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Top marks again for mental health trust

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) has received top marks for two of its learning disability wards from the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ quality assessment process.

Accreditation for Inpatient Mental Health Services (AIMS) help wards demonstrate compliance with the Healthcare Commission’s ‘Standards for Better Health’ and support the implementation of NICE guidelines and the National Service Framework. The two CPFT  wards that have been accredited are the IASS (Intensive Assessment and Support Service)  ward in Cambridge, and Hollies Ward, an in-patient facility for people with a learning disability, at The Cavell Centre in Peterborough.

Inpatient mental health services can be challenging environments for staff and patients alike and AIMS is an initiative from the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Centre for Quality Improvement that identifies and acknowledges services which have high standards of organisation and patient care.

The standards have been subject to extensive consultation with all professional groups involved in the provision of acute in-patient mental health services  and they have also been tested by several mental health trusts.

The standards cover aspects such as general standards, timely and purposeful admission, safety, environment and facilities and therapies and activities.

Jenny Raine, CPFT Acting Chief Executive, said: “This is fantastic news for both the people who use our wards and the staff who work there. I know how hard the teams have worked to achieve these very high standards of quality and we congratulate them. We are especially proud to be the first trust in the east of England to receive this accreditation for the high standards of our wards.”

Revolutionary health worker praised by Princess Royal

Karen Miller, team manager for CPFT's Complex Cases service, was praised for her revolutionary work rehabilitating offenders with mental health problems during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 15 March.

As a former probation officer, Karen received a commendation by Princess Anne during the Butler Trust Awards for her ground-breaking approach to tackling re-offending among offenders previously thought as being untreatable. The awards are the most sought-after for people working in correctional settings nationwide.

Recently Ms Miller has been appointed team manager for the Complex Cases Service run by CPFT. She now heads the specialist multi-disciplinary service, which supports people with personality disorder, including those she helped in her former clinical role as probation link worker. 

Jacqueline O’Sullivan, from the Probation Service, who nominated Karen for the awards, said: “Every offender manager who has worked at the Cambridge probation office is able to tell of a success story that was led and supported specifically by Karen Miller. This has led to reduced re-offending, less pressure on emergency services and less distress for all involved. More importantly the successes have resulted in fewer victims.”

She cited the case of an ex repeat offender whose life had been transformed by Ms Miller. “Angry with the world, he frequently committed offences over many years, alienated both professionals and associates, and was repeatedly evicted and banned from housing. Since receiving help, he has moved to independent housing and established new friends. He has not been convicted of a crime since 2006. Before that he averaged at least five offences a year, ranging from assault to theft and public disorder.” 

Library project on the move

Three displays aimed at increasing awareness on mental health are currently moving around libraries throughout Cambridgeshire. The displays are part of CPFT’s anti-stigma campaign. The displays 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.

Currently they are located at:

• Willingham Library
• Whittlesey Library
• Cherry Hinton Library

From 4 April they will be moving to:

• Wisbech Library
• Swavesey Library
• Rock Road Library

For more information please contact andrea.grosbois@cpft.nhs.uk

Books won for carers

Forty-eight local carers are going to be receiving copies of ‘The Blind Assassin’ by Margaret Atwood as part of World Book Night.

Gladys Bailey, who has been the main carer for her friend with psychosis, won the books after seeing an advert for the competition on Facebook. She said: “Reading helped the extreme loneliness I felt when my friend became unwell. I felt like an outcast, unable to share my situation with anyone due to the perceived stigma. When you are caring for someone with psychosis it is difficult to switch off, because even when they aren’t there you are continuously thinking about them. Reading gives me the chance to have ‘me-time’ and escape into a fantasy world for an hour.”

Gladys chose the book because she enjoys reading character-based books, in particular ones written by Margaret Atwood. Gladys wants to distribute the books to carers who are working with Cameo, a CPFT service providing expert specialised care and support to people aged 17-35 experiencing a first episode of psychosis.

Gladys said: “Receiving a gift makes you feel great. By giving the books to carers I wanted to acknowledge all their hard work and hopefully they will enjoy the Blind Assassin as much as I have.”

For more information about Cameo, visit them at www.cameo.nhs.uk

Trust celebrates national No Smoking Day

Giving up smoking can be really difficult, especially if you are trying to do it alone. On 9 March, CPFT celebrated national No Smoking day with a fun-filled event.

The team from CPFT have been running the event since 2009, and since then the number of people involved and who participate has grown. This year, 112 people attended the different activities throughout the day, including service users, staff and carers. The day included a full range of activities; from making smoothies, to Tai Chi and dance.
 
Amalia Sommariva, co-ordinator for the event, said: “For me, this has been very rewarding. I have seen people coming to work closely together from different backgrounds and become part of a much bigger team, all committed to promoting well being in others and themselves. Everybody involved offered their time, knowledge, and experience, as well as being prepared to learn from others.”

The team who organised the day were made up of Smoking Cessation Advisors from CPFT, the Physiotherapy Team, occupational therapists, chaplain, service users, dance therapist, community-based staff, staff nurses and Camquit representative and additional support was received from Tesco.

The event was a real success and already people are talking about ideas for next year.

Mental health services become more recovery focussed

CPFT has been invited to work on a national project helping to put recovery at the heart of mental health services.

The "Supporting Recovery" project will use research from the Centre for Mental Health, which sets out ten key indicators for organisations to develop to support the recovery of people using mental health services.

Recovery within mental health care is about helping people to build a fulfilling life with or without the symptoms of mental health. It is about changing the way services are provided. The aim is to support people in achieving their personal ambitions, putting them back in control and enabling them to build lives of which they can be proud.

The "Supporting Recovery" project will help teams to do a self-assessment against ten indicators, plan changes and report their outcomes over two years.

This work addresses the following high-impact areas:

• More people will receive care which is, as far as possible, ‘self-directed’ and reflects their preferred goals and outcomes.
• More people with serious or severe mental health problems will be able to use their own experience to manage their symptoms, in partnership with professionals.
• More people with serious or severe mental health problems will be in employment.
• More people with serious mental health problems will be living in appropriate accommodation.

Jane Joel, who is leading this work for CPFT, said: “For us to be identified as a demonstration site within this programme is fantastic. It is encouraging for our staff and a testament to how much hard work is going on to develop more recovery-led services. We hope we can support other Trusts in their work and that we can learn ideas from them. Gaining support and insight from others can only help to develop the culture for change both within our own organisation and across the NHS, partner providers and wider communities.”

Young artist wins award for Squash Stigma! designs

Matthew Long, a children’s book illustration student from Anglia Ruskin University, has won our Squash Stigma! in mental health graphic art competition.

Students from schools and universities in Cambridgeshire were invited to submit three designs for:

• The character "Stigma"
• The concept "Squash Stigma"
• The concept "Don’t let Stigma get in the way of friendship"

The competition was held as part of our anti-stigma in mental health campaign. The aim of the campaign is to spread awareness among young people of the stigma often associated with mental health.

Andréa Grosbois, the project manager for the campaign, said: “We felt Matthew’s designs were aimed at the right target audience and really captured the essence of our campaign. One in four people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Squash Stigma! is about normalising mental health and getting people to talk about stigma.”