SCHOOL OF HEALTHCARE SCIENCESSCHOOL OF HEALTHCARE SCIENCESSCHOOL OF HEALTHCARE SCIENCES

Left: Prof. Sheila Hunt speaks at the opening. Right: Paul Thorburn tries out the Vector technology; Dr Nikki Phillips, Trevor Baker and Prof. Sheila Hunt look on

In This

Issue

Letter from the Dean and Head of School

Celebrating Excellence

Bilingualism

An OBE for an Honorary Chair

ePortfolios

Academic roles

Stonewall update

Visits abroad and visitors from overseas

SMOTS demo

Expert patients

Innovation in the School

Collaborative working

New Honorary Professor

Research and Ethical Review

OTs in Jobcentres

Multiple Mini Interviews

And more…

Cardiff University School of Healthcare Sciences Newsletter Winter 2013-14

Inspiring Inspiring

PerformancePerformance The School of Healthcare Sciences’ Inspire

Performance Clinic opened on 13th December

2013. Located within the Talybont Sports

Village, it will bring together some of Wales’

leading physiotherapists with state-of-the-art

technology to provide a centre of excellence

for sports physiotherapy in Wales.

The clinic will also provide valuable

experience for students, enabling them to

help prevent and treat sports injuries using

the most up-to-date patient education and

performance measurement technology.

Professor Sheila Hunt said: "This latest

development will significantly enhance the

undergraduate and postgraduate experience.

It will provide valuable supervised clinical

experience for student physiotherapists

studying at Cardiff. Combining this with the

innovative research and teaching approach at

the University, we will be able to transfer the

latest developments in sports medicine to our

patients, particularly in the primary care

sector, where emphasis is being placed on

proactive care in the community."

The Clinic will further support University sport

by introducing novel technology, providing an

opportunity to transfer research into clinical

practice and create a genuine impact.

The Vector sports performance technology,

developed in-house by staff at the School, will

provide physiotherapists with more accurate

measurement of the performance of an

athlete post-injury in order for them to return

to full participation in training and

competition.

Using a series of wireless mats, Vector uses

software algorithms to determine contact and

flight time; cognitive response time; decision

accuracy; task time and speed.

Dr Nicola Phillips, Reader at the School, said:

"To date, deciding whether an athlete is ready

to return to play following injury can be

subjective, which can cost an athlete

personally, physically or financially. This new

technology will provide physiotherapists with

far more definite, evidence-based decision

making."

Former international Wales Rugby Union

player, Welsh Varsity Chairman and Board

Member of SportsWales Paul Thorburn, who

opened the Inspire Performance Clinic, said:

"[The clinic] is important in terms of

supporting elite sport and ensuring we have

the right quality of physiotherapy staff coming

through, but also helps the local community

by ensuring they are getting back to a healthy

lifestyle and fitness as soon as they can."

The clinic is open to the public and a

significant discount is available to Cardiff

University staff and students. To find out more

or enquire about treatment prices, visit:

www.cardiff.ac.uk/inspireperformance

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year to you all – I hope you

had a good break and are surviving the

dark days of January.

There is a lot going on in the still very

new School of Healthcare Sciences.

We are ploughing ahead with the

‘Harmonisation Project’ ably lead by

Martin West and supported by Ruth

Lewis. This is going very well but the ‘to

do’ list is still slightly longer (and still

growing) than the ‘completed’ list.

The new admin / Professional Services

structure is operational from 1st

February 2014 and we are about to

advertise for a range of new posts at

various grades to support our much

depleted admin and Professional

Service staff. They have all worked

especially hard in very difficult

circumstances and I want to offer a

very warm thank you to everyone who

has done so much to support the

School through this challenging

transition period.

We are still refining and adjusting the

new committee structure and most

new committees have met and are

agreeing the membership and terms of

reference. The Education Committee is

to be commended as it appears it is

motoring away and getting through

some very important business. This

committee and the Board of Studies

are especially important as

Institutional Review creeps up on us all

– March 2014 will be very important

for teaching and learning and quality in

the new School.

Other committees are finding their

feet, the Research Committee is

dealing with the challenges of defining

and developing our research strategy –

the challenges include bringing into

sensible alignment some very different

areas of research and expertise as the

College defines and develops its own

research themes and institutes.

The School Board is in its infancy and it

seems to me that we need more

members and greater School

representation on this important

committee; expect an announcement

shortly.

Our international activity is developing

very rapidly and the opportunities for

greater student mobility are developing

well. The international committee

terms of reference and sub groups are

being finalised, as are the terms of

reference and membership of the

Partnership Board. The People

committee is taking shape, as are its

sub groups and again thank you to

everyone who has indicated they are

willing to work on these committees

and sub groups. There will be a sub

group planning the next Whole School

Away Day – the date will be circulated

as soon as a suitable venue is

confirmed. We will also continue to

have regular ‘All School’ meetings to

openly discuss and debate any issues.

These dates have been circulated.

Our Estates strategy is moving ahead

and two open meetings are planned to

share ideas on the extra space in EGH.

We are still regrettably on two sites

and will be for the immediate future.

This is far from ideal and as I have said

many times, we must move forward as

one School. We do not want a School

in EGH and another in TDS. We have to

think carefully about the extra space

and come to a collaborative agreement

on the inevitable compromises.

Most, if not all, academic roles are now

confirmed and I want to thank Gail

Williams for her persistence and

determination in generating the final

(for now) list of new roles. I hope the

majority of academic staff will plan to

continue in these new roles for at least

two years. We do need a period of

stability and I want to avoid generating

change for change’s sake. I want to

thank everyone who has put

themselves forward for these roles and

I hope they are satisfying and fulfilling.

Our financial position is stable and we

will be advertising some new academic

posts in the spring. We are agreeing

the details, but expect to see new

posts for Professors (one aligned to

Arthritis UK) and another Professor

with an AHP background. More details

will follow on other academic posts for

2014.

The next significant and detailed

consultation will be on the new work

load model. The draft document will be

circulated by the end of the month and

I would ask you all to read it carefully

and give your thoughts and comments.

Finally, may I thank you all for your

hard work and commitment to the

‘New School’ – I hope by the end of the

year we will have greater difficulty in

seeing the joins and a smooth,

seamless organisation with us all going

in the same direction will emerge.

With kind regards

Professor Sheila Hunt

January 2014

Professor Sheila Hunt, Dean and Head of School

Letter from the DeanLetter from the Dean

Call to action: Call to action:

Email SignaturesEmail Signatures Please check your email

signatures and other regular

customer/stakeholder-facing

materials to ensure that the

School name appears as

‘School of Healthcare Sciences’

rather than ‘School of Health

Care Sciences’.

The Welsh version of this

remains the same – ‘Ysgol

Gwyddorau Gofal Iechyd’.

Feasibility Grant Feasibility Grant

SuccessSuccess Dr Rachael Barlow, Clinical Lead

for the All Wales Enhanced

Recovery after Surgery

Programme and Lecturer at the

School, has received a grant of

£24,000 to start a feasibility

study in primary care.

The study is titled “‘Fit for List?’

Optimising Wellbeing, Fitness

and Outcomes of Cancer

Patients” and will ask the central

question, ‘Can the Feasibility and

Appropriateness of a Primary

Care Optimisation Bundle be

demonstrated in Patients

undergoing Curative Treatments

for Cancer?’

The study will aim to develop and

pilot a Fit for List Optimisation

Care Bundle that will detect

potential risk factors in Primary

Care, enable subsequent timely

intervention and result in

improved preparation of

patients, who may undergo

surgical or oncological

intervention.

Celebrating ExcellenceCelebrating Excellence

Congratulations to School Manager

Matthew Williamson, who won the

University’s prestigious Sustained

Excellence award at the Celebrating

Excellence awards in November. This

award recognises the performance of

an individual or group over a number of

years, which has led to a sustained

contribution that has been of significant

benefit to the University. Matt’s work

within Healthcare Studies and in the

formation of the new School of

Healthcare Sciences was commended

as extraordinary.

In the ‘Rising Star’ category, Dr Gemma

Whatling from the School of

Engineering / School of Healthcare

Sciences was the winner, taking away

an award in recognition of her initiation,

coordination or accomplishment of

complex activity during her relatively

short time at the University.

In the category ‘Outstanding Support to

the University’, finalists included the

Undergraduate Admissions Team in the

former School of Healthcare Studies,

made up of Jo Burnett, Denise Russell

and Holly Vizard. This award recognises

those individuals or teams who have

gone the extra mile to add value to the

University through the excellent support

service they deliver.

The Healthy Places Healthy People

project, co-created by Healthcare

Sciences staff Sally Anstey and Richard

Day, was nominated for Outstanding

Contribution to Innovation and

Engagement.

On Saturday 25th January, the first of two workshops entitled ‘Emotion and the

Researcher’ took place in the Haydn Ellis Building, Cathays Campus.

Dawn Pickering,, Lecturer and Student Disability Manager for Healthcare

Sciences, presented ‘The Transitional Journey to Hear Children and Youth with

Cerebral Palsy’s “Voices” About Adaptive Cycling’. She said, “I found the day

stimulating, as people shared their different emotional responses to their data

collection, analysis and findings. I think my research evoked an emotional

response from the audience.”

The workshops are organised by Dr Tracey Loughran from SHARE, who said, “I

found the day really thought-provoking and the papers started some really great

discussions.”

The second workshop will be held on 29th March and will feature talks from

Healthcare’s Dr Geraldine Hastings and Dr Sally Anstey. You can book tickets for

the event here.

Emotion and the ResearcherEmotion and the Researcher

Celebrating Excellence—pictured (from left to right): Richard Day, Dr Sally Anstey, Matthew Wil-liamson, Jo Burnett, Denise Russell and Holly Vizard

Dr Zoe Morris-Williams, Darlithydd Gofal Iechyd Cyfrwng Cymraeg / Welsh Medium Lecturer in Health Care

Mwy na Geiriau / More than WordsMwy na Geiriau / More than Words

Ym mis Hydref llynedd cymerodd yr Ysgol Gwyddorau

Gofal Iechyd gam mawr ymlaen i fyd addysg ddwyieithog.

Ymunodd Gaynor a minnau gyda Gwilym, Anna a

chydweithwyr ymroddedig arall o fewn staff yr ysgolion fel

darlithwyr cyfrwng Cymraeg gyda mewnbwn i mewn i

gyrsiau Nyrsio, Bydwreigiaeth a’r rhai Proffesiynau

Perthynol i Iechyd. Mae ein nod, wrth adeiladu ar y gwaith

sydd eisoes wedi gwneud, yn un syml ond yn uchelgeisiol.

Rydym eisiau annog gweithwyr gofal iechyd proffesiynol i

ddefnyddio’u Cymraeg yn hyderus yn ystod eu

hastudiaethau ac yn eu gwaith mewn meysydd ymarfer ac

felly yn rhoi i gleifion a defnyddwyr gwasanaethau'r

profiad dwyieithog y maent yn eu dymuno.

Mae’r nod, er yn syml , yn gofyn nid yn unig am ddeunydd

addysgu, cyfleoedd clinigol ac ymchwil, a rhwydweithiau

gofal personol a bugeilio yn y Gymraeg, ond fydd angen

newid diwylliant eang o fewn yr Ysgol sy'n hyrwyddo,

annog ac yn dathlu dwyieithrwydd. I fod y brif Ysgol

astudiaethau gwyddorau gofal iechyd yng Nghymru mae'n

rhaid i ni yn sicr gofleidio'r iaith Gymraeg a hyrwyddo ei

defnydd gan staff a myfyrwyr. O sgriniau croeso i

gylchlythyron, hysbysfyrddau , deunyddiau addysgu a

sesiynau tiwtorial fe fydd y Gymraeg yn cael ei weld,

ddarllen, clywed a’i siarad yn fwy

Mae myfyrwyr hefyd yn cymryd mantais o’r cyfleoedd

dwyieithog yma a fydd yn ychwanegu gwerth at eu CV a

fydd o fudd i’w cleifion a’i defnyddwyr gwasanaeth yn y

pendraw. Mae cyfleoedd dysgu drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg

wedi bodoli ers 10 mlynedd o fewn therapi galwedigaethol

gyda chyfanswm o 32 o fyfyrwyr wedi cwblhau rhan o'u

hastudiaethau yn Gymraeg. Eleni, er mae newydd

ddechrau yr ydyn ni, mae 7 myfyriwr yn nyrsio a 10 ar

draws iechyd perthynol wedi dewis astudio rhan o’u

cyrsiau yn y Gymraeg. Mae’r rhifau yn fach ond mewn

rhai adrannau yn ganran sylweddol - mae’r 4 myfyriwr yn

radiograffeg yn cynrychioli 10 % o’u grŵp blwyddyn. Gyda'r

nifer o ddisgyblion sy'n derbyn addysg Gymraeg i safon

uwch yn cynyddu, bydd disgwyl i’r rhifau yma godi gyda’r

marchnata cywir, cefnogaeth ac anogaeth. Mae gwaith ar

y gweill i annog myfyrwyr i lywio'r broses yma a hefyd i

ddarparu detholiad o gyfleoedd gan gynnwys cyrsiau a

seminarau gyrfaoedd. Mae ein gwaith hefyd yn ymestyn

i’n cydweithwyr yn yr Ysgolion Meddygaeth, Fferylliaeth,

Optometreg a Deintyddiaeth sydd yn cyfrannu yn bellach

yr ethos aml - broffesiynol sydd eisoes yn bodoli yn ein

Hysgol.

Rydym yn edrych ymlaen yn fawr at weithio gyda chi i gyd i

gyrraedd ein nod. Dyfodol dwyieithog amdani!

In October the School of Healthcare Sciences took a

further step forward into the world of bi-lingual education

when Gaynor and I joined Gwilym, Anna and other

colleagues on the School’s staff, specifically as Welsh

medium lecturers in Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health

Professions respectively. Our aim in building on the work

already underway is simple but ambitious – to encourage

healthcare professionals to use Welsh with confidence

during their studies and at work in practice areas thus

providing patients and service users with the bi-lingual

services they desire.

The aim, though simple, requires the creation of not only

teaching material, clinical and research opportunities,

personal and pastoral care networks but a School-wide

culture shift that promotes, encourages and celebrates bi-

lingualism wholeheartedly. To be the premier healthcare

science school in Wales we must surely embrace the

Welsh language and promote its use by staff and

students. From welcome screens to newsletters, notice

boards, teaching materials and tutorials there will be

more Welsh heard, seen, read and spoken.

Students too are stepping forward to grab new bi-lingual

opportunities adding value to their CVs and new skills to

their armoury, which will all go to benefit their patients

and service users. Welsh medium learning opportunities

are established within occupational therapy with a total of

32 students having completed part of their studies in

Welsh over the past 10 years. Whilst this year the number

of students requesting to study part of their programme

through the medium of Welsh is small, with 7 in nursing

and 10 in allied health, they are significant. For example,

the 4 radiography students who have identified

themselves as Welsh speakers represent 10% of their

year group of 45 students. With the numbers of pupils

receiving a Welsh language education to A-level on the

rise, these numbers too will be expected to rise with the

right marketing, support and encouragement. Work is

underway to encourage students to inform the process

and also provide a selection of opportunities including

courses and careers seminars. Our work involves

colleagues in the School of Medicine, Pharmacy,

Optometry and Dentistry enhancing the multi-professional

ethos already present within our School.

We look forward greatly to working with you all to achieve

our aim. The future’s bright, the future’s bi-lingual!

Dr Valerie Sparkes, Associate Director of Research and Innovation

School Back Pain Group School Back Pain Group Visit to DubaiVisit to Dubai

Dr Zoe Morris-Williams, Darlithydd Gofal Iechyd Cyfrwng Cymraeg / Welsh Medium Lecturer in Health Care OBE for Honorary OBE for Honorary

ChairChair

Professor Sue Bale,

Research and

Development (R&D)

Director at Aneurin

Bevan Health Board

(ABHB) and Honorary

Chair at the School of Healthcare

Sciences, was awarded an OBE in the

Queen’s New Year Honours for services to

nursing and nursing research.

Sue’s career in wound healing spans 29

years and her achievements are many.

She has been R&D Director since June

2013 and leads research within ABHB,

developing strategy and implementing

national policy, encouraging participation

in research activities, and co-ordinating

and overseeing research in the

organisation.

Sue’s passion is bridging the gap

between academia and practice and she

has loved the opportunities her career

has presented for working on policy that

effects real change in healthcare. She is

currently a Council member of the

European Wound Management

Association, where she leads on

communication and is Editor of the

Association’s Journal. She has also

worked in the Welsh Government on

Clinical Academic Career pathways,

developing policy for building research

capacity and career paths for nurses and

Allied Health Professionals. She was

recently seconded to the Wound Healing

Research Unit to advise on the plans for

developing the Welsh Wound Innovation

Centre/Initiative.

Of receiving the title, Sue said, “I didn’t

expect it at all. I had a letter in the post

one day from Her Majesty’s Government

and I was just bowled over. I wasn’t

allowed to tell anyone until the news had

been made public, so it was all very

strange.”

The School Back Pain Research Group, headed by Dr Valerie Sparkes,

Dr Liba Sheeran and PhD student Rebecca Hemming, was successful

in obtaining funding to participate in the prestigious 8th

Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back & Pelvic Pain in Dubai.

The conference was held 27th—31st October 2013 at the

Intercontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City. The World Congress Series

on Low Back and Pelvic Pain was initiated to promote and facilitate

interdisciplinary knowledge and consensus on prevention, diagnosis

and treatment of acute and chronic lumbopelvic pain.

The group presented five research abstracts in form of e-posters,

showcasing back pain research on the classification and management

of chronic lower back pain. The conference was a great opportunity to

reaffirm existing international collaborations with researchers from

Norway, Ireland and Australia, and plan common research projects

towards joint European grant funding.

The group established further collaborative links with Dr Hartvigsen

(University of Southern Denmark), presenting much needed work on

enhancing the methodological robustness of clinical trials in back pain

subgroups.

In preparation for Liba's NIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship Application with

a Phase II CLASTER RCT project and Rebecca’s PhD thesis writing-up

stage, this was a certainly a worthwhile experience.

Pictured (from left): Dr Liba Sheeran, Dr Val Sparkes and Rebecca Hemming

Wikis as ePortfolios Wikis as ePortfolios

Bex Ferriday, Learning Technology Manager

I’ve long been an advocate of electronic portfolios: having spent many years in a previous life as a teacher

educator, I found that being surrounded by paper-based portfolios handed in by students who never quite got

around to picking them up after marking meant that my office became a little smaller year on year. Destroying

portfolios was not an option as they had to be retained for up to 7 years, and archiving them meant paying for

storage space. Countless emails to alumni begging them to come and pick up their portfolios fell, inevitably, on deaf

ears and abandoned email accounts, and in order to save my sanity, something had to be done.

Then, as now, my institution had many students who lived far away from the campus, and this meant that students,

many working as full-time teachers, had to find time in their schedule to drive up to 80 miles to the college in order

to hand in bulky folders overflowing with paper. This seemed ridiculous: a waste of paper, ink, electricity, petrol and

time.

I was heartened, then, when I took up my post at SOHCS last year, to find that ePortfolios were looked upon as a

much simpler, leaner, cost-effective and time-saving method of assessment. Many members of staff had been keen

to set them up for a while but had not had the time to do so.

Taking my cue from a tech-savvy member of the school who had already demonstrated that CampusPack wikis

made good ePortfolios, I set up a system for overseas students studying in Oman. Completing paper-based

portfolios in another country and then ensuring that Cardiff University staff are able to get hold of them to mark the

work inside must, I imagine, have been a real ‘faff’, so having a system like this in place irons out a lot of logistical

wrinkles.

So why am I shouting about ePortfolios so loudly? For a start, staff, students and external assessors or supervisors

based at any location globally can have access to them. This means that they can access students’ work from

anywhere with internet access and do not need to travel in order to sign off the work. The content of each ePortfolio

can be saved to disc, memory stick or the student’s cloud storage account for posterity, so they have a permanent

reminder of the work they have done. There is no need to print out any work (though there is an option to print out

the entire wiki if required) , build a bulky portfolio, travel to an office in order to hand it in, so no longer any need to

make the lecturers’ office incrementally smaller year after year! Plus, for anyone out there keen on saving the plant,

an electronic version of something such as a body of written work saves on paper, ink, trees, CO2 damage and

petrol.

ePortfolios are also very easy to use and each tailor-made ePortfolio comes with guidance for students and staff, so

they are not simply left to get on with it. To date, I have set up half a dozen separate ePortfolios for a range of

students (once set up, an ePortfolio framework can be deployed through Learning Central as one copy per student,

one per group or one per module) and, so far, these seem to be working well.

If you are interested in using ePortfolios with your students, give me a shout: FerridayR@cardiff.ac.uk or ext: 87671

Golden Synapse Golden Synapse

AwardAward

Congratulations Monica Busse -

lead author of the paper ‘A

Randomized Feasibility Study of

a 12-week Community-based

Exercise Program in People with

Huntington’s Disease’, which

has received the Golden

Synapse Award for best Journal

of Neurologic Physical Therapy

(JNPT) article of 2013.

The decision is made by JNPT

Reviewers and Editorial Board

members and is based on the

article's conceptualisation,

execution, presentation and

contribution to physical therapy

practice.

Lori Quinn, one of Monica’s

fellow authors, will be travelling

to Las Vegas in February to

receive the award on behalf of

the group.

Full article credits: Monica

Busse, Lori Quinn, Katy Debono,

Karen Jones, Johnathan Collett,

Rebecca Playle, Mark Kelly,

Sharon Simpson, Karianne

Backx, David Wasley, Helen

Dawes, Anne Rosser, and the

members of the COMMET-HD

management group.

Children in NeedChildren in Need

Richard Day would like to say a

big thank you to all those staff

who participated [participated =

ate doughnuts] in the Children in

Need 'Dosh for Doughnuts' day

in November

last year.

You raised a

fantastic

£60, which

was

'doughnated'

to Children

in Need.

International Student International Student

Welcome EventWelcome Event

The College of Biomedical and Life Sciences held an evening international

welcome event at the end of October for all incoming international students

within the College.

The event opened with an address from Dr Dianne Watkins, College Dean for

International and Deputy Head and Director of International and Engagement

within the School of Healthcare Sciences. Dianne formally welcomed the

students to the College, acknowledging the challenges they face and outlining

the support that they are able to count on as students at Cardiff University.

Current students at the College then shared their coping strategies with the

incoming freshers, and an interprofessional international-themed quiz followed.

The guests enjoyed a buffet dinner and the evening concluded with discussions

led by third-year students who hosted, in small groups, question and answer

sessions.

Many staff attended the event, which has become a welcome annual feature on

our calendars. The evening was a great success and the majority of students in

attendance were from the School of Healthcare Sciences.

Gareth Morgan, Lecturer and Student Mobility Manager

Pictures (from top to bottom): Students enjoy the welcome event; students work through exer-cises; SU Vice President Heath Park Campus Gemma Wheeler addresses the freshers.

The Midwife’s The Midwife’s

TaleTale Professor Billie Hunter has published a

new edition of her book, co-written with

Professor Nicky Leap of King's College

London, titled 'The Midwife's Tale'.

Nicky Leap and Billie Hunter spent

years interviewing mothers and retired

midwives about their experiences of

childbirth before the NHS. The result

was The Midwife's Tale: an oral history

of midwifery from the 1910s to the

1950s.

The authors explore the very real

poverty of the time, how women coped

with rearing large families and the lack

of knowledge of contraception and

abortion.

Gripping accounts of women's

experiences are set against an

informative background of events in the

midwifery profession, particularly the

transition from unqualified

'handywoman' to professional midwife

in the 1930s.

The book conveys not only the passion

and dedication that the midwives held

for their clients, but the admiration that

was felt for them in return.

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2013 ISBN:

9781781593745 256 Pages PB

£14.99 Illustrated

University Leuwen VisitUniversity Leuwen Visit

Earlier this month, I spent two days visiting the Faculty of Rehabilitation

and Movement Science at the University of Leuven. I joined Paulien Roos,

who had visited there a number of times already to work on a collaborative

research project exploring how muscle actions can influence dynamic

knee stability during weight-bearing activities.

For the project, we have been using OpenSIM software for

musculoskeletal modelling. Data collected in the movement analysis

laboratory is run through this software, which uses a computer model of

lower limb anatomy for advanced calculations. Analysis revealed that the

knee joint in the default model is represented as a simple hinge joint for

flexion and extension. It is therefore not useful for our purposes to explore

knee stability in the frontal plane.

With help from the group in Leuven, Paulien has been able to adapt the

computer model of the knee to add the complexity needed for our

investigation. For instance, the model now also includes the influence of

the collateral ligaments. We have made a tremendous amount of

progress, which means that we should soon be in a position to publish

results. We wait only on the completion of simulations, which can take

hours per subject to run.

Whilst Paulien was busy working on ‘the model’, I had an opportunity to

look around the facilities at Leuwen. The movement lab was similar to

ours and it was very interesting to identify other similarities between the

rehabilitation research questions they are working on and ours in Cardiff.

We had some really interesting discussions with the staff there and agreed

that we should continue to collaborate. We already had an Erasmus

agreement in place, but it was suggested that we should extend this

agreement and expand the collaboration, maximising on our mutual

interests and the excellent reputation of both institutions.

On the second day, I presented some of the research we do in Cardiff in a

one-hour seminar. Attendance was good and staff were very impressed

with our GRAIL Virtual Reality lab. A productive discussion emerged from

the presentation, which I enjoyed greatly.

Sadly there was little time to see something of Leuven itself - only at night,

when it was dark.

The University was

established in

1425 and I was

informed that

Andreas Vesalius,

the famed

anatomist,

physician and

author, carried out

his anatomical

studies there.

Research Professor Robert Van Deursen

The University of Leuwen

Mo O’Brien, Lecturer

Stonewall / Healthcare Sciences Stonewall / Healthcare Sciences Collaboration UpdateCollaboration Update

The Stonewall and Cardiff School of Healthcare Sciences

Collaboration we reported on in the February 2013

SONMS Newsletter continues this academic year, with

some exciting developments ahead.

We have gained significant insights as a result of our initial

meeting and subsequent work with Stonewall. For

example, we have learned how issues relating to the often

particular and diverse needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual

(LGB) people are currently included in healthcare curricula

and translated into learning and clinical practice.

Stonewall (as the School and wider University recognise

and strongly endorse) are championing the need to ensure

that the healthcare professions are prepared, empowered

and equipped with the relevant knowledge and

understanding to address potential diverse needs, in a

caring, dignified and professional manner.

What we know

There are some significant known differences between the

health needs of LGB people and those of heterosexual

people. Additionally, many LGB people report that they

have experienced or fear discrimination because of their

sexual orientation. Many LGB staff in the NHS report

discrimination and hostility at work because of their sexual

orientation. In order for learners to reach their potential,

they need to see that their education provider is

committed to creating an environment where LGB staff

can be positive role models.

Quick facts

(research commissioned or conducted by Stonewall)

Lesbian and bisexual women are twice as likely to

have never had a cervical smear test

Three percent of gay and bisexual men have

attempted to take their life in the last year, compared

to just 0.4 per cent of men in general

Forty-one percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual people

over 55 live alone, compared to 28 percent of

heterosexual people of the same age

56% of LGB young people have deliberately harmed

themselves, which can include cutting or burning (the

NSPCC estimate that 7-10% of young people in

general deliberately harm themselves)

Lesbian and gay staff reported that not being open

about their sexual orientation, or worrying about

whether they should or not, had a significant impact

on efficiency and productivity

Participants reported that ‘being out’ in a supportive

environment increased their loyalty, commitment to

and investment in their organisation

What the law says

The Equality Act (UK Parliament 2010) identifies sexual

orientation as a ‘protected characteristic’. The public

sector equality duty requires public bodies to eliminate

discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance

equality of opportunity and foster good relations between

different groups. Public bodies are required to set equality

objectives, which should have tangible actions that allow

an organisation to measure progress.

There is a range of other legislation relating to these

issues which healthcare professionals need to be

cognisant of. For example: The Civil Partnership Act 2004;

Mental Health Act 2007; Human Fertilisation &

Embryology Act 2008; Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act -

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Section 146; Criminal

Justice Act 2003; Criminal Justice and Immigration Act

2008; Human Rights Act 1998 and the Health and Social

Care Act 2008.

In addition, all health and care professional regulatory

bodies’ codes of professional practice include the need for

equality of opportunity, justice, fairness, respect, dignity,

and non-discriminatory care.

What this collaborative work aims to do

The overall aim is to develop a guide and resources for

academics to develop and deliver healthcare curricula that

promote and ensure an inclusive environment for LGB

staff, students and patients. This will contribute to

supporting the next generation of care professionals to be

confident to fully and effectively comply with both

equalities legislation and their relevant professional code

of practice in relation to sexual orientation.

This project will enable healthcare academics to review

the particular part of the curricular that they teach so that

they can identify key areas where LGB issues can be

incorporated into students’ learning. (Continued overleaf)

Research Professor Robert Van Deursen

(Continued from previous page) This model

promotes a structure where LGB issues are

embedded in the curriculum, are reflected ‘across

the life span’ and become ‘everyone’s business’.

An electronic resource is being developed for

healthcare academics to enhance their

understanding of LGB issues and offer a

framework for reviewing teaching. This will be

supported by a one-day training event for key

individuals, who should then feel confident in

cascading the training among their academic

communities. The training event is scheduled to

take place on June 12th 2014, 09.00-17.00. A

simple framework is also being developed for use

to review and adapt the area of the curricula you

deliver.

If you’d like to know more please get in touch with

Dave Clarke (clarkedj@cardiff.ac.uk) or Mo

O’Brien (obrienmp@cardiff.ac.uk).

To register for the training event, please contact

Katy Perkins (PerkinsK@cardiff.ac.uk)

Expert patients’ stories can be used to teach healthcare professionals about the personal impact of living with

specific conditions. In undergraduate physiotherapy education, we have been exploring a novel teaching

approach since 2008. This has been to facilitate students meeting expert patients with neurological conditions, in

order to hear about their lived experiences. The objective for these sessions is to enable the students to

understand the psychosocial impact of living with a range of specified neurological conditions.

We approached patient associations and support groups for ‘expert patients’ who would be available for half a

day to tell their story to small groups of second year physiotherapy students. Groups represented included the

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Association, the Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS)

support group, Disability Sport Wales and the Stroke Association.

Some of these sessions were filmed and developed into interactive, online resources for students by Bex

Ferriday, the School’s Learning Technologist. We monitored the initial response to two such resources examining

Guillian Barre Syndrome and discovered the engagement with these online was excellent: the first resource

received 2264 hits while the second got 671. We are preparing further case stories for paediatric sessions in

February.

We received some powerful student feedback – here’s an excerpt:

‘...Although it’s life changing, it’s not the end... people were very positive and inspiring ….before I thought

illness/ injury was always a negative social impact, however it made me understand how many positives can

come out of it…’

The opportunity to provide more patient stories is reliant on people being willing to tell their story. When this

happens, whether in person or online, it has a powerful effect and can contribute to the education of the ‘caring’

side of our professions.

Dawn Pickering, Lecturer and Equality and Diversity Manager

Expert Patients’ StoriesExpert Patients’ Stories

Una Jones, Lecturer at the School of Healthcare Sciences, has

successfully gained a place on a British Council

Researcher Links workshop in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The workshop is entitled ‘Evidence based

practice in a global context: building sustainable

communities’ and is being run by partners in the

UK, University of Nottingham and Brazil, University of Sao Paulo.

Una’s application was based on her PhD ‘Respiratory function in

people with Huntington’s disease: investigation and intervention’

and incorporates areas such as respiratory failure, long-term

degenerative conditions and inspiratory muscle training.

Although Huntington’s disease is a rare condition with an

incidence of approximately 12/100,000 in the UK, there are

reportedly 40,000 Latin Americans with the disease.

The aim of the workshop is to provide a unique opportunity for

early researchers to share their research findings and build

links. Una would be very interested to hear from anyone who has

an interest in this area, with the aim of productive networking

during the workshop — email JonesUF@cardiff.ac.uk.

British Council WorkshopBritish Council Workshop

Karl Rowe, Simulation Technology Manager SMOTS DemoSMOTS Demo

Question: How do you fit over 100 students around a bed?

Answer: You don’t, you just beam your demonstration into a lecture theatre.

The use of the Scotia Medical Observation and Training System (smots) is changing the

way we teach within the School. It is now possible to live broadcast from any of our

smots devices to any classroom or lecture theatre in the University.

Think about that for a moment. The demonstrations that you used to show to only a

small group of students, and then had to repeat over and over, can now be shown to

groups of over one hundred. What will you do with all that spare time?

It is now possible to perform gold standard demonstrations of clinical skills and

procedures and have them beamed live to dozens of students who are then able to

communicate directly with the lecturer in order to ask questions. That very same session

can then be posted in Learning Central, ready for students to refer to as a revision aid.

The resulting footage is stored on the University Helix server, which is compatible with

mobile devices, giving us even more scope for providing content to our ever more mobile

data-consuming students.

We also have two smots mobile cameras we are able to broadcast from any room with a

University network port. This means that detailed video can be taken of even the most

intricate procedure, and then made available for students to watch again and again.

Recent developments have allowed us to offer the inclusion of Picture In Picture (PIP)

options with smots video. For instance, the vital signs recorded from SimMan can be

embedded into the video of the students’ performance during a Simulated Practice

session. This gives great scope for highlighting the effects of good or bad practice with a

direct indicator of the state of the patient.

With a little post-production work, titles can be added to the video, or even a voice-over if

required. Workload permitting, it is possible to have the video of a twenty minute

demonstration embedded into Learning Central, with titles and lecturer contact details,

in under two hours after the live event. This would allow students to attend a lecture in

the morning and then review the video on their phone while having lunch in the

Concourse or the IV lounge.

The technology also has implications for cross-site teaching. It is possible to display a

live stream in multiple locations, meaning different groups of students can watch the

same broadcast from different buildings or classrooms. Just because we don’t have any

simulation equipment in Eastgate House doesn’t mean we can’t do any demonstrations

there.

As with any technology, it’s only as good as the use we make of it, and I encourage you to

come and talk to me about any ideas you have. Email: RoweK@cardiff.ac.uk

Six Occupational Therapy

students have returned

to Cardiff University after

having spent four

months studying abroad

at European partner

universities. The School

has historical Erasmus

exchange links with many

European institutions,

enabling staff and

students to study abroad

under the Erasmus

scheme.

The six students were

placed at universities in

Sweden, Belgium and

Malta. All participated in

a 12-week clinical

placement and the

Swedish exchange also

facilitated study

alongside Swedish

healthcare students.

Upon their return, the

students engaged in a

lunchtime presentation to

fellow students and staff

at our School, sharing

their many triumphs with

a captivated audience.

The Vice Chancellor,

Professor Colin Riordan,

has stated that our aim

as a university should be

for 17% of students to

undertake a minimum of

a month's study abroad

as part of their curriculum

by 2017. This Erasmus

exchange is a step

towards achieving that

aspiration. SMOTS live broadcast into a lecture theatre - two aspects can be displayed simultaneously to students

Outgoing Outgoing Erasmus Erasmus Students Students ReturnReturn

Innovation in Healthcare SciencesInnovation in Healthcare Sciences

On 22nd January 2014, staff from across the School and the wider University gathered for the first time to share

their inspiring stories of innovation in practice and research.

The afternoon began with a presentation by Dr Tyrone Kidney, Innovation and Engagement Manager for the Allied

Health Professions. His work is not limited to Allied Health Professions as we understand it as a School, but to

DENTL, OPTOM, HCARE and PHRMY. Tyrone explained that his role is to support and advise on various types of

engagement, innovation, projects, strategy, partnerships and even PR. If you have a project that you’d like Tyrone’s

input or advice on, email KidneyTC1@cardiff.ac.uk or follow on Twitter at @FiveSchoolIandE.

The second speaker was Dr Rhodri Turner, Technology Transfer Project Officer for the University. Rhodri’s

presentation, ‘Intellectual Property and Innovation in Healthcare’ underlined the importance of getting the

Technology Transfer Team involved in your projects at an early stage, to handle issues central to intellectual

property such as patenting and copyrighting. To contact Rhodri, send an email to TurnerRT@Cardiff.ac.uk.

Richard Day presented the School’s own commercial project ‘Vector’ – a series of wireless mats designed to give a

quantitative analysis of sporting ability. Leading neatly on from Rhodri’s presentation, Rich explained the process of

developing the technology and the involvement of Rhodri and his team throughout. To learn more about Vector, see

our article on the Physiotherapy Clinic on Page 1 or email Richard at DayRJ@cardiff.ac.uk.

The fourth presentation was delivered by Lecturer Michelle Moseley and engaged with her MA topic of domestic

abuse. Michelle identified a lack of communication in the emergency and health services regarding domestic abuse

cases, so introduced a new process in Gwent to ensure that key agencies were informed when a domestic incident

occurred. Her important work resulted in a success rate of 100% in the recording of such incidents by Health

Visitors within 11 months. If you’d like to find out more about Michelle’s work, email her at MoseleyME1@cf.ac.uk .

The final presentation of the afternoon was given by Dr Aled Jones, who spoke about the importance of ‘Disruptive

Students’ and the power of junior staff to make a difference to healthcare practice, despite the cultural difficulties

they often face when they start working in practice. Aled has been working to change this in a range of ways, from

organising coffee mornings for junior doctors to brainstorm big ideas, to trying to make NHS inductions more

inspiring. Sometimes all it takes is a simple question, he explained, such as getting nurses to ask, ‘What can I do to

improve your care today?’ To talk to Aled about ‘game-changing’ work, email him on JonesA97@cardiff.ac.uk.

Before the group broke for coffee and networking, Professor Danny Kelly wrapped up the day, saying, “The idea is

that these events will continue to shake us up and make us think. It’s about fresh thinking - and that fresh thinking

is something I want to incorporate into my work. If you’d like to present in the future, we’d love to hear from you.” To

speak to Danny about getting involved with future events, email him at KellyDM@cardiff.ac.uk.

Pictured (from left): Michelle Moseley presents on domestic violence; the group break for networking; Richard Day presents on Vector

Hannah Nicole Simpson, Marketing and Student Recruitment Manager

Dr Monica Busse, Senior Lecturer in the School, is a

principal investigator in the REPAIR-HD European

Consortium, which has been awarded six million euros

to advance research into Huntington’s Disease. Two

million euros of this funding will be dedicated solely to

research in Cardiff.

The project will tackle the huge complexity of taking

stem cell therapies to clinical application for

neurodegenerative disease by focusing on selective

differentiation of a single neuronal phenotype (medium

spiny striatal neuron) for a single well-defined disease;

Huntington’s Disease (HD), an autosomal dominant

neurodegenerative disorder resulting in behavioural,

cognitive and motor impairments.

The consortium from Cardiff, Manchester, France and

Italy provide a range of expertise in stem cell

differentiation and control of proliferation; in vitro

genetic, molecular, cellular and functional

characterisation; good manufacturing practice

knowledge, development and production; and clinical

translation. The clinical team includes world leaders in

HD clinical trials, including foetal neural transplants

and exercise therapy.

Pre-clinical studies in rodent models of HD have

highlighted that graft

integration and

differentiation is

almost wholly

dependent on

training to enable the

brain to ‘learn to use

the transplant.

Monica is specifically involved in the work package that

is focusing on the preparation for clinical trials. She will

supervise a PhD student, who will examine in-depth

validation of novel outcome measures and in particular

development of training paradigms that target striatal

function in people with HD so that they are readily

available when clinical trials of transplantation become

a reality.

The Repair-HD Consortium

RepairRepair--HD Funding SuccessHD Funding Success

Academics from the School of Healthcare Sciences have

received a research grant from the charity Tenovus to

undertake a study at the Velindre Cancer Centre (VCC).

The study, titled ‘Improving the experience of out-patient

cancer treatment for people with comorbid dementia in

Wales’, will be undertaken by Professor Jane Hopkinson,

Deborah Edwards, Rosie Tope (a service user), Mandy

King, Dr Katie Featherstone and Dr Jane Harden.

Cancer specialists are treating a growing population of

older people who suffer with both cancer and dementia.

Memory loss and an inability to understand or retain new

information are problems that affect those with both

dementia and milder cognitive impairment. For the

cancer patient who also has dementia, such problems

can influence decisions concerning their cancer

treatments (including side effects) and symptom

management. To date, there has been little research to

investigate such issues.

This study will investigate the potential to improve the

experience of cancer and dementia patients and their

families. We anticipate improvement in supportive care

could not only benefit their quality of life, but also result in

better management of symptoms and cancer treatment

side-effects, thereby reducing service costs. In addition,

the project will create an opportunity for the staff at VCC

to establish collaboration with the School of Healthcare

Sciences, enabling further research on clinical

interventions.

Grant for Cancer & Dementia StudyGrant for Cancer & Dementia Study

Professor of Nursing Jane Hopkinson

Our Vision for Interprofessional Education (IPE):

The School will be a key driver in the creation of a collaborative culture within healthcare education and practice.

We will set new standards for collaboration by ensuring that graduates hold the skills, attitudes and behaviours

required of a truly compassionate workforce who work together to ensure high-quality patient care.

Our 12 month IPE secondment, which was driven by Professor Sheila

Hunt, is now at an end. We have completed a full report and anticipate

that it will soon be available on the intranet, but please contact us if you

would like any further information in the interim.

IPE is required to ensure graduates are fit for collaborative practice and for this reason it is endorsed by Government,

regulatory and professional bodies.

The challenge for providers of healthcare education is to create an appropriate forum and a workable environment

enabling graduates to establish the practical skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to form high performing,

compassionate teams – a vital requirement for the improvement in the quality of patient care.

Deb Hearle (HearleD@cardiff.ac.uk) and Liz Evans (EvansEM1@cardiff.ac.uk)

Have you ever

wondered...

Response

What is IPE?

IPE is where 2 or more professional groups learn with, from and about each other (CAIPE 2007).

Why is IPE needed?

‘Silo’ style working needs to be removed and practice needs to develop to ensure that patients benefit

from high performing teamwork (see Francis Report 2013; Berwick 2013 and others).

NHS Wales Objective: “A redesigned workforce, working together to deliver healthcare for the 21st

Century” (Together For Health major area of change 2, 3).

What is identified as best/

good practice in IPE?

Where IPE is inclusive of all relevant professions; no barriers exist

Where all staff share the IPE philosophy which is reflected across the curriculum (not just in IPE

timetabled sessions)

Where the impact of outcomes benefit practice

(IPE Report Recommendations informed by CAIPE; CIHC; IHI; findings of our own pilot studies and

others…)

How good could we be at

IPE?

As a School we could be good; as a College we could be great. Access to the range of healthcare

professions within Cardiff University and our strong links with Cardiff Metropolitan University allow us

to create multidisciplinary student teams that reflect those in healthcare services. Through Cardiff

University, Wales could lead to produce health professionals who collaborate effectively to improve

patient care and management.

What is ideal for us?

The provision of a range of inter-professional learning opportunities that fit with timetables, support

staff and provide students with skills that will strengthen their employability and improve patient care.

How can we make this

happen?

Create a force for change to increase collaboration in all areas of healthcare education by adopting the

recommendations of the IPE project. For all staff to see IPE as their responsibility by striving to

achieve the desired outcomes of the School IPE strategy.

HOW CAN WE FIND OUT

MORE?

ACCEPT OUR INVITATION TO ATTEND THE IPE STAFF EVENT –

Date, time and venue will be announced soon.

Interprofessional CollaborationInterprofessional Collaboration Deb Hearle and Liz Evans, Senior Lecturers

Professor Annette Lankshear, a former Reader in

Cardiff School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, has

been awarded an Honorary Visiting Professor position

for a period of five years at the School of Healthcare

Sciences.

Professor Lankshear came to the School of Nursing

and Midwifery Studies in 2005, acting as Director of

Graduate Studies, then as Director of Research and

Deputy Head of School until in 2012 she retired and

took a part-time post as a Reader in Health Policy.

She now splits her time between the UK and Jordan,

where she is semi-retired and writing!

She said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in

Cardiff and have developed the greatest respect for

the School and its staff. I feel highly honoured to have

been awarded this position and look forward to my

continuing engagement with the University.”

The position of Honorary Visiting Professor at Cardiff

University encourages and recognises collaborations

and associations with industry and commerce,

government, research establishments and the Arts at

a high level.

Professor Sheila Hunt said, “Professor Lankshear has

been a loyal and supportive colleague for many years

and her contribution to the School has been quite

exceptional. This new role is crucially important in the

new school. We are delighted that Professor

Lankshear has agreed to accept the title and will

continue to make a significant contribution to the

success of the School.”

Lesley Lowes, Florence Nightingale Professor of Clinical

Nursing Research, has been awarded £168,518 from the

National Institute for Health and Social Care Research

(NISCHR) Research for Patient and Public Benefit (RfPPB)

funding stream to undertake the EDDY study - Early

Detection of type 1 Diabetes in Youth.

This study will assess the feasibility of delivering a multi-

component community type 1 diabetes (T1D) educational

intervention to increase awareness of the early symptoms

of undiagnosed T1D. Target populations are parents of

children up to 18 years of age, family doctors (GPs) and

practice nurses in Bridgend, Cardiff and the Vale. Two

interventions will be developed, one for GP practices and

one for parents, based on the successful ‘meningitis

campaign’. Two community diabetes liaison nurses will

deliver education to GP surgeries, schools, nurseries and

health visitors.

Data collection methods include qualitative interviews

with parents of children with and without T1D, GPs and

practice nurses, and quantitative data on all children

diagnosed with T1D during the study period. Parent and

GP/practice nurse advisory groups will advise on all

aspects of the study.

In association with Macmillan Cancer Support, Cardiff

University will be appointing a Macmillan Associate

Lecturer for two days per week commencing March 2014.

The funding was awarded in January 2014 to team

Professor Jane Hopkinson, Dr Sally Anstey, Professor

Daniel Kelly and Deborah Edwards. This will provide an

opportunity for a Macmillan post-holder to support and

influence the content and delivery of the pre-registration

curriculum, as it relates to cancer.

The post will also present an opportunity to evaluate the

impact of this new role; for the post-holder,

undergraduate nurses (in relation to their knowledge,

skills and influence on care), stakeholders and people

affected by cancer. The overarching purpose of this

evaluation will be to develop appropriate curricula that

will support the development of excellence in cancer

nursing care.

Macmillan Associate LecturerMacmillan Associate Lecturer

Honorary Professor HCAREHonorary Professor HCARE NIHSCR Research GrantNIHSCR Research Grant

Honorary Professor Annette Lankshear

Research Governance & Ethical ReviewResearch Governance & Ethical Review

Dr Paul Brown, Senior Lecturer and Professional Head, Radiography

On January 14th the School Board accepted the new procedures for Research Governance & Ethical Review within the

School of Healthcare Sciences and set up the following committees:

Applications from Staff for grant applications and research proposals requiring scientific review will be reviewed by

RRESC on a virtual basis to assist with deadlines.

Applications from Postgraduate Research Students (PhD, MPhil and Taught Doctorate) requiring scientific review of

research proposals will be considered by a sub-committee of RRESC meeting at set dates three times a year, normally

March, June and October.

Applications from Postgraduate Taught Students for scientific and ethical review of proposals prior to dissertation stage

of their Master’s course will be reviewed by the Postgraduate Taught Students Research Review & Ethics Committee, a

sub-committee of SREC meeting face-to-face at set dates throughout the academic year, normally in October, December,

February, April and June/July. Scientific and internal ethical review will take place within the one meeting.

Applications from AHP Undergraduate & Pre-Registration Students for scientific and ethical review of proposals prior to

dissertation stage of their Bachelor’s/Postgraduate Diploma course will be reviewed by each of the disciplines at

Programme level and a report forwarded to SREC for final approval.

Applications from researchers outside of the School to access students for the purposes of data generation will be

reviewed by designated members of RRESC on a responsive basis.

Proposals given RRESC/PGTSRREC approval but which fall under the requirements of NHS Ethical Review will be sent

back to applicants to take through the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) system. Where necessary, other studies

utilising human participants will be forwarded to the next meeting of the School Research Ethics Committee (SREC) or

Postgraduate Taught Students Research Review & Ethics Sub-committee (PGTSRREC) for internal ethical review. The two

committees meet on alternate months, thus ethical review for staff will be available on a monthly basis.

Timings of committees have been considered in order to minimise potential delays to the research process. In order to

introduce a standardised approach across all the Research Governance Committees, proposals will be submitted on a

new HCARE Research Proposal Form (inclusive of health & safety risk assessment requirements). This will vary in relation

to the amount of information requested at each of the levels Staff & PGR, PGT and UG.

Applications to committees with set dates must be submitted at least THREE weeks in advance of meetings to enable

copies to be sent out for review. At the initial meeting of each committee, terms of reference (ToR) and formalisation of

membership shall be agreed.

Enquiries for review should initially be discussed with the relevant chair of each committee and the Research Manager,

Liz Harmer-Griebel (HarmerL@cardiff.ac.uk).

Committee Meeting Dates

Research Review & Ethics Screening Committee (RRESC)

Chair: Dr. Ben Hannigan

Submission as required

Postgraduate Research Students Research Review &

Ethics Screening Sub-Committee (PGRRESC)

Monday March 10th, 3pm

(Deadline for students to submit proposals for review: 24.02.14)

Monday June 2nd, 3pm

(Deadline for students to submit proposals for review: 12.05.14)

School Research Ethics Committee (SREC)

Chair & School Research Ethics Officer:

Dr. Paul Brown

Meetings for this academic year TBC. (March, May, July)

Postgraduate Taught Students Research Review & Ethics

Sub-Committee (PGTSRREC)

Chair: Dr. Sally Anstey

Tuesday February 25th 2pm

(Deadline for students to submit proposals for review: 04.02.14)

Further meetings for remainder of this academic year TBC

Undergraduate & Pre-registration Research Review &

Ethics Sub-committee (UGSRREC) Meetings undertaken at programme level.

Mental Health OTs in JCP TrialMental Health OTs in JCP Trial

Dr Gwilym Wyn Roberts, Senior Lecturer and Welsh Language Coordinator

This article is a brief evaluation of a pilot partnership

scheme placing Mental Health Occupational Therapists

within Job Centre Plus to work with customers with mental

health conditions, in order to address barriers to

employment and improve vocational and work potential.

The Pilot

Cardiff and Vale UHB and Jobcentre Plus (JCP) South East

Wales set up a pilot partnership whereby two senior

Mental Health Occupational Therapists (MHOTs) were

funded and seconded by Cardiff and Vale UHB into JCP on

a part time basis, one working out of a city centre JCP in

Cardiff and the other in Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The pilot began in September 2012 and finished at the

end of September 2013.

Aims

The aim was first to broaden the vocational and work

opportunities for JCP customers experiencing a range of

mental health problems or conditions that could be

impacting upon their ability to engage with JCP. Secondly,

we wanted to increase the awareness among JCP staff of

customers’ mental health issues and needs. Finally, we

wanted to evaluate the potential of placing MHOTs in non-

traditional areas, exploring and evaluating so-called ‘role-

emerging’ opportunities.

Evaluation

We gathered data indicating actions, interventions and

outcomes relating to all customers with whom the MHOTs

had engaged. It was analysed using a qualitative

phenomenological approach, using semi-structured

interviews with JCP staff. Interview transcripts were

analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological

approach. A follow-up questionnaire was developed to

evaluate perceptions of JCP staff once MHOT support had

been withdrawn.

Findings

1. The MHOTs worked actively with 102 customers out of

125 JCP referrals

2. Mental health problems/conditions ranged from mild/

moderate (e.g. anxiety, social phobia) to severe mental

illness (e.g. schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder)

3. Quantitative data analysis demonstrates that of the

102 active MHOT customers:

(i) Over 50% were provided with psycho-education

relating to condition management of specific

psychological barriers to employment

(ii) More than a third were given psychological

and/or physical support to access volunteering,

health or welfare support services, to remove

barriers to valued occupation

(iii) Up to 7 forms of work-related activity were

recorded for 40 JSA customers across the 2 job

centres, including 6 customers who entered paid

employment.

(iv) Across JSA and ESA claimants, 13 went into

some form of training whilst 12 went into

voluntary work and 1 into work experience.

4. All qualitative data indicates an overwhelmingly positive

response to the pilot service. Indicators show customers

were provided with a sense of empowerment,

achievement and progression towards employability. JCP

employees uniformly acknowledged the positive impact on

customer employability plus the educative and supportive

value of having MHOTs in their teams.

Summary and Recommendations

This pilot brought health expertise into employment

services to help address mental health barriers to

employability. Traditionally, JCP customers have received

little by way of targeted specialist support in this area.

Given its relatively short duration, this partnership scheme

appears to have delivered positive benefits to a significant

proportion of JCP customers, plus a unanimously positive

impact upon regular JCP staff.

It is therefore recommended that funding be sought to

continue with this partnership arrangement, possibly via

the new Economic Priorities Framework (2014 – 2020)

which will guide use of EU Funds.

We need volunteers for our BN Nursing Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) teams during

the week Monday 17th to Friday 21st February – can you help with one or more day?

This is a great opportunity to learn more about the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)

format. The days do not need to be staffed exclusively by nursing teams. If anyone

from the other professions would like to sign up for a day, please do! You may find it

particularly useful if the MMI format is something you are considering in future for

your programmes.

Candidates are invited to an MMI session where they visit 6 stations, each

designed to examine different skills. The stations are all carefully timed and each

session runs at 42 minutes long - 5 minutes per station with 2 minutes’

preparation per station. Each station is staffed by one person with a score sheet.

There will also be a session supervisor for each MMI room who ensures smooth

running.

During the day, you will have the opportunity to man different stations and we

intend to allocate additional resources to each session. This should mean the days

are varied, interesting and not too exhausting... maybe even fun! The days themselves start at 9am and finish at

4pm for the interviewing teams. This includes briefing and set-up time first thing, for looking at station content,

allocating stations etc.

Admin support will be required from 8.30am but only a couple of members of the team are needed early. Admin

support finish between 4pm and 4.15pm. The interview sessions are timed and run to a strict schedule with

breaks built in. It makes for a fully scheduled day but we can guarantee no late running.

If you would like further information or to volunteer, please email me at HoareEC@Cardiff.ac.uk.

Eleanor Hoare, Senior Admissions Officer

Many of you will have already seen the success that the University achieved in January 2014 in the Stonewall Top

100 Workplace Equality Index 2014. Cardiff University not only managed to keep a place in the very competitive

process but climbed by three places to 52, having been ranked at 55 in January 2013. In relation to Higher

Education CU were the third placed university out of five and the top Russell Group university out of that group.

Alongside that, Enfys (CU staff LGBT+ support network) was named one of the Star Performer Network Groups for

the second year in a row.

This year Enfys won Best Welsh Employee Network Group at the Stonewall Cymru Awards on Jan 23rd 2014.

Karen Cooke (Enfys Chair) would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your engagement, support and

commitment to LGBT+ equality here at Cardiff University whether you are a member of the network or a Friend of

Enfys. She said, “I am immensely proud to be the chair of a committee of talented people who work tirelessly with

me to achieve what we achieve in their own time and because they believe in the continued work we do to change

the culture here at Cardiff University.”

As always, there is lots more to do across a large organisation for both our students and staff, and we look forward

to working with all of you to achieve so much more. We shall be celebrating LGBT History Month in February and we

look forward to welcoming as many of you to our events during that month. We will be publicising information about

the LGBT History Month in the next couple of weeks.

Enfys UpdateEnfys Update

MMI Days FebruaryMMI Days February

Update on Academic RolesUpdate on Academic Roles

Academic Role / Responsibility Person

Senior Admissions Tutor (AHP) Mansell Griffiths

Admissions Tutor (Diagnostic Radiography) Mansell Griffiths

Admissions Tutor (Radiotherapy & Oncology) Keren Williamson

Admissions Tutor (Physiotherapy) Tim Sharp

Admissions Tutors (Occupational Therapy) Alison Seymour

Admissions Tutor (Perioperative Practice) Paul Hennessy

For PGT Admissions Tutors: Programme Managers

Senior Admissions Tutor (N&M) Gina Newbury

Admissions Tutor – Child Sian Bill

Admissions Tutor – Adult Jacqui Rattray

Admissions Tutor – Mental Health Anne-Marie Evans

Admissions Tutor – Midwifery Fran Magness

Admissions Tutor – BSc Clinical Practice Kaye Greenough

Admissions Tutor – BSc Community Health Studies Gina Newbury

Admissions Tutor – BSc Community Practice Gina Newbury

Admissions Tutor – BSc Clinical Practice (Overseas) Jerry Bray

Admissions Tutor – BSc Community Health Nursing Practice (Overseas) Judith Carrier

Admissions Tutors – MSc Adv. Practice, Adv. Clinical Practice, PGCE Sandra Arthur, Nicola Evans, Sue Williams

Admissions Tutor – MSc/PGD SCPHN Lorraine Joomun

Admissions Tutor – Non Medical Prescribing Anthony Pritchard

Admissions Tutor – Return to Practice Jayne Foley

Equality and Diversity Rep Mo O’Brien

Student Disability Manager Dawn Pickering

Extenuating Circumstances Manager Judy Cousins

Professional Lead Fitness to Practice Jane Davies

Fitness to Practice Managers Tim Lewis, Jan Campsie, Kaye Greenough

Unfair Practice Managers Karen Jones, Clare Hawker, Jayne Foley

Health and Safety and Environmental Compliance Managers Matt Townsend, Kaye Greenough

Student Mobility Manager Gareth Morgan

Welsh Language Co-ordinators Anna Jones, Dr Gwilym Wyn Roberts

Radiation Protection Supervisor Mansell Griffiths

Associate Lecturer Scheme Academic Leads Rhian Barnes, Tony Everett

Associate Lecturer Scheme Managers Gareth Morgan, Kaye Greenough

Research Ethics Officer Dr Paul Brown, Dr Ben Hannigan

Digital Practice Managers Mike Johnson, Matt Townsend

APEL/Academic Study Managers Tim Gibson, Philippa Coales

Peer Review L&T Managers Clare Hawker, Geraldine Hastings

Numeracy Managers Yvonne Knight, Mike Johnson, Dr Peter Hirskyj

Widening Access Responsibility of Prof Heads / Adm. Tutors

Over the last few pages, you will find Academic Role and Programme Manager updates ‘hot off the press’ 03.02.14.

Allied Health Professions Programme Managers

Responsibility Person Title

BSc Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging Hywel Rogers Prog. Manager

BSc Radiotherapy & Oncology Erica White Prog. Manager

Cert.HE Assistant Radiographic Practice Linda Mutema Prog. Manager

BSc Physiotherapy Karen Visser Prog. Manager

BSc Occupational Therapy (full time + part time) Ruth Squire Prog. Manager

Dip HE in Operating Department Practice BSc Intra and

Perioperative Practice (full + part time)

Julie Young Prog. Manager

PG Dip Occupational Therapy (Pre-Registration) Dr Gail Boniface Prog. Manager

MSc AHP Programmes Sue Delport Prog. Manager

MSc Radiography Karen Eckloff Prog. Manager

PgC/PG Dip Image Appreciation / Radiographic Reporting Karen Eckloff Prog. Manager

MSc Occupational Therapy Sue Delport Prog. Manager

MSc Physiotherapy Karen Jones Prog. Manager

MSc Sports and Exercise Dr Nicki Phillips Prog. Manager

MSc Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy Philippa Coales Prog. Manager

MSc Neurorehabilitation Sue Richardson Prog. Manager

MSc Healthcare Sciences Sue Richardson Prog. Manager

PgD Surgical Care Practice Paul Hennessy Deputy Prog.

Manager

PgD/MSc Surgical Care Practice Julie Young Prog. Manager

MSc Managing Care in Perioperative Practice Julie Young Prog. Manager

PgC Medical Illustration Amy Lake Prog. Manager

MSc Occupation and Health (top up diss. to pre-reg PgD) Dr Gail Boniface Prog. Manager

Nursing and Midwifery Programme Managers

Responsibility Person Title

PGCert in Non Med Prescribing Anthony Pritchard Prog. Manager

BN Cardiff Nursing Futures Suzanne Hughes Prog. Manager

MSc in Advanced Practice and Advanced Clinical Practice Sandra Arthur, Nicola

Evans, Sue Williams

Prog. Managers

SCPHN Lorraine Joomun Prog. Manager

BSc Community Health Studies & BSc Community Practice Gina Newbury Prog. Manager

BN Mental Health Paul Bickerstaffe Prog. Manager

BSc Clinical Practice Kaye Greenough Prog. Manager

BN Child Peter McNee Prog. Manager

BSc Clinical Practice (Overseas) Jerry Bray Prog. Manager

BSc Community Health Nursing Practice (Overseas) Judith Carrier Prog. Manager

BSc Nursing Practice (Overseas) Jerry Bray Prog. Manager

MSc/PG Diploma in Nursing (pre-reg) Sue Williams Prog. Manager

BN Adult Nursing Jan Campsie Prog. Manager

BMidwifery Fran Magness Prog. Manager

Cardiff Nursing Futures Curriculum - Adult Maurice O'Brien Field Lead

Cardiff Nursing Futures Curriculum - Mental Health Gerwyn Jones Field Lead

Cardiff Nursing Futures Curriculum - Children Melda Price Field Lead

Cardiff Nursing Futures Curriculum - Adult Beverley Johnson Field Lead

Post Graduate Certificate in Education for Health Professionals Dr Jane Ryan Pathway Leader

Professional Doctorate Advanced Healthcare Practice Dr Jane Harden Prog. Manager

Return to Practice Jayne Foley Prog. Manager