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Director’s Message

Mental Health, Learning

Disability and Community

Wellbeing Newsletter

It appears Spring has now finally arrived and I am delighted, as I am sure you all are, to see Winter finally passing. As ever there’s been lots going on in the Division over the past months a flavour of which is reflected in this edition of our Newsletter. Those of you who work in the wards at Holywell will have noticed many visitors in suits coming and going. This is because we are trying to make the case that our business case for a new mental health in-patient unit should be a regional priority for capital expenditure. I am hoping that following our efforts our patients, their carers and our staff will get the accommodation that they both need and deserve. I have over the last year placed a particular focus on the level of absence in the Division. This reflects a concern with the impact that this has on service users through lack of continuity of care and on other team members through increased workloads. The approach has focused both on the more effective and creative support of staff through the absence policy coupled with a focus on staff well-being. There is much going on over the coming months including our Regional Dementia Conference, the ‘Bridges’ Gala event in the Braid Centre, Ballymena, accreditation visits for our Brain Injury Service, accreditation peer review visit to Ballymoney CMHT and the launch of the RAID service evaluation. The range of these events in a few short months demonstrate the breadth of work undertaken and the innovation and creativity of staff working across our service areas. I would like to thank you all for your hard work and professionalism in support of service users and their carers and wish you all a great summer.

Oscar Donnelly

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CONTENTS

Page 1 Director’s Message

Page 2 Contents

Page 3 Mental Health Older People Virtual Dementia Experience – Bus

Page 4 The Northern Trust’s ME/CFS Programme

Page 5 Staff Health and Wellbeing

Page 6 Innovative Developments in Addiction Services

Page 7 Innovative Developments in Addiction Services / Leading the Way in Community Mental Health Nursing Career Pathways

Page 8 Sandra Crowe is awarded “200 HOURS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE”

Page 9 Jonathan scores a goal achieving life ambition to be involved with Coleraine Football Club

Page 10 NHSCT is a host employer for Job Seekers with a disability on International “Job Shadow Day” April 25th 2018

Page 11 Day Opportunities Service IQI Team of the Month – April 2018

Page 12 ‘Healthy’ Opportunities for Farm Families in the Northern Trust area

Page 13 Arts Based Activities / Focus on the Farm Family

Page 14 BBC Countryfile

Page 15-16 Mandatory Training / Information Governance

Page 17 Using Art to Aid Recovery

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During November 2017 to February 2018, an

innovative training opportunity to increase

understanding of dementia among Northern

Health and Social Care Trust staff was brought

to 5 geographical locations within the Trust

(Antrim, Ballymena, Coleraine, Magherafelt,

and Newtownabbey). The purpose of this was

to support the NHSCT to deliver virtual

dementia training to a wide range of health and

social care staff caring for people with

dementia.

Through the Delivering Social Change

Dementia Project, Mental Health Older People

service secured funding to bring the Virtual

Experience Dementia bus from Experience

Training Ltd in England.

(Mae O’Callaghan, MHOP and Leslie Gillan, Alzheimer’s Society)

In excess of 720 frontline staff from Mental

Health Older People, Learning Disability,

Acute, Domiciliary Care, Residential, Day

Care, Permanent Placement staff alongside

staff from community partners attended.

Stepping aboard the bus, staff had opportunity

to participate in a sensory experience, which

imitated some of the difficulties people with

dementia may face. The aim of the training

was to promote greater understanding and

awareness of dementia to thus enhance the

quality of care delivered by staff.

Oscar Donnelly, Divisional Director of

Mental Health, Learning Disability and

Community Wellbeing, for the NHSCT

commented: “I’m delighted we have

been able to partner with Experience

Training Ltd to bring this to our staff.

By undertaking this experience, we can

begin to empathise with the challenges

found living with dementia and in

consequence we can improve the care

we deliver to persons with dementia.”

Maureen Serplus Head of Service explained: “The Virtual Dementia Experience provided a

unique opportunity for Trust staff and some partners to gain a greater insight into what it may be

like to live with dementia. Although many staff have experience of working with people with

dementia, and have attended training, feedback and evaluation has shown that it was entirely

different to actually experience the condition in the virtual experience and that the experience

has increased staff understanding of dementia.”

Mental Health

Older People

Virtual Dementia

Experience – Bus

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Medical researchers are striving to fully understand ME/CFS in order to be able to identify an effective treatment. However, there is much that can be done to support an individual who has been diagnosed with ME/CFS. The Northern Trust’s ME/CFS programme draws on the work of Sue Pemberton, Occupational Therapist who designed the original programme in 1994. The programme aims to help individuals find the best way to self-manage their condition:

It helps individuals understand more about the condition and how to deal with day-to-day activities.

It provides information on pacing, resting, stress management, activity management and appropriate exercise.

It helps individuals find a way to manage day-to-day living, stabilise activity and then gradually increase activity as symptoms reduce.

It is currently delivered in a group setting which lasts 8 weeks, with a 3 month follow up.

There have been a total of 150 referrals to the programme to date and outcomes reflect improvement in symptoms, frequency and quality of life.

ME/CFS is a condition which medical science is continuing to decipher. This means that healthcare professionals are left being unclear as to how best to treat it. This hasn’t been helped by the fact that, at one stage, ME/CFS was labelled as a psychiatric condition. Nowadays, it is widely recognised that ME/CFS is a physiological condition which is multi-systemic – affecting the immune, neurological and endocrine systems in the body.

For further information contact: Lorraine Henry 028 2563 5250 lorraineU.henry @northerntrust.hscni.net Lorraine Henry Occupational Therapist Julie-Ann Adams ME/CFS volunteer

The Northern Trust’s ME/CFS

Programme

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The NHSCT Steering Group and associated

subgroups are working to contribute to an

improvement in the health and wellbeing of our

staff. Staff Wellbeing is a key priority within the

Northern Trust. To support this aim, a network

of Staff Health and Wellbeing Champions is

being built up across the entire geography of

the Trust. These champions have an interest

in promoting health and wellbeing and

encouraging this message amongst colleagues

in their work areas. To date there are more

than 30 champions registered, many of whom

have taken forward a number of exciting

initiatives within their work areas such as

Pilates, couch to 5k, 5-a-side football and

raising awareness of regional health

campaigns.

This is a voluntary role open to all staff. You

will need approval from your line manager to

become a Health and Well-Being Champion.

The role provides an opportunity for champions

to organise, develop or promote health and

well-being events within their own team,

service group or the wider organisation.

(Staff who attended a 6 week circuits class in Ballymoney)

If you are interested or would

like further information on

this please contact

lorraine.mcpeake@

northerntrust.hscni.net

Staff Health and

Wellbeing

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Innovative

Developments

in Addiction

Services Recovery Coaching

Recovery Coaching is an initiative that was introduced to the Community Addictions Service in 2015 and is the first of its kind in NI. It is to the CAS team’s credit being led by our Senior Addictions Practitioner Aileen Purvis that we have our third cohort of recovery coaches about to start their course this year. Our second cohort completed their studies and practice development last autumn and we have three new recovery coaches who graduated with a level 3 LMN award in coaching that we will be awarding their certificates at a celebration ceremony on Tuesday 8th May 2018. Recovery coaches are volunteers who are in stable recovery from alcohol and/or drug dependence and have undertaken a theoretical + practical training programme to develop coaching skills to support current service users of the Addiction Service. The recovery coach also has ongoing support from one of our Addiction Practitioners which is vital to the overall successful collaborative partnership of recovery coaching which embraces the strategic vision of PPI in coproduction/co-delivery of services by strengthening support that is available to individuals striving to change their lives and recover from alcohol and drug dependency.

The Benzodiazepine Initiative

The Benzodiazepine Initiative is a partnership

between primary care, community pharmacy

and the trust that has a dedicated pharmacist

and a specialist addictions nurse from the

Community Addiction Service working together

to reduce the harm caused by

benzodiazepines and the ‘Z’ drugs that are

prescribed in a non-efficacious way. This

initiative has developed a system whereby a

GP practice will ‘sign up’ to a programme with

the Benzodiazepine Initiative to identify

patients on their list who are being prescribed

benzodiazepines outside of the recommended

guidelines. A specialist nurse and pharmacist

will then work with the practice to introduce

tailored reduction programmes that are aimed

at improving outcomes for patients. Our Senior

Addictions Nurse Sharon Wright provides

guidance and support to patients who

experience difficulties with their gradual

reduction and psychological interventions to

support patients with regards to anxiety sleep

etc. The initiative has been in operation for

approximately one year and is currently being

evaluated however initial findings have shown

considerable reductions in benzodiazepine

prescribing and improved health and wellbeing

for patients. Stakeholders of the initiative have

also reported significant benefits of having a

specialist resource in the Senior Addictions

Nurse and Pharmacist to help guide best

practice in this area in primary care.

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Regional In-Patient Addiction Service

Sister Rose McGuckien and Dr Billy Gregg

who are the dynamic clinical leadership team

leading Carrick 1 Addictions Unit in Holywell

Hospital to develop into one of three regional

in-patient (Tier A) Addiction Units with Shimna

House in Downpatrick and Asha House in

Omagh being the other two. This regional

service has been fully operational for more

than a year and it is encouraging to see the

regional collaboration between the 3 units

further strengthen a coordinated care pathway

between community addiction services and in-

patient addiction units in the efficient and

effective utilisation of this important limited

resource.

Under the direction of our Divisional Nurse,

Kathy Goumas an expert advisory group of

senior mental health nurses (Heather

McCarroll, Frances Dundee, Clare Downey,

Nuala OGara, Helen Gault and Wendy Moore)

and Claire McGuigan Nursing Practice

Education Manager was established to

introduce an ‘Accelerated Year in Practice’

(AYiP) career pathway for newly registered

mental health nurses. The rationale behind this

development is in response to the changing

context in which the needs of people who use

mental health services are met as

approximately 90% of mental health nursing

care is now provided in the community.

Traditionally new registrants were

required to have a minimum of one

years’ experience before they

could work in a community mental

health team and this meant that a

newly registered mental health

nurse who wished to develop their

career in the community setting

were not able to pursue this.

The advisory team developed a

‘Skills Passport’ to guide skills

development for the new

registrant in their first year

along with their designated

preceptor. Additional support

has also been made available to

preceptors and new registrants

through the Education and

Practice Development Nurse

resource within the division. On

successful completion of the

Skills Passport the community

mental health nurse progresses

from a Band 5 to a Band 6. To

date one recruitment drive has

been undertaken and a second

is currently in progress.

Innovative

Developments in

Addiction

Services

Leading the Way

in Community

Mental Health

Nursing Career

Pathways

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Sandra Crowe has been with the Northern

Trust’s Day Opportunities Programme from

2008 following the closure of Broadway

Workshop in Newtownabbey. Sandra is a

young lady who enjoys being part of her local

community, and giving her time to help others.

In July 2010 Sandra began volunteering in the

Action Cancer Charity Shop in Carrickfergus,

with the support of her Day Opportunities

Coordinator Sarah Mildenhall. Sandra

completes various tasks within her role as

volunteer, and during this time has grown in

confidence when working with and

communicating with colleagues and members

of the public.

Such was Sandra’s commitment to the role that

her supervisor recommended her for a

‘volunteering award’ through Action Cancer,

and on the 27th February Sandra and her

parents were invited to Titanic Quarter for a

Gala meal and was presented with an Award

for “200 HOURS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE”

as part of the organisations MILLENNUM

VOLUNTEERS scheme.

This was a great honour for Sandra and her

family, with Sandra’s parent’s Ivan and Sylvia

stating “Sandra fully commits herself to any

project and volunteering is no exception” they

said. “It is hard to believe some ten years have

passed, but delighted that her service with

Action Cancer has been recognised. We are

honoured that Shirley, Manager of the

Carrickfergus branch, nominated Sandra for

this 200 hours award of excellence”.

Sandra Crowe is

awarded

“200 HOURS

AWARD OF

EXCELLENCE”

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Jonathan transitioned from special education

into the Day Opportunities Service in 2012 and

the realisation and coordination of community-

based day services for this young Coleraine

man was allocated to me in my role as one of

the Day Opportunities Coordinators, Coleraine.

My role was to create a package of community-

based day opportunities within Jonathan’s local

community and aligned to his referral and

assessed need and Care Plan as provided

through the Adult Community Learning

Disability Team; in keeping with his life goals;

interests and ambitions.

Jonathan has a busy and active schedule

within our Day Opportunities provision. He is

currently engaged in further and higher

education at his local Coleraine campus of the

Northern Regional College; he is engaged with

the Day Opportunities Partnership organisation

Triangle in vocational training activities in his

town and is involved with Special Olympics

Basketball one evening per week.

However it is his passion for sports and

especially football and particularly his interest

in Coleraine Football Club which spurred me

on to liaise with this sporting body to consider

any opportunity for inclusion for Jonathan

within its structures.

Accordingly in addition to his busy week

Jonathan now volunteers with Coleraine

Football Club one morning per week at their

sports shop facility on site at the Club’s

grounds and plans are in progress for him to

become involved in the grounds maintenance

within his Club. I have been overwhelmed with

the support offered to Jonathan by Coleraine

FC. Jonathan’s mother expressed to me that

this was a “Dream come true” for her son

and Jonathan himself said this was the “best

Christmas present ever!” when I informed

them of this opportunity last December.

Jonathan is looking forward to the Irish Cup

Final scheduled for May 5th where for the

second year running, along with huge crowds

from Coleraine (including myself); he will be

supporting his team playing against Cliftonville

at Windsor Park.

Sunita Nethery (Day Opportunities Coordinator;

Day Opportunities Program)

“Come on the

Bannsiders”!!

Jonathan scores

a goal achieving

life ambition to be

involved with

Coleraine

Football Club

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This year Northern Ireland will participate for

the first time in this initiative with France;

Germany; Greece; Luxembourg; Netherlands;

Portugal; Scotland; South of Ireland and

Slovenia. Launched at Disability Action on 26th February

it is being taken forward through the Northern

Ireland Union of Supported Employment

(NIUSE). As an international concept it was

launched at the first World Conference on

Supported Employment held in Belfast last

year of which NHSCT’s Day Opportunities

Programme participated and hosted places for

its partnership organisations engaged in

vocational day opportunities for adults with a

learning disability.

As a model “Supported Employment” aims to

PLACE-TRAIN-MAINTAIN & PROGRESS

individuals with disabilities into paid

employment. In this inaugural year for NI, the

NHSCT has signed up to host work sample

opportunities in the vocational areas of

catering; administration and housekeeping

across its facility-based day services provisions

spread over a 10 week period. 25 Job Seekers

with a learning disability across the Trust had

been identified through the NIUSE supported

employment membership organisations/

providers and job sample sites were matched

aligned to individual vocational pathways and

geography with support provided through the

supported employment organisations and the

Northern Trust’s Day Opportunities

Programme.

For Employers: This initiative will promote and

encourage an inclusive workplace; create

access to a pool of potential employees; learn

and understand more about “positive actions”

regarding targeting and recruiting people with

disabilities; promoting participation in the

initiative in local and national media coverage

For Job Seekers: This initiative will provide an

insight into a particular job or a career area;

learn more about job requirements and

employers expectations; learn more about

opportunities in their community and how to

access support from specialist services.

For the Supported Employment Organisations:

This initiative will enable networking and

meeting of new employers; promote the

Supported Employment model and services

and gain an insight into a particular job/career

area.

Left to Right: Rodger Connor (NHSCT facility based day services host sites), Norman Sterritt (Triangle; one of the Partnership Supported Employment Organisations and Chair of NIUSE), Alison Irwin (NHSCT Equality Unit), Garth Anderson (NHSCT Day Opportunities Service) and Isabel Kidd (NHSCT facility based day services host sites)

Garth Anderson (Head of Service for the Day Opportunities Program) hopes this will be an initiative to build upon and an opportunity to engage with HR and across the Divisions in consideration of further vocational opportunities for people with disabilities.

Alison Irwin (Head of Equality in the Equality Unit) commented “Job Shadow Day is all about highlighting the valuable contribution people with disabilities can and do make at work and providing the Trust with an opportunity to express its commitment to inclusion in the workplace”.

NHSCT is a host employer for Job Seekers with a disability on

International “Job Shadow Day”

April 25th

2018

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The team worked in partnership with the Mid Ulster Volunteer Centre and a group of Service Users with a learning disability from the Antrim, Cookstown and Magherafelt area. The True Colours project was designed to develop new opportunities that have not previously been available for adults with learning disabilities, thereby combating social isolation and promoting individual progression.

For Service Users their self-confidence and self-esteem grew with 7 now travelling independently on Ulster Bus and having the opportunity to create new friendships and relationships with others and to be socially included with in their own communities. The project promoted creative, technical and team working skills and made best use of resources and improved foundations for better physical, emotional and mental health. The very positive impact on Trust staffing/team was the most dramatic in terms of team building and positive team spirit.

Garth Anderson (Head of Service) was so impressed with the positive impact of this initiative with the Mid-Ulster Day Opportunities Team that he has engaged with two of the partnership organisations in contract through the Day Opportunities Programme (Kilcreggan Homes in Carrickfergus and Compass Advocacy Network in Ballymoney) to work with CMAC to provide this across 7 further Base (“Drop-In”) facilities across the Trust this year.

The project aim was to promote awareness of good mental health by addressing issues around mental and emotional wellbeing of adults with learning disabilities. Thirty five beneficiaries with a learning disability were involved in the project.

The Chief Executive’s IQI Team of the Month award is presented bi-monthly to a team who have demonstrated positive impact from a quality improvement, working with staff and service users in the delivery of same. For April the NHSCT Day Opportunities Service (Magherafelt, Cookstown and Antrim) were the award winners led by Anne Marie O’Kane.

Day Opportunities

Service

IQI Team of the

Month – April

2018

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Pictured below – the Rural, Older and Active

Men’s Group at Titanic

Social

Prescribing

Model

During the summer of 2017, Dr Brian Hunter

GP from Cullybackey Medical Centre worked

alongside Yvonne Carson and Nicola Arbuckle

under a social prescribing model to bring

together older rural men in an effort to broaden

their horizons and at the same time promote

physical activity. Five trips to places of interest

took place and these included, Greenmount

College, the Ulster Folk and Transport

Museum, Corries Farm, Newtownards,

Patterson’s Spade Mill and Titanic. The trips

were well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by

all. As a result the group, known as the ‘Rural,

Older and Active Men’s Group’ agreed they

wanted to continue meeting socially as a

group, which they now do once a month near

Glarryford. One man commented “I look

forward to coming every month. There’s

nothing out there for men and it’s good to get

away from the farm for a while.”

The Health and Wellbeing Team have

recently been working on a number of

initiatives for farm families with a

range of partner organisations. These

have been important outlets for the

farming community given the poor

weather conditions of 2017 and the

impact this has had on farmers’

health and wellbeing.

‘Healthy’

Opportunities for

Farm Families in

the Northern

Trust area

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Meanwhile in Larne, Arts Care, an organisation

which seeks to promote the benefits of art and

creativity to wellbeing, has also been working

in partnership with the Northern Trust. A group

of farmers from the Larne UFU group

previously engaged in last year’s ‘Focus on the

Farm Family’ programme have been meeting

in Larne Market Yard over a four month period

to produce a booklet around local farming life

in years gone past and a creative art piece.

In Armoy, the fourth ‘Focus on the Farm Family’ programme has successfully taken place where farm families come together at lunch time over a six month period to learn more about health wellbeing and safety issues. Once again the Northern Trust has linked up with Ulster Farmers Union and a range of other stakeholders including Rural Support, HSENI, Cancer Focus and the Farm Families Health Check Programme to bring this informative programme to local farm families.

Yvonne Carson from Northern Health and Social Care Trust commented “All these activities have been a positive experience for everyone involved and have been of benefit to so many local farm families. They have also provided the opportunity for farm families to come together socially which is very important in rural areas."

The Focus on

the Farm Family

group in Armoy

pictured with

guest speaker

David Lowe

from HSENI

Arts Based

Activities in

Larne

Focus on the

Farm Family

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On 29th April, Countryfile featured an issue

raised by a Northern Trust service user through

our Sexual Health Services. BBC Countryfile

became interested when they heard about the

intense challenges facing farmers around the

area of sexual orientation, and the moving

story of our Service User and the collaborative

work now being taken forward as a result of his

story and that of others.

Health and Wellbeing Team members

Geraldine McDonnell and Sharon Bingham

who work closely with Sexual Health Services

Lead Nurse Claire Galloway have partnered

with Queen’s University and others from

the voluntary and community sector to look at

attitudes towards sexual orientation in relation

to male farmers, the implications for traditional

farming succession, impact on mental

wellbeing, social support and identity.

Price (2012) and a report by Rural Support NI (2017)

note, farming men only weakly acknowledge their

mental health within a culture dominated by ideas of

self-sufficiency and independence. The fear of stigma

in accessing support in rural communities is further

stymied by fear of lack of privacy as highlighted by the

‘Outstanding in the Field’ report (O’Doherty,

2017). Whilst this work is at an early stage, the support

from Academia, voluntary Providers and indeed

farming stalwarts such as Countryfile suggest there is

a will and energy to address this issue so that farmers

are not experiencing the isolation and challenges

currently faced by our service user.

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IG Awareness Training

POPI Training

ICT Security Training

As a division we are expected to meet targets >>>> So if you haven’t completed your training yet you know what to do! (NB: only managers are expected to complete POPI training; this means they do not need to do IG Awareness training)

How do I complete this training? Staffnet- E-Learning Portal

Who needs to complete what training?

IG Awareness Training Everyone excluding managers

POPI Training All Managers

ICT Security Training All relevant staff

How often do these courses need to be refreshed? EVERY 3 YEARS

Mandatory

Training

MH, LD & CWB Division IG Training Compliance as at 31st March 2018

MH, LD & CWB Division POPI Training Compliance as at 31st March 2018

MH, LD & CWB Division ICT Security Compliance as at 31st March 2018

TARGETS

90%

90%

100%

MHLDCW COMPLIANCE REPORT

89% Qtr. 4

79% Qtr. 4

65% Qtr. 4

90%

90%

100%

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Information Governance Packs have been created and Spot Checks have been carried out by Paul McCabe, Sandra Doherty, Louise Christie, Sharon Wilson, Ciara Robb and Jacqui McNeilly. So far there has been 49 spot checks completed across the division.

These spot check packs include a checklist addressing the following areas:

Security of Client Records

Confidential Waste

Postage Internal, Redirecting Post and External Post

Clients notes transfer (manual, internal, external)

Reporting an incident

Training

Multifunctional Devices

The pack also includes guidance on: How to report an incident

Keeping a clear desk

Locking keyboard

Opening 7zip files

Postage requirements

Diary/message books disposal schedule

Sending files securely via email

Keeping information confidential

Information

Governance

Information Asset Owners trained

Information Asset Administrators trained

Assistant Information Asset Administrators

69%

89%

95%

As part of the divisional IG action plan

roles have been identified to help

implement and support the Information

Risk Management work programme within

the Division. These roles require training

and the majority of staff identified have

received this training (see %s below).

Information Assets Identified

RIsk Assessments completed

Data Flow Maps created

Work on-going throughout the Division to

identify further Information Assets.

46

46

19

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Julie’s Artwork (Service User - Ballymoney CMHT)

I have always found Art very therapeutic and

relaxing. I find it aids in distracting me from

negative thinking styles and low mood.

The Community Bridge Builder informed me of

the ACOMHS art competition and at first I was

reluctant to enter as my artwork is very

personal to me. Art gives me the chance to

express how I am feeling and transfer that onto

paper, so for other people to see this I found it

quite frightening.

I did however face my fear

and send off a piece of

artwork. The art piece itself

had taken me a full 5 days

to complete. I included a lot

of colour as I feel like it

makes everything bright

again.

Artwork gives me a purpose

to my day and provides me

with small goals to finish the

piece, with a sense of pride

when it’s finished. It has

also enabled me to make

friendships with likeminded

people by attending local

arts groups.

Julie

Dunbar

Using Art to Aid

Recovery

I was ecstatic to hear

that I had won the

Competition. It made

me feel more confident

in my ability to draw

and to share my

artwork with others.

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