Including news for service user and family carer foundation trust members

‘Helping people make the most of their lives’

February 2011 Issue 25

A fresh new interactive

website has been

launched to promote the

Trust’s alcohol services

and encourage safe

drinking. The website

contains interactive tools to

assess your own drinking

habits and track how much

alcohol you have drunk.

Lee Harnden, associate

director for substance

misuse services at the

Trust, said: “We are really

pleased to be able to

announce the new site.

“The aim is help people

struggling with drinking

problems to access our

services and get the help

they need.”

The website provides

specific information about

alcohol services in Suffolk

as well as general

guidance and headlines on

drinking. It also contains a

downloadable iPhone

application which helps

people track what they

drink on the go.

The Suffolk Trust is

unveiling the website

following on from the

government’s

announcement of set

minimum prices for alcohol

last week in a nationwide

crackdown on binge

drinking.

Lee added: “The great

thing about our site is that

is isn’t solely aimed at

people who need

professional treatment.

The interactive tools

provided by NHS Choices

have allowed us to provide

a site that benefits

everyone wanting to make

a positive change to their

drinking habits no matter

how much they consume.”

The Trust’s alcohol service

provides support to people

experiencing difficulties

with their use of alcohol

who want help to

overcome their problem-

drinking and turn their life

around.

The service has two teams

covering both East and

West and treatment

includes help with detox in

the community, counselling

and psychological support,

group support and help for

families and carers.

Interactive website explains alcohol misuse

The new website can be found at www.smhp.nhs.uk/alcohol

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An amazing painting of the

King Redwald ship from

Sutton Hoo has been

installed at Ipswich

Hospital. The painting, in

acrylic, has been created

by Trust volunteer Stevie

Francis who is based at

Walker Close.

During a visit to Ipswich

Hospital with Rt Revd

Charles Muggleston,

Stevie noticed paintings on

display and was inspired to

create his own. He visited

Sutton Hoo to make some

drawings on which to base

his artwork. He worked on

the painting in sessions

with Brian Connold from

Optua in Needham Market.

The painting was installed

at Ipswich Hospital at a

ceremony on 9 December

2010.

It was donated in memory

of Stevie’s mother, Dorothy

Smith (a nurse) and in

honour of the acute

respiratory unit at Ipswich

Hospital which supported

Stevie through some

recent health problems.

When asked how he felt

about the event, he said:

“Happy, happy. Brill!”

The results of a new review

into NHS inpatient services

show that mental health

patients in Suffolk are

treated with more respect

and dignity than the

national average.

Overall the positive review

shows the Trust scored

above the national average

in 25 out of 40 reviewed

areas. The results included

58% of service users

saying that they always

have confidence and trust

in their nurses, which is

14% above the national

average.

The Listening to Patients:

Mental Health Inpatient

Survey is conducted by

Quality Health and uses

the views and experiences

of service users that have

been treated by the Trust,

and their carers.

Similarly, 54% said that

they felt safe in hospital

compared to a national

average of just 47% and

88% had never been

bothered by noise by staff

at night.

Margaret Little, acute

inpatient service manager,

said “We are thrilled to

receive the results of this

review, which really shows

all the positive

achievements made by our

clinical teams in 2010. It is

really important that we

listen to the views of our

patients and reviews such

as these are extremely

helpful in doing this. The

review gives us a good

indication of where we are

doing well and areas that

we need to improve upon.

These great results show

that the Trust’s hard work

is paying off.”

Other key areas where the

Trust scored highly

included 100% not sharing

a sleeping area with a

member of the opposite

gender, 95% who were

contacted within two weeks

of discharge, and 77% not

having their discharge

delayed.

The voluntary review was

undertaken by 33 Trusts

across the country.

Thumbs up from Trust inpatients

Budding artist

celebrates work

Stevie Francis

officially hands

his painting

over to Ipswich

Hospital.

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3

The following poem was

sent in by a service user

for Jill Cornwell, approved

mental health practioner at

Sudbury CHMT:

This is my poem I’ve

written to you

Just to say the words,

thank you.

The person I can talk to

and not be judged

The someone who knows

how easily I crumble up

The one who gives me lots

of advice, to be able to live

a ‘normal’ life.

I wish I could go outside, I

wish I didn’t hide inside.

I want to be a different me.

To be able to smile

naturally.

I talk to you about all kinds

of things, how my

depression is a horrible

thing.

How I feel lost without my

Dad, how my past makes

me sad.

Is it too much to ask to feel

complete? To hold my

head up, not look at my

feet?

To lose the feeling of giving

up, sometimes that feeling

gets too much.

The times I want to curl up

and die, to stop myself I

look in my child’s eyes.

To see her looking back at

me, the thought gets

buried but will come back

and haunt me.

If I could have my life over

again, I’d erase the nasty

bits and start again.

Maybe then I’d be a brand

new me and not the

damaged good I feel to be.

Do you have a poem,

story or some artwork to

share? If so then write to

the address on the back

of this newsletter.

This is my poem I’ve written to you...

If you are on the road to

recovery you may be

starting to think about

future employment but are

scared about what this

means. Becoming a Trust

volunteer can be a way for

you to refresh your skills

(and learn some new

ones), gain up-to-date

references and get some

social interaction.

Becoming a volunteer may

help you take that step into

the often intimidating world

of job hunting and paid

employment.

The Trust welcomes

volunteers in virtually all

departments within the

Trust. Mark Stewart,

voluntary services

coordinator, will be able to

take you through the

opportunities available and

help with any paperwork

and extra support you may

need.

Ken Goddard (picture

right) volunteered with the

Trust’s software

department for a year

before gaining a job. Ken

said: “At first the idea of

meeting and dealing with

customers was a bit

frightening but, with the

encouragement of my

boss Jonathan Smith, I

soon found myself having

meetings and

communicating with

customers without feeling

overwhelmed.

“I have enjoyed a variety

of work and been

introduced to new

technologies… The

voluntary work has helped

me get out of my house

and create a weekly

routine. This has kept me

mentally active and able to

be positive in the face of

the job hunting arena.“

To find out more about

volunteering at the Trust

call Mark for a friendly,

informal chat on 01473

329042.

Become a volunteer!

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Attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder -

ADHD - is caused by a

chemical imbalance in the

brain affecting the parts

controlling attention,

concentration and

impulsivity.

It causes difficulties with

filtering out all the

information coming into the

brain, which causes the

child to be easily

distracted. ADHD usually

begins before the age of

seven and affects 3-5% of

children.

Two service users have

kindly offered to share their

stories: Christopher, 16,

from Needham Market,

describes how he came to

be diagnosed at around ten

years old. “Teachers at

middle school were

concerned. I suffered from

bad behaviour, was hard to

control and would not

listen. When I was on

medication I felt different

and no longer snapped at

people and could

concentrate. I also had

meetings with SMHP

practitioners which helped

me to manage my feelings

and suggested ways to

stop getting angry. Now I’m

off medication and in the

first year of a three year

bricklaying course at

Suffolk New College which

is going well.”

Matthew, 21, from Ipswich

developed problems whilst

at primary school. “I wasn’t

badly behaved but I was

irritable,“ he says.

“I talked a lot

and did not

concentrate

and both the

teachers and

Mum and Dad noticed it.

When I was about eight

and I was put on Ritalin,

which is fine but I’m now on

something different. I was

discharged from the ADHD

service a month ago but

am being referred to a new

consultant. Now I’m an IT

controller for a company in

Stowmarket.”

SMHP provides a

dedicated ADHD service

for patients up to the age of

18 and has also completed

a pilot service for up to 21

years old. Funding has just

been approved

for a new

broader 18+

service which will be

launched in 2011. This

includes medication,

behaviour modification

advice, psychological

education, liaison and

sleep clinics. The current

service provides

assessment, diagnosis and

treatment and currently

looks after around 600

children and young people.

SMHP service manager,

Kelley Osman said: “ADHD

is the most commonly

diagnosed psychiatric

disorder in children. We

aim to have close liaison

with education and social

care, and support our

clients before during and

after assessment.

“This client group often

have complex

presentations, and ranging

severity of needs. we find

the direct work with

children and families very

rewarding. We are

fortunate to develop long

term relationships with

families as treatment often

lasts several years, if it

continues to provide

symptom relief. We

continue to increase our

knowledge with every

family and young person

we meet and I am very

fortunate to have a highly

specialised and dedicated

team.

We still however come

across individuals or

agencies who have many

misconceptions or pre-

conceived ideas about

what ADHD is, and often

challenge its existence. It is

our role to share our

knowledge with the wider

community to benefit the

family’s experience of our

services.”

4

“I’m off medication and in the first

year of a three year bricklaying course at

Suffolk New College which is going well!”

“We find the direct work with

children and families very rewarding”

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5

The Productive Mental

Health Wards: Releasing

Time to Care was

launched over a year ago.

The project

aims to

streamline

the work

that ward

staff do to

allow more time

for direct patient

care.

Westgate Ward recently

opted to use the optional

‘physical observation’

module of the programme

due to the nature of the

Older Peoples Mental

Health Ward. The process

was decided by using the

hairdryer/PDSA cycle and

objectives agreed. This

was to ensure all staff had

the knowledge and skills to

undertake observations

and recognised the

relationship between

physical and mental

health. Patient

observations and actions

taken are a direct

reflection on the safety and

reliability of ward care.

The 40 staff on the ward

undertook an anonymous

questionnaire to identify

ways to improve the

process with patients. In

response to this

workbooks were created

which included

guidelines,

polices,

competency

framework

and

paperwork

used by

the Trust.

Staff

receive a

certificate

when the

workbook is complete.

Undertaking this

productive ward module

staff are more competent

and have improved patient

safety.

Helen Jackson, ward

manager of Westgate

Ward and Sue Hudson,

project manager for

productive wards

represented the Trust at an

event held by NHS East of

England in December

2010. The event included

celebrating successes in

Productive Ward

processes. Many

delegates at the event

were interested in the

improved physical

observation process on

Westgate and were keen

to take ideas to various

trusts across the region.

Physical observations

improve patient careEvery year, the Trust

receives comments and

suggestions about how

we can improve our

practice and our services.

These comments, which

come from a range of

sources, help us focus on

the areas that you say

would make a difference

to you.

Our performance in these

important areas forms our

Quality Account – our

response to show how we

have been doing in

meeting those priorities

that matter most.

As part of the Quality

Account the Trust is

asking you to rate a

variety of statements to

tell us which are most

important and how easy

or difficult it might be to

make them happen.

Together your responses

will help us identify the

top five areas for us to

concentrate on in

2011/12. If you are a

service user, family carer,

member of the public,

health or social care staff

or any other interested

person or organisation,

we want to hear from you.

The closing date for

responses is 7 April

2011. To take part visit

www.smhp.nhs.uk or

call 01473 329148.

What matters

to you?

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6

Ipswich Concern is a

counselling centre based

in the centre of Ipswich.

We are a charity and are

affiliated to the

Westminster Pastoral

Foundation, an

organisation that has many

affiliates around the

country. We have operated

as a counselling centre for

over 30 years.

Our clients present with a

variety of problems but our

counsellors are well able to

deal with the full range of

difficulties from degrees of

addiction to relationship

type problems.

We have around sixteen

qualified counsellors and

around fifteen trainees as

we are also a training

organisation.

Our model is

psychodynamic, which

means in many ways we

are relational in the way

that we work and we also

look back in the clients

past to discover if there is

a history of repetitive and

possibly destructive

behaviour. This all may be

very unconscious and it is

the counsellor’s job to help

the client discover what

may or may not be buried

and find difficult to access.

Our counsellors are all

trained to a very high

standard and all receive

weekly in-house

supervision. I (Sonia

Richards) am a qualified

psychoanalytic

psychotherapist and I take

clinical responsibility for all

clients that come through

the centre.

We offer both long and

short term counselling and

all are rates are

negotiable. They vary from

£5.00 to £40.00.

Do call me, Sonia, in the

first instance to discuss

whether you feel

counselling may help

you! I can be contacted

on 01473 212788.

Have you

heard about...

Ipswich

Concern

Following the successful

move of the staff and

patients from Easton ward

to the new Low Secure

Unit, Foxhall House in

November 2010 the team

are now preparing

themselves for the big

inpatient moves from St

Clements to the

Newbourne Centre at

Heath Road.

The moving in plan is

being developed with the

senior ward staff. It is likely

that the move to The

Newbourne Centre will be

in the summer months of

2011.

In the Centre, the

Psychiatric Intensive Care

Unit (PICU) known as Lark

Ward is complete,

meanwhile the three new

wards and their garden

areas continue to move

towards completion.

Over in the Wedgwood

Unit, Bury St Edmunds the

final details to the

proposed decant plans

have been agreed, thanks

to the cooperation of all

the staff. A section of office

accommodation is being

vacated to enable the

creation of a temporary 7

bedded ward area to

accommodate part of the

Westgate Ward. These

initial accommodation

moves will take place

during February 2011 and

the programme of work for

the creation of the 7

bedded temporary ward

area will start in March

2011.

Modernisation project update

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7

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.

Members of the community

interested in the merger

between Suffolk Mental

Health NHS Partnership

Trust and the Norfolk and

Waveney Mental Health

NHS Foundation Trust can

now register to receive

email updates about the

programme.

A decision was made in

2010 to investigate

merging the two Trusts.

The creation of a larger

Trust will mean greater

choice for service users as

there will be more teams

and clinicians for

individuals to choose from.

The email service ensures

service users and family

carers have direct access

to information as the

programme enters the

advanced stages of the

approval process.

To register:

1. Email the merger

Programme Management

Office, which is based at

Norfolk and Waveney

Mental Health NHS

Foundation Trust, on

merger.pmo@nwmhp.nhs.uk

2. Write “Register me for

updates” in the subject

heading. You do not have

to put any other

information identifying

yourself.

3. You willll receive an

email from

merger.pmo@nwmhp.nhs.uk

confirming your

registration.

Email addresses will be

added to a list that will only

be used to distribute

information about the

merger.

Registered users can

expect to receive progress

reports, dates of important

meetings, or any other

information relevant to the

project as and when it is

released by the Trusts.

Details will not be passed

on to any other party and

users may choose to

remove their details at any

time.

If you have any questions

about the merger, please

telephone 01603 421421

ext 8042 or email

merger.pmo@nwmhp.nhs.uk

Register for merger updates

CET110124_UCM_Feb_2011:Layout 1 02/02/2011 08:51 Page 7

8

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

St Clement’s Hospital

Tel: 01473 329000

Wedgwood House

Tel: 01284 712761

PALS - SMHP Patient

Advice and Liaison

Service

(Mon-Tue) 10am - 4pm

(Wed) 10am-12pm

Tel: 0800 585544

Merger information

01603 421421

Ext 8042

Request Quality

Account questionnaire

www.smhp.nhs.uk

Tel: 01473 329148

Mark Stewart, Trust

voluntary services

coordinator

Tel: 01473 329042

Suffolk Family Carers’

Helpline

(Mon-Fri) 9am-4pm

Tel: 01473 232679

Suffolk User Forum

(SUF) East

Tel: 01473 329316

Suffolk User Forum

(SUF) West

Tel: 01284 713000

Ext 2316

Adders - national ADHD

charity

(24 hour Helpline)

Tel: 01843 851145

www.adders.org

Ipswich Concern

Counselling Centre

(Mon-Fri) 10am - 3pm

Tel: 01473 212788

Leave a message on

the answering machine

out of hours.

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:

membership@smhp.nhs.uk

Have a look at our

websites to find out more

about our services and

campaigns:

www.smhp.nhs.uk

www.ifyouknew.co.uk

USEFUL NUMBERS

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