Better together e-news Autumn 2017

Welcome from the Chair, Paul Devlin

I’m delighted to introduce another packed issue of Better Together, full of updates about the Trust. We had an eventful October which included recognising World Mental Health Day. The day was an opportunity to have some interesting and exciting conversations about supporting wellbeing in the workplace. I attended our MAPLE (Mental and Physical Lived Experience) staff network conference for the second year running where I heard personal stories from staff about their own lived experience. Many people with mental health problems want to be at work – they value the part it plays in their lives, and they have much to offer – so it’s important to be able to have open conversations about mental health in the workplace.

In October we also celebrated our 10th anniversary as Foundation Trust; some of my colleagues who were here 10 years ago told me the time has flown! If you haven’t had chance to read our 10 tips for mental wellbeing on our social media then it is well worth a read and see what others do to look after themselves.

Reflecting on how attitudes towards mental health have changed over the last 10 years I can see a positive shift in recognising the signs of mental illness and supporting people earlier before problems escalate. Our Healthy Minds Lincolnshire, Recovery College and Managed Care Network, all concentrate on building people’s resilience and improving their support network and are great examples of why early intervention is really the future of mental health. They put us, as individuals, at the centre of care and recovery and empower us to be in charge, recognising we are all “experts” in our own experience.

Providing services close to home is another important issue for mental health services in Lincolnshire. Being in hospital for a mental health problem can be difficult enough without then being a long way from home. Our new services such as the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit and Clinical Decisions Unit help ensure that more people receive the right care, in the right place, as near to home as possible.

I’m really pleased to be launching another round of our Staff Excellence Awards this year which recognise our clinical and non-clinical staff and volunteers for the exceptional work they do. Please take time to nominate and say thank you to someone who has made a difference to you or someone you know.

Lastly I’d like to encourage everyone to have their flu jabs this winter. You may have seen stories in the media about NHS staff being urged to get the jab to help protect the patients we come in contact with. However, we all should consider getting vaccinated, especially if you’re a carer and others rely on you, or if you belong to a vulnerable group yourself. I have had my jab already and I can honestly say that the little bit of soreness was a small price to pay for the peace of mind that I am protected from getting the flu, and protecting those around me.

With best wishes,

Paul Devlin, LPFT Chair

25 community groups supported with new funding

Over £350,000 of community funding has been allocated to a variety of organisations and groups that help people with mental health problems and dementia stay well in their community.
The beneficiaries form part of Lincolnshire’s innovative Managed Care Network, a collection of community groups which offer support through various activities to help people recovering from mental ill health, or living with dementia.

Funding comes direct from the Mental Health Promotion Fund, which was established by Lincolnshire County Council and is managed by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

In total, 27 projects have benefitted from a share of the funding and will be offering a wide range of activities and groups that people with mental health problems or dementia can get involved in. Activities range from local social and friendship groups, sporting and other outdoor physical activities, through to creative therapy and support for carers.

Jane Marshall, Director of Strategy at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust added:

We were delighted to have such a fantastic response to this year’s wave 7 funding. We received more than 80 expressions of interest and our panel had some difficult decisions to make in order to allocate the funding available.   
We have a strong desire and vision to grow and expand the network, to offer as wide a range of activities and groups, covering as many areas as possible and it’s great that we’ve been able to introduce yet more new exciting projects this year.

Details about all of the activities and groups people can access are available on the Trust’s website www.lpft.nhs.uk/MCN or by following the hashtag #LincsMHnetwork on Twitter and Facebook.

A new service supporting children and young people to stay healthy and well

From October children and young people in Lincolnshire can access a new emotional wellbeing service delivered by the Trust on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council.

Healthy Minds Lincolnshire can help Lincolnshire children and young people with a range of emotional wellbeing concerns including exam stress, low mood, low self-confidence and other worries. They also work with parents and carers to offer them support via advice line.

The service links closely with schools by providing training to staff to help them build emotional resilience of children and young people and spot warning signs which will prevent problems from escalating. The service will also offer training to Lincolnshire pre-school workforce as well as relevant Lincolnshire County Council Children's Services professionals. 

It’s quite normal for any young person at some point to find it hard to cope with how they are feeling or what is happening in their life. Healthy Minds Lincolnshire is here to offer early support when they start to feel that life is getting out of control and they need some help,

said Lee Scigala, Service Manager.

We want to capture young people early, when the issues arise because evidence tells us that early help prevents mental health problems developing in the future. We want to teach young people how to take care of their own wellbeing and understand when to ask for professional help.

The council's new online access for emotional wellbeing and behaviour support is the first step to accessing the Healthy Minds Lincolnshire and other relevant services. Professionals, children, young people, parents and carers can visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/ewb  for information and advice, and to identify local and national services that can offer support for common emotional wellbeing, behaviour and mental health concerns.

More information about Healthy Minds Lincolnshire >>

Improving care for people with a learning disability

For some time the Trust and our lead commissioners, South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, have been working closely to ensure that people with a learning disability receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

The interim arrangements in place since the Long Leys Court closure in 2015 have enabled us to introduce an enhanced community service for people with a learning disability, with a greater emphasis on local support at home. This has meant that a significant number of people who would previously have received treatment in hospital have been supported in their own communities and are now able to enjoy greater independence.

We are working with our service users and their carers to ensure that this alternative community provision is meeting the specialist needs of people with a learning disability and that people are only admitted to a specialist unit when absolutely necessary.

Following discussions and support from the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire we have agreed to undertake further targeted engagement with people with learning disabilities, their carers and families, over the continuation of this new model and the proposed permanent closure of Long Leys Court.  A decision will be taken following this engagement and we will be communicating with people with a learning disability and their carers on how they can be involved soon.

New services helping reduce people travelling for hospital care

Reducing the number of mental health patients who have to travel outside of Lincolnshire for hospital care is a key priority for the Trust and our commissioners.

Over the last year we have implemented a range of new services and additional local support which is already reducing the number of people who need to travel, and this is likely to reduce further with additional investment in local home treatment and assessment services.

The county’s new psychiatric intensive care unit, the Hartsholme Centre which opened in July and has already meant that men who need specialist hospital care can remain in Lincolnshire at our brand new 10 bedded facility in Lincoln.

Work is also underway on a new psychiatric clinical decisions unit, due to open in the New Year, which will provide an area for short term assessment to support crisis resolution and home treatment teams and A&E departments in assisting people experiencing a mental health crisis. The unit will provide a safe and caring environment to help professionals discuss the appropriate care pathway with patients and their carers. This may still involve hospital care, but we hope in many cases that we will be able to provide extra support at home with input from our home treatment teams.

In essence it will mean that in certain cases, people in a mental health crisis who require additional support can be brought to a more suitable environment whilst the next steps in their care are arranged, meaning people will only go in to hospital when really needed.

Langworth Ward comes out on top

The Trust is celebrating the success of the Lincoln based dementia assessment and treatment unit after they won an award at this year’s Positive Practice in Mental Health Awards.

The team on Langworth Ward won the award for Older People’s Mental Health and Dementia Care at the recent ceremony for their work on a personalised sensory toolkit.

The toolkit uses innovative, sensory activities such as memory boxes, personalised themed rummage boxes and pet animals to engage people staying on the ward. It also helps the staff manage the complex behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and enhance patient safety.

The North East Lincolnshire children and adolescent mental health team were also shortlisted for the Innovation in Children and Young People’s Mental Health category at the awards.

Both teams have been collecting a host of awards shortlists this year after being nominated in several national awards for their work.

We are currently awaiting the outcome of their latest shortlist for the prestigious Health Service Journal Awards where they will join Director of Nursing, AHPs and Quality, Anne-Maria Olphert who is also a finalist for Clinical Leader of the Year at the awards which take place in November.

Congratulations to both teams and Anne-Maria for this recognition of hard work.

World Mental Health Day promotes wellbeing at work

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day was wellbeing in the workplace. The Trust marked the day with numerous events across the county promoting local services and the importance of talking about mental health at work and giving it the same attention as physical health.

LPFT staff and governors talked about support available for people struggling with mental health problems during an evening of music and entertainment at Lincoln Drill Hall.

Samantha Swindell, Governor and Membership Officer, said that our stand was very popular and it wasn’t only because we were offering free cupcakes as a part of our tenth anniversary as a foundation trust celebrations.

People are really interested in learning about what services are available locally. Many of them said that they would like to know where to signpost family or friends who may need help. There is definitely more interest in mental health and I think this is partially due to increased profile in the media.

Meanwhile Community Mental Health Teams and steps2change held stalls in local libraries, supermarkets and leisure centres, while projects which are part of Managed Care Network held open days and free sessions. Patients and staff from Ash Villa did a sponsored 5k walk to fundraise for a therapeutic trip and staff from Discovery House spent the day in their pyjamas and onesies to fundraise for NHS Charitable Funds and Save the Children.