackle some of these issues.”

New fostering and adoption clinical psychology service a success

A new clinical psychology service has been introduced to Peterborough for children and young people who are in foster care or adopted.

This service is an extension of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trusts (CPFT) successful clinical psychology service, which has been running for almost five years. The service is being lead by Dr Clare Young (Clinical Psychologist) and Ms Christina Wilson (Assistant Psychologist) and is a welcome addition to the current provision for looked after children.

There are between 300-350 children and young people in foster care and adoptive placements in Peterborough, along with several children who need to be placed out of area due to shortages in appropriate placements within the Peterborough area. There are many reasons for why a child or young person needs to be placed into care, although for a high percentage it is for reasons of neglect or some form of abuse and maltreatment. Because of this, children and young people in care show a wide range of developmental, emotional and behavioural difficulties due to the early traumas and disruptions they experience.

Dr Young said of the service, “It is fantastic that this service is now available for looked after children in Peterborough. Children in care do not often show difficulties due to a mental health problem, and so cannot always access treatment services- rather their difficulties are the consequences of the negative life experiences they’ve suffered, and require specialist assessment and treatment.”

The clinical psychology service offers individual assessment and therapeutic treatment based on clinical need, and the need for the service is evident. Since it began in September 2010, it has received over 70 referrals and over 30 foster carers and adoptive parents have attended the 4 days of training delivered so far. One foster carer who attended the Attachment Level 1 training commented ‘…It has been the most useful course I have attended so far’.

Dr Young also spoke about the adults providing the care for children and young people “it is crucial that the care provided to children and young people will enable them to reach their full potential. Caring for a child who has been neglected and abused can be extremely hard and so we aim to acknowledge this and provide support for the foster carers and adoptive parents where it’s needed”.

The fostering and adoption clinical psychology service offers ongoing individual support to foster carers, adoptive parents, teachers, clinical staff and social services staff. There are also a wide range of training courses available that help adults in contact with the looked after child to understand the impact of the child’s difficult early life experiences on their emotions and behaviour.

The clinical psychology service is funded until September 2011 and it is hoped that further funding is found to allow the service to continue the positive and necessary work it has started.

Chinese community engages in mental health

Members of the local Chinese community kicked off the New Year celebrations with an event discussing mental health.

The event was organised by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) and was held at the Tang restaurant in Cambridge yesterday.  The aim of the event was to engage the Chinese community with local mental health services in order to help create awareness and tackle the stigma often associated with mental health. The event also helped to identify barriers and difficulties around accessing services for people with language and cultural differences.

Topics such as the relationship between mind and body were discussed, focussing on the importance of healthy living and communication for mental wellbeing. Key speakers included Dr Rong who explained how Chinese cultures often treat mental health using holistic approaches, treating the whole body at the same time as the mind.

Jenny Raine, Chief Executive at CPFT said that; “this event was a great opportunity to discuss our services and mental health promotion in an informal way, at this celebration of the Chinese New Year. We are keen to work with local ethnic communities to improve access to our services and to remove barriers whenever possible .”

The event concluded with a series of role play games, relating to mental health issues. This helped the groups to explore mental health within a context, which they could then relate to their own lives.

Local Research, National Impact

An invitation from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has created an opportunity for local research to be applied at a national level.  The Institute has asked Dr Stephen Barclay, who leads the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust’s CLAHRC  research into End of Life Care, to become a GP Advisor to two national working groups. “The ‘A’ in CLAHRC, the ‘applied’ aspect, is very important to me” says Dr Barclay, who works in a city GP practice in addition to his academic research.

Applying research will be central to Dr Barclay’s role with NICE.  One working group will be developing Quality Standards for End of Life Care for the NHS, guidance on palliative care across all settings; hospital, hospice, care home and home.  ‘This is a new initiative and a real opportunity to make an impact’ says Dr Barclay.  ‘Services will be judged against these quality standards - and the standards need to be informed by evidence.  My contribution to this group will draw heavily on the research underway in the End of Life Care theme in the CLAHRC, so this gives us the opportunity to use the research to influence policy, service provision and clinical practice at a national level’.

A further part of his work with NICE is as an Advisor on the Palliative Care aspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), a set of indicators against which GP practices throughout the UK are rated.  The incentives for practices to follow these indicators are strong. 

A further opportunity to make a national impact come has from Dr Barclay’s role as a GP representative on the national steering group for the End of Life Care Intelligence Network. ‘The NHS has data on the care given for people near the end of their lives in hospitals, but is concerned that there is very little data on the 40% of people who die in the community, in their own homes or in residential and care homes' states Dr Barclay.  The Network is working with the CLAHRC End of Life Care theme to capture data on what the NHS does in the community, which, as their research has identified, ‘is where the majority of people would like to be when they die’.

The members of the End of Life Care theme also work closely with care providers and commissioners locally.  Current CLAHRC CP End of Life Care projects include a General Practitioner and District Nurse survey, designed to find out the learning needs of GPs and Community Nurses regarding end of life care, a study of people admitted to hospital shortly before their death, an evaluation of a new “Hospice at Home” service and a project being conducted jointly with NHS Cambridgeshire exploring the establishment of a new palliative care telephone advice line for practitioners. Dr Barclay is also Chair of the End of Life Care Project Group of NHS Cambridgeshire, further ensuring that research, practice and service development are integrated.
The members of the theme are optimistic that these local relationships, coupled with the national initiatives described above, will increase the influence of their research in this challenging field for the benefit of all those approaching the end of their lives

Drama therapy proves a success

A special drama project is being used in Peterborough to help young Afghani refugees cope with their new life in the UK.

Drama therapy sessions have been set up by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) to work with groups of eight to 12 young people to explore the difficulties of coming into the UK and trying to fit into a new culture. Story-telling, role play and artwork are just a few of the methods used to help them cope with their new situation.

The aim of the project is to support the young people whilst raising awareness of local services available to them. It also aims to engage with hard-to-reach communities in Peterborough, particularly unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan.

Jean Francois, who leads the workshop, said: "The workshop highlights the social and emotional needs of young Afghani boys. Isolation and lack of understanding create additional difficulties to the multiple problems associated with exile.”

After completing the workshop, all the students can voluntarily attend the debrief two days later to talk about their experiences of the workshop. One of the attendees said:  “This workshop reminded me of my culture and helped me to think about how I can improve my life in the UK.”

A number of young people identified from the session will then work with the Yashmin group, which involves all the local agencies that work with refugees throughout the year.

New project supports carers

An exciting new project has been launched by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT). The Dementia Carers' Support Service is an innovative project that aims to link former carers with current carers of people with dementia. The volunteers will be able to use their knowledge and experience to offer regular and consistent support as a befriender or buddy. The volunteers will be expected to offer at least one hour's support per week and to support the carer and person with dementia throughout the lifetime of their illness.

The term ‘carer’ can often be a difficult one for people to identify with, as for most people it is a natural role such as ‘daughter’ or ‘father’, etc. Being a carer can be very rewarding and can make a huge difference to a person’s life, but it can mean dealing with difficult and sometimes stressful situations. Talking to someone who has experienced similar situation can provide a huge support to the carers.

Beverly Dowell, who cared for her mother with dementia, said of the project: “I had no idea what a carer goes through until I cared for my mother who had dementia. Being a volunteer to support a carer is just as important as a carer supporting someone. Carers need equal support to that of the person cared for, not less. This project is fantastic!” 
A current carer added: “It will be very reassuring to get support from someone who knows and understands the challenges of living with dementia presents. News of this project is great.”
Fe Franklin, project co-ordinator, said: "Who cares for the carer is often a question asked and this fantastic project addresses this. Carers sometimes feel isolated, but we hope our volunteers will be able to offer their time, knowledge and expertise to support these valuable people."
Initially, the project will run in the east Cambridgeshire area. As the project gains momentum it is hoped that the project will spread to other areas in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Local libraries support mental health

A new project to increase awareness of mental health has been launched in the Cambridge Central Library. The display will run for a month before moving round all the other 48 libraries throughout Cambridgeshire.

The display is part of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust’s (CPFT) anti-stigma campaign. The aim of this display is to create greater awareness and understanding about mental health whilst reducing stigma and discrimination. The display will also offer information and advice for people concerned about themselves or someone else’s mental health.

The display features myth and fact posters as well as leaflets on key information, top tips and how to get help and support. Books written by authors with mental health problems such as Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf, as well as the Books on Prescription (BOP) scheme will also be displayed for people to read.

The Books on Prescription Scheme is an effective way of helping people with common health problems, such as anxiety, depression, phobias and eating disorders. There is clinical evidence to show that books can be just as effective as other forms of therapy – and with the advantage of having no side effects. Most of the books are written by leading psychologists and many present self-help versions of established treatment programmes.

CPFT works with Time-to-Change, the national campaign to stamp out stigma. One in four of us at some point in our lifetime will have some kind of mental illness, and about one in six of the current workforce have a mental illness which is likely to be concealed from their employer.  So it is really appropriate to make information as widely available as possible.

Remember to get your seasonal flu jab

Service users and carers who are at risk of seasonal flu are being urged to protect themselves by getting their free flu jabs.

All pregnant women are also being offered the seasonal flu vaccination. This is because it protects against the H1N1 virus (swine flu) that is circulating this winter, and pregnant women who catch this strain are at an increased risk of severe disease and flu-related hospital admissions.

Everyone aged 65 and over is routinely offered the jab, as are younger people with long-term conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, multiple sclerosis, serious kidney and liver disease. Around 15 million people in the UK have the jab, which must be administered every year as it is altered to match the flu strains in circulation. Every year there are approximately 8,000 seasonal flu-related deaths in the winter months in England and Wales. Every year flu-related deaths occur in the winter months in England and Wales – these deaths are avoidable.

The best way to avoid flu is to get immunised, but in addition, people can protect themselves by practising good hand hygiene with the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ technique. This means carrying tissues, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, disposing of the tissue after one use, and cleaning hands as soon as possible with soap and water or an alcohol hand gel.

For more information,read this information leaflet.