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CPFT staff clock up 381 years' service

Thirteen members of CPFT staff who have clocked up 381 years of service in the NHS received their long-service awards at a special ceremony on 22 September.

Staff receive an award if they retire after 15 years' service, have 25 years' service and 35 years' service in the NHS.

Rosilyn Nightingale, Suzanne West and Lynne MacDonald received awards after retiring after 15 years' service.

Lee Brosan, Lesley Lewis, Pat Phillips, Vanaja Permal, Henri Toh and Annette Williams recived awards for 25 years' service.

Margaret Freyher, Nobbie Joy, Indira Ramtohul and Elizabeth White received awards for 35 years' service.

CPFT Chair Anne Campbell said: "We are always impressed that the NHS has such committed and passionate staff and we are particularly lucky in CPFT to have such people. They have such professionalism in their work and I would like to thank them all on behalf of CPFT for making the lives of the people we help so much better."

APM success!

More than 150 people enjoyed CPFT's Annual Public Meeting on 20 September.

The meeting, which took place at Hinchingbrooke Performing Arts Centre, saw an exhibition, various talks, an energetic performance by the Dance Offensive group, question and answers and some music from the Squeaky Gate group.

The theme for this year's event was "children's services" and the audience was deeply moved by talks from three young people - Leah and Samantha from Kids Peterborough, and Zoe Brown, who talked about recovery.

Dance Offensive then raised the tempo with an eclectic, innovative and passionate performance. Dance Offensive has been going since 2006 and has delivered more than 4000 hours of free classes in Cambridge to thousands of young people from wide social groups, promoting understanding, support and community.

Squeaky Gate got everyone's toes tapping with another fantastic performance. The group, based in Cambridge, specialises in working with groups of people who are at risk of social inclusion.

The audience were also treated to an exhibition of nearly 30 organisations from throughout the county.

All in all, a fantastic evening for everyone and we want to thank everyone who attended - speakers, performers, exhibitors and the audience.

The Friends of Fulbourn Hospital and the community look to the future

On 9 November at 6.30pm in Fulbourn Hospital, Resource Centre, a series of training events, led by John Nicholson, CPFT Senior Chaplain, will begin to cover what might be done to help people with a mental health problem during a period of bereavement, following the loss of one or more of their significant carers.

He will be assisted by Ingrid Baldwin, CPFT Carers’ Representative, and Sue Ginsberg BACP, who is a qualified Cruse counsellor. The Friends' intention in launching this training is that in the early summer of 2012 those who have attended these events will be available as a new resource to support CPFT service users with any bereavement problems that they might have.

Dr Caroline Lea-Cox, the Executive Board Member of Cambridgeshire Association to Commission Health (CATCH), who leads on mental health, will give a talk on the future of commissioning of mental health services at the AGM of the Friends on 16 November at 6.30pm for 7pm at St James Church, Wulfstan Way, Cambridge. For further information about either event please contact d.a.livesey@ntlworld.com.

New services for older people in Huntingdon

The Hawthorn Day therapy centre being held every day at Saxongate in Huntingdon is proving to be a huge hit with the people who use the services as well as their carers. JM said “I like coming here, it’s relaxing and the staff are very friendly and it’s much more comfortable than the last place”.  “It’s by the river and close to the shops, it’s great”. “Hawthorn is like a lifeline to B, it makes him feel part of the world.”   For carers too, the monthly carers meeting is greatly appreciated, “I’ve made new friends, can talk about my worries and distress.”  “It’s a great place to get rid of the stigma.”   

The multi disciplinary team that run the centre have the skills and personality to get the groups working well together and encourage individuals to develop and try new things.

The team offer a structured 16 week care plan and a six week recovery plan to help people share experiences and increase their confidence.  Every day at Hawthorn is different, from the spirituality group, to the young onset dementia day, the day for people with memory problems and the art classes.  The team, led by Chris Atkins are highly motivated and enjoy being able to use their skills to become experts in their area whether it be art, conversation.  “Everyone can do everything but they also have their specialty” said Chris, “…already 30% of the group have been discharged through our use of recovery tools which put control back into the hands of the person.”

If anyone is in any doubt about the success of the team and the centre here is John’s story (pictured right).  When we first met 18 months ago, John was unwell, dependent, highly anxious and had lost all confidence to go out on his own.  He was admitted to an inpatient ward where he gradually improved.  On arrival at Hawthorn day therapy centre John found himself again and blossomed.  He comes to the centre 2 or 3 times a week now, but as a helper not as a patient.  He’s now a part time receptionist at the Saxongate Centre.  John is full of life and has a hectic social diary; he had to leave our meeting to go out for lunch with a group of new friends.  “The team at Hawthorn have helped me transform my life,” said John, “I can now travel to visit my family and friends in Ireland on my own, my family can’t believe the difference in me. I love coming back here and working with the groups.   I look forward every day to being with people. Annette Newton, Director of Operations said, “John is a fantastic example of how a person can transform their lives, with the help of such a talented team.”

The service prides itself on not needing to admit people to hospital, Chris Atkins, team leader says, “Working with people in this way means that we can give people the control back in their lives, people learn to live with their illness and to make fantastic progress, they do so much better here than they would in hospital.”

Service manager Suzanne Cunningham said, “Chris and his team have already delivered so much more than promised, services have been further developed and in a short space of time we have seen so much success.”

City mayor makes special visit to children's mental health service

Peterborough Mayor Councillor Paula Thacker made a special visit to a city children's mental health service.

The Otters Retreat, based at The City Care Centre, provides short breaks to families whose children have profound multiple disability and unstable complex health care needs. The service is run by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT).

Councillor Thacker met staff and two of the children - Curtis Kilby (15) and Aneese Kamwal (3) who are staying at The Otters this week.

She said: "I have experienced disability within my family so I'm very interested in what facilities the city offers to those who need it and want to see as many as I can while I'm mayor. This is a lovely service and I have been impressed with the dedication of staff."

The Otters, which opened in 2009, provides a friendly, caring, warm and safe environment for children aged between 0 and 18. It is run by qualified nurses and experienced care staff.

Carol Robertson, Senior Manager at The Otters, said: "All the children who use our service live at home with their families and may use The Otters for one night or maybe a couple of days for respite care. The Otters give families an important break - looking after these children is extremely hard work and parents do a phenomenal job. It's important, though, that parents get some time for themselves and for their other children. This is where our service steps in. We have a wonderful facility here managed by a really hard-working team."

CPFT wins information award

CPFT has been certified as a provider of high quality health care information by The Information Standard scheme.

As a certified member to the scheme, CPFT has been awarded The Information Standard quality mark. The quality mark can now be displayed on their literature and website, demonstrating to the public that their information is safe and reliable.

According to a survey carried out by The Information Standard , the majority of the general public (72%) believe that they would be better able to manage their own and their family’s health if they had quick and easy access to health information they could trust. The Information Standard, which is supported by the Department of Health, was launched to provide this kind of assurance.

Diana Jakubowska, lead for the Information Standard at CPFT said: “We are delighted to have achieved The Information Standard for the benefit of staff, the people who use our services and others interested in mental health. The scheme helps to ensure that any information provided by us is of the highest quality standard and can be trusted. We are also very pleased to have been asked to be a demonstration site for future NHS trusts wishing to sign up.”