User Carer Matters

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USER CARER Matters Matters Including news for service user and family carer foundation trust members ‘Helping people make the most of their lives’ October 2010 Issue 23 October 2010 celebrates the launch of Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month, a month long campaign that brings together anti-stigma events from across the county. There are events happening throughout the month in locations across Suffolk. There is a timetable of events from pages 3-5 of this edition of User Carer Matters. For more information on the events taking place during October please visit www.keepaneyeout.co.uk The month is being coordinated by VASP (Voluntary and Statutory Partnership), a group of over 60 mental health organisations including Suffolk Family Carers, ESAN, Suffolk Libraries and teams from around Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month is about working together to raise awareness of good mental wellbeing and the benefits of physical health. The events are based around having a healthy mind and a healthy body. The events expand on VASP’s usual celebrations of World Mental Health Day (October 10th), an international awareness event originally started by the World Federation for Mental Health. The month also incorporates Time to Change “Get moving” events. Time to Change is a national anti-stigma campaign which aims inspire the country to put an end mental health discrimination. Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month: Get the feel good factor this October CET100614_UCM_August-2010:Layout 1 17/09/2010 13:04 Page 1

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Page 1: User Carer Matters

USER CARERMattersMattersIncluding news for service user and family carer foundation trust members

‘Helping people make the most of their lives’

October 2010 Issue 23

October 2010 celebrates

the launch of Suffolk

Health and Wellbeing

Month, a month long

campaign that brings

together anti-stigma events

from across the county.

There are events

happening throughout the

month in

locations across Suffolk.

There is a timetable of

events from pages 3-5 of

this edition of User Carer

Matters. For more

information on the events

taking place during

October please visit

www.keepaneyeout.co.uk

The month is being

coordinated by VASP

(Voluntary and

Statutory

Partnership), a

group of over

60 mental

health

organisations

including

Suffolk

Family

Carers,

ESAN,

Suffolk

Libraries and

teams from

around Suffolk

Mental Health

Partnership NHS Trust.

Suffolk Health and

Wellbeing Month is about

working together to raise

awareness of good mental

wellbeing and the benefits

of physical health.

The events are based

around having a healthy

mind and a healthy body.

The events expand on

VASP’s usual celebrations

of World Mental Health

Day (October 10th), an

international awareness

event originally started by

the World Federation for

Mental Health.

The month also

incorporates Time to

Change “Get moving”

events.

Time to Change is a

national anti-stigma

campaign which aims

inspire the country to put

an end mental health

discrimination.

Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Month:Get the feel good factor this October

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Workwise Suffolk hasset up a project todeliver training andemployment courses,including tastersessions, aimed atpeople who are:• Lone parents,

• People returning to the

job market aged 50+,

• Economically inactive or

• Unemployed.

The aim of the training is

to help overcome barriers

to employment and

access new skills and

qualifications.

The taster course includes

a skills analysis of each

participant to ascertain

their strengths, matching

job avenues with their

training requirements, and

forming an action plan for

progression.

This taster includes 10-

hours of sessions over a

period of one to two

months.

Worklink says no matter

what job you apply for, a

good standard of

computer literacy with a

qualification is very

important. Learners have

the option of working with

Microsoft Office packages

Word, Excel, Access or

Internet to assess their

skills levels.

Those wishing to continue

can work towards an iTQ

qualification with the full

training and employment

course.

This programme lasts 80

hours delivered in group

sessions over the course

of a year.

It provides instruction and

support to work with

Microsoft Office and gain

credits towards the iTQ

qualification by integrating

and using the skills learnt

in the workshops.

Included in this part ofthe course would be:• Skills analysis of each

participant, ascertaining

skills for training and job

match avenues

• CV development

workshops

• Skills analysis

• Letter writing

• Work

placement/volunteer with

real employers

• One to one mentoring

• Employability and

motivation workshops

• Job goals/job hunting

• Work options/employer

research

• Application forms

• Interview techniques

• Analysing adverts

• Communication skills

If you are interested in

finding out more contact

Neil or Natasha at

Workwise on 01284

755261 for an initial

meeting.

Worklink has free

training to help get

you back into work

Courses aim to give new skills and overcome barriers

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4 Oct to 7 OctChristchurch Mansion,Ipswich “Representing self” artexhibitionAn art exhibition co-

ordinated between

Colchester and Ipswich

Museums and ‘Inside

Out’, a local arts group.

Work involves the

creative, personal

exploration of

Christchurch Mansion’s

collections.

5 Oct, 12.30pm-1.15pm Beccles Library “Consequences of childabuse” talk This week deals with the

difficult and emotive

subject of child hood

abuse with talks and

information from agencies

that can offer further

support.

5 Oct, 10.30am-3.30pm Navigator Suite,Lowestoft Library Family carersnetworking event A networking event for

family carers and users of

learning disability services

to find out about mental

health services in Waveney.

6 Oct 2pm-3.30pm Endeavour House,Ipswich “Drugs in thecommunity” seminar This seminar is part of

Minds Matters a series of

friendly, informative and

free public mental health

seminars. Book on 01473

329148.

7 Oct, from 9am Sudbury Marketplace “Time to get moving”event with smoothiebike! Feel great and cycle your

way to a free smoothie,

with our fantastic

smoothie bike! The

event aims to raise

awareness of the

services provided

by local mental

health

organisations

and show the link

between good

physical and

mental wellbeing.

7 Oct, 10am-4pm Beccles Library Information stands and“Find yourself” talk This week deals with the

difficult and emotive

subject of child hood

abuse with talks and

information from agencies

that can offer further

support.

8 Oct, 10am-4pm Haverhill Library “Time to get moving”event with art and livemusic! Day will include an art and

photography competition

(judged by the Haverhill

Echo’s photographer and

the Haverhill Mayor),

acoustic music

performance, exhibition,

leaflets and more.

8 Oct, 10am-4pm Thoroughfare,Woodbridge “Mental health andwellbeing for olderpeople” informationstand This event will have

advice on general mental

health, fitness and well-

being issues in older

people, information

leaflets, fun games and

discussion on life changes

following retirement.

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Suffolk Health and Wellbeing MonthLocal wellbeing events taking place during October 2010

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9 Oct, 10am-4pm Long Shop Museum,Leiston “Art on the move”touring art exhibition An amazing powerful and

colourful art display and

interactive workshop

inspired by emotionally

inspired art. Come and

have a go! Mobile library

on site and information

about local mental health

support services

available.

10 OctSt Clement’s Hospital, Ipswich Awareness day A fabric textile display

with individual squares

designed by clients

attending unit aims to

show creativity and the

learning new skills to

build confidence and

social interaction.

11 Oct to 18 OctSt Lawrence CentreCafé, Dial Lane, Ipswich Information stands Find out more about the

community projects and

health and wellbeing

support services in the

Ipswich area whilst

enjoying the lovely

surroundings and

refreshments at the café

in the St Lawrence

Centre.

11 Oct to 15 Oct, 9amonwards Lowestoft Library Art and photography

exhibition

14 Oct, 2pm-3.30pm West Suffolk College,

Bury St Edmunds “Coping with

depression”seminar This seminar is

part of Minds

Matters a

series of

friendly,

informative

and free

public mental

health

seminars. Book

on 01473

329148.

20 OctWedgwood House, WestSuffolk Hospital, BurySt Edmunds Presentation andinformation display To launch the proposed

new model of care to be

used at Wedgwood

House. To inform other

agencies and the public

of changes underway at

Wedgwood House and of

proposed changes and

how these will have a

positive impact on the

provision of acute

inpatient care.

22 Oct, 2pm-3.30pm United ReformedChurch, Stowmarket “Building a betterfuture” seminar A presentation about the

new build and

refurbishment projects of

Suffolk Mental Health

Partnership NHS Trust,

including new wards on

the Ipswich Hospital and

St Clement’s Hospital

sites in Ipswich and

refurbishment works at

Wedgwood House on the

West Suffolk Hospital site

in Bury St Edmunds. This

seminar is part of the

Minds Matters free public

mental health seminars.

Book on 01473 329148.

Suffolk Health and Wellbeing MonthLocal wellbeing events taking place during October 2010

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26 Oct, 11am-3pm The Apex, Bury St

Edmunds “Fun Feeling

Fabulous” An interactive

day to

encourage

awareness

and action on

keeping good

health and

wellbeing.

Jimmy Doherty

from ‘Jimmy’s

Farm’ will be

opening the event

and there will be

demonstrations and stalls

with information:

• Dance

• Walking

• Chair based exercise

• Yoga

• Tai chi

• Courses to increase

mental health and

wellbeing

• Talking library

• Stop smoking advice

• Healthy eating and

healthy lifestyles.

Free healthy soup and

fruit available all day.

Suffolk Health and Wellbeing MonthLocal wellbeing events taking place during October 2010

The NHS White Paper,

Equity and excellence:

Liberating the NHS, sets

out the Government’s long-

term vision for the NHS.

The vision builds on the

NHS values and principles –

a comprehensive service,

available to all, free at the

point of use and based on

need, not the ability to pay.

There are four consultation

papers on which the

Department of Health is

seeking your views.

Commissioning forpatients. The White Paper

sets out proposals for

putting local consortia of

GP practices in charge of

commissioning services

supported by an

independent national NHS

Commissioning Board.

Local democraticlegitimacy in health. This

consultation builds on the

proposals to increase local

involvement in decision-

making in health.

Transparency inoutcomes: a frameworkfor the NHS. How the

Secretary of State for

Health will hold the NHS

Commissioning Board to

account.

Regulating healthcareproviders. This document

further outlines proposals

on foundation trusts and

the establishment of

Monitor as an independent

economic regulator.

There is also a Review of

the Arm’s Length Bodies

which is also open for

consultation.

The White Paper was

published in July and the

deadline for responses is

October 5 2010. The

supporting consultation

papers have a deadline for

responses of 11 October

2010.

For details see www.dh.

gov.uk/liberatingthenhs

Have your say on NHS reforms

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Kevin Byford fromSuffolk User Forum hasrecently beenrepresenting serviceusers on a panel toreview the system ofproviding supportedhousing for people withmental health problemsin Suffolk.

Sheltered housing

contracts, which are

commissioned by Suffolk

County Council (SCC),

are renewed every three

to five years.

To encourage services to

become more efficient

SCC have decided to

introduce a system of

‘clusters’.

The cluster system

means that rather than an

area having several

different providers, one

organisation will now bid

for all the services in a

particular area (or

cluster).

Kevin said: “The idea

behind the change is to

drive down costs without

affecting quality of

service, and I am really

positive about the

changes to the system.

“At the moment one

organisation might be

running services in Bury

St Edmunds, Haverhill

and Ipswich, meaning

staff must travel between

these locations.

“Clusters however mean

that services will become

more localised resulting in

less time on the road and

more time on care making

sheltered housing in

Suffolk more efficient.”

To ensure that all the

bidding organisations are

competent in terms of

finance and service

provision, a panel,

including Kevin, assessed

all of the written bids in

two phases.

The first phase was

reviewing the 16 bids for

good and bad points over

a four day period. The

second phase then

involved more scrutiny

such as reviewing

user/carer involvement.

Kevin added: “The panel

also came up with

additional questions for

the bids, which I found

one of the most

interesting and enjoyable

parts of the process”.

The information gathered

by this panel was then

added to financial data

about the organisations

and converted into a

percentage score. At the

end of this process there

were 11 organisations left

who are now being asked

to bid on the clusters,

starting with Waveney.

Thanks to Kevin Byford

from Suffolk User Forum

for getting in touch!

Service users

have sheltered

housing input

Age Concern Suffolk is a

charity that works for older

people in the county by

campaigning on their

behalf and providing

services.

One service that the

charity provides is a

‘domestic information

helpline’ that collects and

provides information on

ways to help people in

their own homes.

If you would like advice on

how to access support or

assistance with cleaning,

shopping, odd jobs etc,

then the helpline is open

9.30am - 12.30pm Monday

– Thursday on 0845 330

0470 (local rate call).

Age Concern domestic helpline

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NAME (optional:)

CONTACT DETAILS (optional:)

COMMENTS:

Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if necessary.

Feedback form

Please send ideas, thoughts, stories and queries using this form. You may cut out this

section of the newsletter and send it to the freepost address on the next page.

Asking staff

to cover upSome of the explicit tattoos

worn by Trust staff are

rather worrying for patients

when they are very unwell.

We do appreciate the need

people have for self

expression but we are

concerned that pictures of

dragons, knifes, skulls, etc,

can be observed by

patients that are unwell as

frightening and symbolic.

We have asked staff at the

Trust to adhere to the

dress policy and keep

these tattoos covered up

while on duty.

If you are a service user or

family carer who have

found tattoos worrying

Suffolk User Forum would

like to hear from you.

Larry Nicholas

Suffolk User Forum

The board of Suffolk

Mental Health Partnership

NHS Trust has endorsed a

policy to communicate

effectively with patients if

things go wrong.

The aim is to ensure

sensitive, empathetic,

honest, timely and open

communication with

patients involved in serious

incidents such as a death

or serious harm to a

patient. Central to the

policy is acknowledgement

of distress caused and the

principle that both verbal

and written apologies

should be made as soon

as possible.

Research has shown that

this type of policy improves

patient satisfaction and

reduces the number of

formal complaints and

litigation, saving thousands

or even millions of pounds

of public money.

Patients must be offered

advocates to support them,

including the Trust’s own

Patient Advice and Liaison

Service (PALS).

See www.smhp.nhs.uk

Trust endorses Being Open

If you have worries or issues about the Trust thenthe Patient Advice and Liaison Service can help youget the information you need. PALS is a confidentialservice to help sort problems quickly rather thanservice users having to make a formal complaint.PALS officer James Woolnough can liaise on yourbehalf with staff and will listen to all your concerns,suggestions and queries about the Trust. CallJames on 0800 585544 or email [email protected]

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CONTACT USIf you would like furtherinformation on any of thenews stories in this issuewe will be happy to help.Contributions arewelcomed, but may beedited.

The Editorial Team

Foundation Trust Office

St Clement’s Hospital

Freepost

RRKY-AAKL-UEUS

PO Box 170

IP3 8LS

(No stamp needed.)

Tel: 0800 585544

Email address:

[email protected]

Have a look at our

websites to find out more

about our services and

campaigns:

www.smhp.nhs.uk

www.ifyouknew.co.uk

SIGNPOST

Age Concern domestic

information helpline

(Mon-Thur, 9:30pm -

12:30pm) 0845 330

0470 www.age

concernsuffolk.org.uk

PALS – PatientAdvice and LiaisonServiceOpen Mondays and

Tuesdays 10am to 4pm

and Wednesdays 10am

to 12noon 0800 585544

or [email protected]

Suffolk Family Carershelpline (Mon-Fri, 9am-

4pm) 01473 232679

www.suffolk-

carers.org.uk

Suffolk User ForumEast: 01473 329316

West: 01284 713000,

ext 2316

Voluntary andStatutory Partnership(VASP)Julia Carr 01284

764808. Hosted by

www.suffolkmind.org.uk

White Paperconsultationwww.dh.gov.uk/

liberatingthenhs

[email protected]

Workwise01284 755261www.

workwisesuffolk.org.uk

This page contains contacts relevant to the

stories and articles in the issue.

If you have any organisations you think we should

be signposting people to then let us know using

the feedback form!

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