issue 30 | Summer 2015

Day in the Life of p2

Frail Elderly Programme p3

Falls Prevention p3

Recycling Works p4

this issue...

newsletter for staff working in CHCP

For more information about the CHCP go to www.westlothianchcp.org.uk

With a health visitor background Gill has always had a passion to improve services for children, taking a lead role in Child Protection and the promotion of Health and Wellbeing.

Roles undertaken by Gill have included chairperson for the Sexual Health Forum, Lothian Violence against Women Training Consortium, Older People’s Forum and Community Health Development.

Over the years Gill has developed a keen interest in women’s health issues

particularly around domestic abuse and has been involved locally in partnership with Council and Police colleagues in the implementation of the Public Protection agenda.

Having worked for over 24 years in West Lothian Gill will be looking forward to a well-earned rest and opportunity to take time to visit family and her new grandchild. She will be missed and we wish her well in any new ventures she chooses to do.

NHSLothian

West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership

www.westlothianchcp.org.uk

Farewell GillThe CHCP is saying farewell to another long-standing member with the retiral of Chief Nurse, Gill Cottrell. Gill started work with West Lothian in 1990 as a Team Leader based at Whitburn Health Centre. She moved to become Locality Manager in 1999 and was appointed Chief Nurse to West Lothian CHCP in 2009.

Integration of health and social careNew arrangements are being put in place for the governance of adult health and social care services in West Lothian. The changes arise from the implementation of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. The Act provides the legislative framework for the integration of health and social care across Scotland. This means that a new Integration Joint Board (IJB) will be responsible for planning and resourcing service provision for adult health and social care in West Lothian.

Further information on the new arrangements when available will be posted on the CHCP website (www.westlothianchcp.org.uk) and in the next issue of West Life.

A new role for JaneJane Kellock has taken over the post of Head of Social Policy on an interim basis following Jennifer Scott’s retiral.

Jane has a broad range of experience spanning children and families, adults and older people and health improvement across the third and public sectors.

Jane started work with the Council in 1996 as a social worker, moving on to Service Development Officer, Health Improvement Manager and Senior Manager.

Jane has a strong interest in rights and empowerment, early intervention and early years, emotional wellbeing and personal/professional development.

For more information on any of the articles email: info@westlothianchcp.org.uk

A day in the life of a Band 7 Occupational Therapist

The first copy of the CHCP Quality Improvement Framework (QIF) newsletter was published in April. The purpose of the newsletter is to keep staff up to date with the CHCP’s implementation of QIF and journey towards excellence. Some of the services involved so far include community and community hospital nursing, AHPs, mental health, admin and REACT.

Who? Derek FlemingI’ve been an OT for 31 years, having started in 1983 as one of the two basic grades in our small department at Bangour General and now am a band 7 OT in a much larger service at St Johns. I lead the “physical” service on a day to day basis and deputise for the OT Manager, Susan Brown.

My clinical team is the General Medical service which provides OT cover to the General Medical wards and also Burns and Plastics. I also support the wider team to ensure we have staff where we need them to be on a day to day basis, taking into account demand across the service , any annual leave or sick leave and any other factors affecting our work.

My day starts at 8am and the first half hour is spent catching up with emails, looking at any referrals made out-of-hours and dealing with any clinical queries from staff. A verbal report is given to the OT attending the 8.30am bed meeting on any issues affecting the service that day.

At 8.30am I hold the daily meeting for the service. All clinical staff on duty attend and this is the briefing for the day which looks at any safety issues, demand in each clinical area, any staffing problems, cover for sick leave or any other concerns. I may move staff from one area to another to assist when needed. This flexibility allows us to make the best use of our staff. The meeting takes 10 to 15 minutes and I will then meet with my own team to look at the day’s priorities and allocate tasks.

Having set the team up, I will then go out to the wards and see patients on my caseload. As I visit wards I regularly meet with nurses to ensure those who need to see us are referred and dealt with quickly. This can involve a number of interventions but typically will consist of initial assessment, planning and arranging therapy, assessing for equipment, adaptations, and/or support for patients to help discharge them back to the community quickly and with the help they need when they need it. I see patients in the wards, in the OT department and where necessary at home.

There is a great deal of liaison involved in planning this and can involve communicating with carers and families to ensure their concerns are listened to and

acted upon where possible, Social Work to discuss packages of care, Reablement and React teams who can provide rehabilitation at home, Palliative Care team, medical staff, Discharge Co-ordinators, District Nursing, Physiotherapists, and of course Nursing staff.

I carry the medical OT team bleep which is our main means of taking referrals. Once a problem has been identified at ward level with a patient managing their activities of daily living at home that will impact on their discharge , I can be contacted to discuss this and if OT intervention is needed the referral will be accepted on to a caseload immediately. If OT intervention is not required for discharge, I may be able to advise the person referring on how best to deal with the situation. This system avoids the need for waiting lists and helps to move people from hospital to community quickly.

Other duties I’m regularly involved in are case conferences, multidisciplinary meetings, staff supervision and I co-ordinate the student training programme for the OT service. This involves organising placements, communicating with the three universities who send students here, supporting our student educators and ensuring placements go smoothly.

The timetable for my day varies a great deal depending on the responsibilities I have on the day. I finish at 4pm and hand the referral bleep on to our Rapid OT Assessment Service who carry it for the remainder of their shift.

New quality newsletter

Launch of the frail elderly programme

For more information on any of the articles email: info@westlothianchcp.org.uk

West Lothian has a growing population and by 2033 the population of is expected to increase by 23% to 208,364 compared to a national increase of 7%; this means that the growth in the population of older people will be greater than most of Scotland. This population growth is taking place against a background of public expenditure constraint.

Frailty is a distinctive health state related to the ageing process in which multiple body systems gradually lose their in-built reserves. Older people with frailty are at risk of unpredictable deterioration in their health resulting from minor stressor events.

The West Lothian Frail Elderly Programme has been set up to identify where there is potential to implement improvements in efficiencies and effectiveness across the whole-system model of care for the frail elderly in West Lothian. The aim of the programme is to improve outcomes, individual experience, deliver value for money and establish a long-term and sustainable service.

The purpose of the Frail Elderly Programme Launch Day held in April was to bring together the wider group of stakeholders who are involved with working in this area and give them a briefing on the plans

to study and develop the care pathways for this key group of people within West Lothian.

The programme has identified four key project areas

• Frailty Pathway in Hospital

• Frailty Capacity Modelling in West Lothian

• Dementia and Functional Mental Health Redesign for the Elderly

• Supporting Health and Care in the Community.

The afternoon provided an opportunity for attendees to go into breakout groups to discuss the programme and provide feedback on any areas that they felt required further consideration or development, including providing recommendations on widening the group of stakeholders.

The feedback from the day will be analysed to consider the best approach for incorporating all constructive feedback into the ongoing process, and also to develop an effective communication plan for the Programme moving forward.

To access content from the day go to www.westlothianchcp.org.uk/article/6814/Launch-of-Frail-Elderly-Programme

Social Care and Health are operating in an environment with a rapidly growing ageing population – in keeping with most of the developed world, the people of Scotland are living longer and often with multiple long-term conditions.

To order free copies of this booklet for individuals within West Lothian contact

Ray.Brown@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk stating how many booklets you would

like and what service you work within.

Ray will ensure you receive a regular delivery of the booklets and will

insert a local information leaflet into each one.

The online version of the booklet is available at:

www.healthscotland.com/uploads/

documents/23464-UpAndAbout.pdf

Falls in Care HomesCHCP staff and local care home staff have been recognised in the National Care Homes Newsletter for their contribution to the Care Inspectorate’s new information booklet ‘Falls; information for friends and family’ which can be found on the Care Inspectorate’s website.

Kirstie Stenhouse, Falls Lead, and West Lothian Care Home Falls and Education Task Group produced local guidance for care homes which attracted national attention and has now been adapted for use in care homes across Scotland.

Falls prevention in the communityUp and About: Taking positive steps to avoid trips and falls has been produced by NHS Health Scotland, Age Scotland and the National Osteoporosis Society. It includes information and helpful advice to those most at risk of trips and falls. It should be offered to all individuals at risk of falls.

For more information about the CHCP go to www.westlothianchcp.org.uk

New mental health and wellbeing website An exciting new mental health and wellbeing website, Westspace.org.uk, has been launched in West Lothian. The website was developed by Scottish charity Health in Mind in partnership with NHS Lothian and the directory provides information on over 80 services available in West Lothian, fact sheets, self-help guides and news and information on training courses and local events. As well as helping people to make informed choices about treatment and care, Westspace can help someone to explore self-help opportunities as well as maintaining their own positive mental health and wellbeing.

contact usWest Life is published three times a year and made available to all CHCP employees. We welcome your feedback on anything covered in this issue and suggestions for future issues.

Please contact: info@westlothianchcp.org.uk

The next deadline for copy is 11 September 2015

Recycling Works

Bikes are collected for reuse at the council’s six recycling centres and are brought to a workshop in Livingston to be repaired or salvaged for parts. Unpaid Work Supervisors have qualified as professional bicycle mechanics and the repaired bikes get a full service before being distributed by referral to local families and community groups throughout West Lothian. Each ‘new-to-you bike’ is provided

with a helmet, high-visibility vest, lights and a lock. Offenders are involved in every stage: collecting bikes, assessing necessary repairs, and stripping and rebuilding bikes.

The project is being run in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland. Kevin Russell, Team Manager for Unpaid Work, says: “This project ticks several boxes - partnership, promoting healthy active lifestyles, green transport,

recycling, skills development, and giving individuals and community groups the opportunity to own a ‘new to you bike’ they may not have been able to afford.”

If you would like to donate a bike, it can be dropped in to any council recycling centre, or the team can arrange uplift. Simply call 01506 280999, or email us at criminaljusticeteam@westlothian.gcsx.gov.uk

One of the Community Payback Unpaid Work Team’s latest projects, bike recycling, is now in full swing.

CAN doThe West Lothian Care Activity Network (CAN) event is now in its fifth year and aims to increase levels of physical activity within care settings (care homes, day care, sheltered housing, and care at home).

This year 190 people attended the event, with Holmesview Nursing Home in Broxburn picking up first place. Thirteen teams were piped in and teams competed in a variety of activities including hook a duck, skittles, new age kurling, parachute and sock pairing.