Spring 2011 - South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

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News from South London and Maudsley
NHS Foundation Trust for staff and members
Ruby Wax loses it
on Trust premises
SLaM eliminates
mixed-sex
accommodation
Spring Edition 2011
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Contents
Welcome
4
Message from Madeliene Long – SLaM Chair
5
SLaM through a lens – Crystal Palace
6
Spring Edition
A photographic take on SLaM
News in brief
7
SLaM News is produced by:
SLaM eliminates mixed-sex accommodation
12
Learning design centre
13
SLaM vision
14
T. 82830
F. 82021
E. communications@slam.nhs.uk
W. www.slam.nhs.uk
Introducing Magnet
16
Buddy system
18
Switchboard: 020 3228 6000
Daisy awards - Recognising nursing at SLaM
19
Croydon addictions contract
20
Fast accurate test for Alzheimer’s
21
Living near the “Frontline”
22
SLaM in the media
24
Bethlem gallery
25
Figure of speech project
26
OCD at School
27
Membership - Make me smile again
28
Holistic Mental Health
29
Staff stuff
30
What am I doing here?
31
Communications Department
South London and Maudsley
NHS Foundation Trust
Trust Headquarters
Maudsley Hospital
Denmark Hill
London SE5 8AZ
Page 18
Design: bigfrankmedia.com
If you have a news story or idea for SLaM
News please call or email us.
Page 20
Numbers in the newsletter are displayed
using the internal format.
If you’re calling from outside of the Trust
please add: (020) 322 + Extn.
Page 22
South London and Maudsley NHS
Foundation Trust is part of King’s Health
Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre
(AHSC), a pioneering collaboration
between King’s College London, Guy’s and
St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and
South London and Maudsley NHS
Foundation Trusts. For more information,
visit www.kingshealthpartners.org
Steven Badger
Competition
32
Page 26
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Cover
Welcome
Message from Madeliene Long, SLaM Chair
Welcome to the spring
edition of SLaM News
We’re pleased to announce that levels of staff engagement at SLaM
are once again among the best of any mental health trust in the
country and have improved compared to last year, according to the
Care Quality Commission.
The Government’s care standards watchdog reported that 93% of SLaM
staff thought that their role makes a difference to patients, 3% above the
national average, and 73% said they were able to contribute towards
improvements at work, which is 6% higher than average.
There were improvements in the proportion of staff who had received
both appraisals (83%) and personal development plans (74%) in the
last year (up from 68% and 57% respectively). The number of staff
receiving health and safety training in the last 12 months also
improved – up to 89% from 79%.
Lower scores than last year were achieved in several important areas,
including the Trust’s commitment to work life balance and the proportion
of staff that said hand washing materials were always available, which
fell to 43% compared to 54%.
Unfortunately the number of staff experiencing harassment, bullying or
abuse from staff was 2% higher than the national average.The Trust
has a programme of action in place to tackle bullying at work, including
special advisors and training. Anyone who experiences bullying or
harassment can contact the Employee Relations Team for help and advice.
Over 360 staff members took part in the survey and of the 31 categories
directly comparable to last year; the Trust’s performance improved in
five and fell in four.
To see the full report see www.cqc.org.uk
The survey also showed that 73% of
staff thought SLaM News was a useful
way of finding out about what was
happening around the Trust – up 3% on
last year – and 70% agreed that SLaM
eNews, the weekly electronic
newsletter, was good for the same
reason, up from 67% last year.
73%
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4/5
Help with your
personal
development
It’s just as this edition of SLaM News goes to
press, that I can announce the pilot of King’s
Health Partners staff development fund, which
we are launching with the support of our
associated charities.
The fund gives everyone working within
King’s Health Partners the chance to apply
for a grant of up to £400 to help fund their
personal development. The money could be
used to broaden your knowledge or skills,
perhaps by attending a conference, short
course or workshop.
The idea of the fund is to provide people with
financial assistance when it is not possible to
access other sources of funding. In these
difficult economic times funding like this might
be more difficult to find, and I am particularly
keen to encourage staff from non-medical
backgrounds to apply.
Anyone who wants to find out more can log
in to the King’s Health Partners staff website
or, if you can wait, the summer edition of
SLaM News will have more information.
This edition leads with another important
initiative. Magnet is a programme for
measuring the quality of care we provide
against a set of agreed standards and SLaM is
applying for Magnet accreditation next spring.
Magnet has been compared to a Michelin Star
for care staff, and if our application is successful,
we will have independent, evidence-based
assurances that we provide high-quality care.
This is obviously important information for
people who use and purchase our services.
Staff who provide direct care to patients have
been working with Magnet for some time
and will be familiar with the benchmarks and
rigorous standards we need to achieve. We
have to apply these consistently across all our
services, so the process alone helps us to
continually measure and improve the quality
of care we provide, both in our hospitals and
community services.
The time has come for all staff to hear about
Magnet and you can read more on the reasons
for our application on page 16.
Finally, the NHS faces some considerable
challenges over the next few years. The Trust
has been busy preparing its plan to deal with
this uncertain future and you can read a light
summary of our vision on page 14.
I hope you enjoy reading the Spring edition
of SLaM News.
Best wishes,
Madeliene
Cover
News in brief
6/7
Ruby WaxLosingIt
Ruby Wax and co-star
Judith Owen performed
warm up performances
of their new show
‘Losing it’ at both the
Maudsley and Bethlem
Hospitals in February.
SLaM through a lens
This year it is 75 years since the Crystal Palace
was destroyed by fire. Relocated from Hyde
Park to Sydenham after the Great Exhibition
of 1851, it served as a popular visitor attraction,
architectural icon and cultural oasis in the
heart of the community. On the night of 30
November 1936, a small office fire turned into a
conflagration that engulfed the entire building.
trance, and, in the glare of the Crystal Palace
which was burning – we could see it from
the veranda where we slept – I caught a
snap-glimpse of other patients, some dressed,
and felt them, from their clothes mostly,
to be thrillingly contemporary, of today,
absolutely, and I imagined an element of
cure in this experience…”
The firestorm could easily be seen by patients
and staff at the nearby Maudsley Hospital.
Philip O’Connor, a young artist and writer who
later included details in his biography of his
experience of treatment on a ward that may
have been in the building now known as
Mapother House, wrote “I awoke as from a
O’Connor recently featured in a series of
short pieces under the title In the Spotlight
that are being posted to the Bethlem
Hospital’s Archives and Museum blog at:
http://bethlemheritage.wordpress.com.
Check it out for more stories about the
intersection of art, history and mental health.
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Both performers have
suffered poor mental
health in the past and
their show ‘Losing it’
was based on their
experiences. The show
was described as a chance
to explore the ups and
downs of mental illness,
its stigmas and the freedom
you discover when you
share the darkest moments
of your life.
Over 200 people attended
the shows in total and
Ruby’s honest humour and
Judith Owen’s touching
songs were both poignant
and laugh-out-loud funny.
The show is currently
being performed at the
Menier Chocolate Factory,
Southwark Street and,
following an extension, will
now run until 16th June.
www.menierchocolatefactory.com
A financial success
A SLaM member of staff,
Christopher Chaplin, came 3rd
out of 4,635 people worldwide
in the final CIMA (Chartered
Institute of Management
Accountants) exams.
He started as an assistant
accountant with SLaM in 2007,
before being appointed
management accountant
for the National and
Neurodevelopment Directorate.
Before starting with SLaM,
Christopher studied Accounting
and Finance at Greenwich
University as a mature student,
receiving a 1st class degree
with Merit for the highest mark
on the course.
When asked how he feels
about his incredible achievement,
Christopher said: “I am delighted
with this result and thank everyone
who helped and supported me at
SLaM in gaining the experience
that I needed to do well.”
Christopher has recently started
a new job in the Trust as a
business and performance
manager on secondment and
is enjoying his new role.
Cover
News in brief
8/9
Woodland
House opened
for business
Helen Grant, MP for Maidstone
and Weald, attended the launch
of Woodland House, SLaM’s new
multi-million pound state-of-theart centre in Staplehurst, Kent.
Crossing the
divide between
physical and
mental health
Nearly 100 people, including
two local mayors and several
former employees of attended
the event, which took place
on 24 February.
Dr Jean O’Hara, consultant psychiatrist and
joint clinical director of SLaM’s Behavioural and
Developmental Psychiatry CAG, has been elected
President of the psychiatric section at the Royal
Society of Medicine (RSM).
SLaM has invested over £6
million refurbishing the former
drug rehabilitation unit, which
will now be used to treat
children and teenagers across
Kent who suffer severe mental
health problems. The new
service means that children will
no longer have to travel to
London to receive specialist care.
The RSM is one of Europe’s largest providers of
continuing medical education and its training
and events are aimed at everyone from medical
students and allied health professionals to
consultants and clinical academics.
Dr O’Hara said: “The RSM is a very prestigious
independent organisation and I’ve been a council
member since 2007 so I feel honoured to be given
the title of President of the psychiatric section –
and all the work that comes with it!
Top right: from left to right –
Madeliene Long (SLaM Chair), Stuart
Bell (SLaM CEO) and Helen Grant (MP
for Maidstone and Weald).
SLaM’s Got
Talent
“One overall aim is to attract more young people
into psychiatry and it is also an opportunity to cross
the divide between physical and mental health by
having joint events and training with other medical
sections – very KHP (King’s Health Partners). I am
looking forward to inviting really good keynote
speakers to our events.”
In place of the usual 'It's a
knockout' competition, this
year the organisers are looking
to put on a talent show of
acts drawn from service users
and staff.
Another popular element
in the Sunfayre is the
stalls. If anyone is interested
in having a stall at this
year’s event, contact
paul.wilkinson@slam.nhs.uk
Dr Jean O’Hara
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Doctor of
Deception
A woman working in the NHS as a
doctor under a fake name, and
possibly without the required
qualifications, was exposed thanks to
the vigilance of a member of SLaM’s
Human Resources (HR) team.
Florence Olaye, who had two identities
and used a fake passport to join an
employment agency and the General
Medical Council (GMC), was discovered
when she applied for a job at SLaM.
David Jones, HR advisor, spotted
discrepancies in her application and
reported her to the NHS counter fraud
squad who launched an investigation.
David said: “We need to check the
eligibility of all new starters within
the Trust. The home office stamp
and letter were both suspicious so I
copied all documentation and
informed NHS Fraud.”
Florence Olaye was found to have
used a fake identity as well as false
documents including a passport and a
Home Office letter saying she had
indefinite leave to stay in the country.
These enabled Nigerian-born Olaye to
work in the NHS since 2005 when she
was registered with the GMC.
The annual Bethlem Royal
Hospital Sunfayre is due to take
place on Saturday July 2.
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Team
HR
She used her two identities to repeatedly
take an English language test to allow
her to practice medicine in Britain. There
is still uncertainty as to whether she has
the right qualifications to work as a
doctor – although she claims to have
qualified at a medical school in Moscow.
She was jailed for one year and is due
to appear before the GMC soon.
Cover
News in brief
10/11
SLaM staff sweeping up awards
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The following two pages highlight some of SLaM’s award winning staff – picking up accolades internally, nationally and internationally
Award winners: Ian Barr, Julie Barker, Karen Brown, Sonia Burke, Linda Buckingham, Nicholas Caswell, Dorothea Dimichino,
Ann Dunn, Hyacinth Fairclough, Mary Green, Maria Howley, Stephen Joseph, Jenny Keech, Jenny Knott, Clifford Meredith,
Claudette Miller, Judith Morgan, Rassoul Mungul, Katharine Nairne, Paat Packiry, Norman Parkin, Stephen Perfect, Loretta
Pilgrim, Indira Sankar, Rosemay Sholay, Audrey Slater, Garry Smith, Erva Stewart, Nick Stiling, Victor Tan, Karen Taylor, Donna
Underwood, Carol Wilson, Therese Wong Fong Woo and Adam Yates.
Alzheimer’s expert
wins international
award for
Croydon-based
service
Professor Sube Banerjee,
consultant psychiatrist at
SLaM and one of the
world’s leading experts on
Alzheimer’s disease, has
received an international
award for his work
establishing the Croydon
Memory Service.
Long service awards
SLaM staff with 25 years or more of NHS service
were recognised for their dedication at the
annual long service awards ceremony which took
place in February. The ceremony, which was
arranged by HR, was held at the Weston
Education Centre, King’s College London.
In total, 35 staff members enjoyed tea, cakes and
pastries before being presented with a certificate
of long service by SLaM chief executive Stuart Bell.
Staff member
nominated for
national award
A nurse from SLaM was short
listed for an award in this year’s
Nurse of Year Awards.
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Opening the ceremony Stuart Bell said: “It’s a
great honour for me to be here today to thank
you for your commitment to the National Health
Service. The NHS has changed a lot through the
years, however, certain things don’t ever change
and that is the passion that staff who care for
people have for the service.”
Back
Victor Rojas Yupanqui nominated
Ibrahim - crediting him with his
recovery after he was sectioned
twice. Victor suffers from
bipolar affective disorder and
said that Ibrahim helped him
to understand the importance
of taking medication.
Forward
Professor Banerjee is clinical
director of the pioneering
Croydon Memory Service
which has blazed a trail in
the early intervention
and management of
dementia. Based at Heavers
Resource Centre, the service
provides a comprehensive
assessment of an individual’s
memory capabilities to
make a diagnosis accurately
and quickly.
Professor Banerjee said:
“The biggest problem we're
facing today is that only a
third of people with
dementia ever receive a
proper diagnosis and usually
when it is too late. The
Croydon Memory Service
Model provides a solution to
this problem. Early diagnosis
and intervention can be
achieved for all.”
Each award winner also received a small gift of
either a set of photo-frames or a clock.
Ibrahim Bangura was nominated
in the Claire Rayner Patients
Choice category of this year's
Nursing Standard award scheme.
(The Nursing Standard is a
professional journal owned by
the Royal College of Nursing).
The award was presented by
ADI and the Fondation
Médéric Alzheimer (France) at
the 26th Annual International
Conference of Alzheimer’s
Disease International (ADI)
held in Toronto in March.
Ibrahim joined the Trust as a
mental health nurse in 2004
and has worked on Lloyd Still
ward ever since. He is one of
four nurses nominated in the
category. He said he was
'grateful to be recognised'
for his contribution to care.
Lloyd Still ward moved to
Lambeth Hospital from St
Thomas’ in January 2009.
Unfortunately Ibrahim did
not win the award which
was presented at a ceremony
at the end of April.
Staff recognition
Madeliene Long recently
announced the winners of both
the staff recognition award and
the winner of winners award
for 2009/10.
Therapy assistant and
housekeeper Tara O’Donoghue
won the staff recognition
award for her work at Longfield
House. Tara is the only member
of staff based at Longfield House,
the anxiety disorders residential
unit which caters for up to
twelve patients with obsessive
compulsive disorder (OCD) or
body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).
Tara’s role involves assisting
residents in therapy as well as
managing the practical aspects
of the household.
Consultant clinical psychologist
Dr Jerome Carson is the 2009/10
winner of winners for the impact
he has made in promoting the
recovery approach using a
partnership model with SLaM
service users. Jerome said: “The
road to recovery is a long and
winding one, but it leads to a
better future for the service
user and a more fulfilling job
for the professional.”
Cover
Feature
12/13
SLaM eliminates
mixed-sex
accommodation
Protecting our service users’ privacy and dignity is
important so SLaM has introduced a same-sex
accommodation policy throughout the Trust.
ensuite bathroom and toilet facilities and there is
no need for them to pass members of the opposite
sex who may be partially clothed.
Can men and women be cared for on the
same ward? Yes, men and women can be cared
for on the same ward but there must be separate
corridors for sleeping, bathroom and toilet
facilities. Women should also have a separate
female-only lounge where they can relax.
Does this policy refer to visitors? No. But we
do restrict visitors from some areas to protect
service users who may lack capacity in preserving
their own privacy and dignity. All ward areas
should have quiet or separate visiting areas.
Can a service user be on a corridor with both
men and women? This is acceptable if they have
What is a mixed-sex accommodation breach?
There are three situations that are considered to
be a mixed-sex accommodation breach:
1. A sleeping breach - where a male or female
sleeps in an area designated for the opposite
sex. Sleeping breaches may be “justified”
if in the best interest of the service users
(eg supervised confinement) or “unjustified”
(eg due to bed pressures).
2. Men and women sharing the same bathrooms
and toilet facilities.
3. Where there is no female lounge area on a
ward where males and females are cared for.
Should I report all breaches? Yes. All breaches
should be reported whether they are justified
or unjustified.
Who should I report a breach to? Your head
of nursing or service manager should be able to
advise you who monitors breaches in your area.
Or you can inform Jacqueline Little, Nursing and
Education Team Administrator, by email:
jaqueline.little@slam.nhs.uk or telephone:
82517.
Ladies lounge
SLaM Barista
Part of World
Record Smash
April 2011
Our Maudsley Hospital Costa barista
John is now a world record holder. He
was part of the successful Guinness
world record breaking team that
beat the previous record for the most
espressos made in an hour. John was
one of a large group of leading baristas
from coffee shops across London who
took part in the attempt during the
London Coffee Festival in April.
The previous world record was held
by a team of Australian baristas who
made 5,016 in just under an hour on
October 2010. John and another 79
colleagues have trumped that number
by making 12,050 espressos in the
same amount of time.
The Festival attracted more than 10,000
coffee lovers to tastings, discussions on
ethical and world trade issues, as well
as the record challenge.
John’s next challenge is to qualify as
a Costa Coffee Master this May when
he is enrolled in an advanced coffee
making programme at the Costa
Coffee Academy.
John (left) with
fellow baristas
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Cover
Feature
14/15
Forward
thinking…
The NHS is experiencing unprecedented change,
with new policy, GP commissioning and uncertain
public finances. The Trust has been developing
its strategy to prepare for these challenges
and some of the emerging vision was presented
by chief executive Stuart Bell to Trust senior
leaders in April. The following article is a
summary of that presentation.
We know that we need to be more efficient,
to find new ways of doing things, and to look
to ways of attracting new income. At the
same time SLaM remains committed to its
guiding principals, which are:
Core Value
Everything we do is to improve the experience
of people using our services, and to promote
mental health and wellbeing for all
Mission
To treat mental illness effectively
To work in partnership to promote mental
wellbeing
To support others by sharing our clinical
expertise and knowledge
Contents
Conclusion
The Trust needs to grow to offset reductions in
local income and to maintain its position as a
leading provider of services, research and training.
Work on developing the strategy to achieve this
is taking place now and into the summer. There
will be further updates in SLaM News.
“We must look at partnerships with other
providers as potential opportunities to reach
wider markets, nationally and internationally,
and as a stimulus to fresh thinking… The
simplest way to reduce our overheads is to
grow the business.”
“Value in healthcare is simply the outcomes
achieved divided by the costs of achieving them”
says Harvard’s Prof. Michael Porter. This is
measured across the whole cycle of care and
underlines the need to define, measure and
publish outcomes. This aligns to ideas in SLaM
about care pathways (our cycle of care), and
the value of early intervention and recovery.
Improving what we do
Efficiency means looking at the whole cycle of
care, then measuring, feeding back, improving
and sharing that knowledge. The whole care
pathway includes looking at patient experience,
timeliness and effectiveness of interventions,
and the skill and competence of delivery. “The
question should be not just ‘did the patient
get better?’, but rather, ‘how much better
could this have been?’” says Stuart Bell.
We also need to think about how we can improve
outcomes for referrers – e.g. by providing
discharge summaries; sharing clinical information;
offering swift and direct access to a consultant
for an expert opinion. In particular, we know
from the patient survey that we need to look
at improving peoples’ experience of crisis
response and acute inpatient care.
Goals
Provision of high quality clinical care and
treatment delivered sensitively, consistently
and based on evidence
Promotion of recovery, social inclusion
and mental well being
Develop as an organisation so that quality
becomes central to everything we do
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What we know
In an increasingly competitive world, we
need to demonstrate the value of what we do:
how it benefits service users, carers, referrers
and commissioners.
Growing new services
As well as improving what we do now, SLaM’s
chief executive Stuart Bell says we have an
opportunity to think with a blank sheet of
paper building services from scratch. “That
is what is so refreshing about the chance to
build up new services where we have never
operated them before, and we must apply
that insight across what we do.”
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Cover
Cover story
16/17
Introducing
Magnet
Trust. All these existing programmes feed in and
support Magnet, much like the foundations of
a house support the roof. If you like, Magnet is
the roof or umbrella that brings them together.
“While there are already many examples of care
at SLaM meeting Magnet’s high standards, the
quality can be patchy. To achieve Magnet status we
have to apply these high standards systematically
across all our services, both in our hospitals and
community services,” continued Jane.
Care is a difficult thing to measure, and while it
may not be the sexiest of subjects, the practice of
quantifying and analysing care has been behind
some of the most important revolutions in health.
What does Magnet measure? There are over
140 indicators in all and as the early history of
Magnet suggests, skilled staff, happy in their
work environment is vital when providing high
quality care, so paying attention to these
makes a lot of sense.
Although better known as a campaigning nurse,
Florence Nightingale had a passion for statistics
and healthcare research. Her careful analysis of
both the process and outcomes at Scutari Hospital
in Turkey during the Crimean War led to the now
well established link between good sanitation
and health, and her findings generated reforms
in hospital systems across the world.
Magnet started in 1983 when the American
Academy of Nursing wanted to find out
why certain hospitals were able to provide a
consistently high level of care to their patients. They
looked at 163 US hospitals and a common theme
emerging from the best was their ability to attract
and retain good quality nursing and care staff.
Consequently these organisations informally
became known as "magnet" hospitals. Eleven years
later the University of Washington Medical Center
At the same time however, Magnet
is also about giving staff the freedom,
space and time to think about the
quality of care they provide, and
the autonomy to make changes
based on their experience, expertise
and judgement.
in Seattle became the first organisation to achieve
full Magnet accreditation
Over 380 hospitals across the world are
now Magnet accredited, including
hospitals in Singapore, Lebanon and
Australia, and SLaM hopes to join
them by applying in April 2012. No
other NHS organisation currently holds
Magnet status.
SLaM already measures the quality of care we
provide in a variety of ways and programmes such
as AIMs, Productive Wards and the
Productive Community Services will
continue to play an important role.
Jane Sayer, programme director
Nursing Excellence and Magnet
Recognition, says: “Magnet builds
on and compliments what we are
already doing to improve the quality
of care and treatment across the
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One Ambassador, Carla Vidale said: “Working
at SLaM you often hear that we provide the
best mental healthcare around, but sometimes
it can be difficult to pin this down. Magnet
accreditation will give us independent,
evidence-based assurance that we actually
do provide the best care.”
At the very least staff must be clear on the
standards and the quality of care expected of
them, which is why managers must hold regular,
effective appraisal sessions and communicate
with their staff.
Standards have obviously moved on, but
systematically measuring and quantifying care
remains just as important, especially if we are
serious about improving quality. And Magnet
is an internationally recognised programme
to do just that.
Magnet is a system that benchmarks and measures
the care hospitals provide against a set of evidencebased standards. The standards are rigorous and
the benchmarks high, so patients using Magnet
accredited hospitals can feel assured that they are
getting the best quality healthcare - equivalent to
a Michelin star for care. Healthcare commissioners
can also feel reassured.
To help build awareness about Magnet, a logo
has been designed (see front cover) and will
adorn forthcoming communications relating to
the scheme. However the most important way
of communicating about Magnet is without
doubt the 17 Magnet Ambassadors who have
been walking the ward floors and pedalling
the message since the accreditation journey
first started in 2009.
Forward
One of the ways in which staff can become more
empowered is to invite them to contribute to
decision-making committees, and to really listen
to their contribution. In order to do this, nursing
in SLaM is introducing a shared governance
structure. Nurses and health care assistants who
provide direct care can contribute to discussions
and decisions about nursing practice within their
CAGs, and then represent their CAGs in working
councils and at the Nursing Executive.
Celebrating the contribution that nurses and
other staff that provide care to patients is another
essential component of Magnet. To improve the
way we do this, SLaM has introduced DAISY
awards. DAISY provides a framework for service
users, family or staff to nominate a nurse or health
care assistant in recognition of them doing an
excellent job of providing care.
Many more of the indicators or targets we need
to meet to achieve Magnet accreditation will be
revealed in the coming months on the intranet
and regular pages in SLaM News.
Magnet
ambassadors
Over 140 Magnet indicators
have been developed and wards
and teams have been working
toward them since 2010.
75% of ward managers and
team leaders have a degree by
the time the Magnet application
is submitted in 2012.
Nursing staff satisfaction and
engagement levels exceed the
national average for at least
two years
Nurses are able to benchmark the
outcomes of their contribution to
care against national outcomes
Nurses investigate, develop,
implement and systematically
evaluate standards of practice
and care
Nurses at all levels evaluate and
use published research findings
in their practice
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Feature
18/19
Daisy awards recognising
nursing at SLaM
Do you know a nurse
who is a credit to their
profession? If so, you
might want to nominate
them for a DAISY Award.
Buddy system
SLaM is trialling Buddy - a new
kind of digital service that
increases levels of self-reflection,
which can help people with
mental health problems better
understand the relationship
between the things they do
in their daily lives and their
mental state.
The system uses SMS, web and
other digital technologies and
allows users to record their daily
moods and activities. The web
service lets users look back and
possibly learn from what they
have done so they are better
able to self-manage their
recovery. Planning tools,
prompts, reminders, data
visualisations and a social
calendar further support the
user on their road to recovery.
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The service is aimed primarily
at users with common mood
disorders like anxiety and
depression who have an active
interest in recovery and self
management. The trial is
ongoing and the results, which
will be reported in SLaM News,
will be used to develop and
improve the system.
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Forward
The Nursing Directorate
has introduced the
internationally recognised
DAISY Awards programme
to SLaM this year making
us the first mental health
provider in the UK to
participate in the
programme. The awards
will celebrate and highlight
the contribution and value
of nurses at SLaM.
The DAISY Foundation
was formed in 1999 in the
memory of an American
patient, J Patrick Barnes,
who died aged just 33
years. His family wanted
to celebrate the skilful and
compassionate nursing
care he received. As well
as the nursing awards
programme, the DAISY
Foundation enhances
nursing practice by
providing grants for
research and evidencebased practice projects.
The first SLaM DAISY
Awards will be presented in
Spring 2011. A total of 24
awards will be made
annually and nominations
can be submitted at any
time throughout the year.
For further information
about the criteria for the
awards and to nominate a
colleague please visit the
Nursing and Education
section on SLaMnet.
All DAISY Award winners
will receive a Healer’s
Touch sculpture hand
carved by the artists of the
Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe
as well as a DAISY Award
pin and a certificate of
recognition. A banner will
also be displayed in each
winner’s workplace.
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Feature
20/21
A partnership approach to Drug
and Alcohol Services
A new service combining the best
of the NHS and voluntary sector
will treat people with drug and
alcohol addictions in Croydon.
SLaM’s addiction services
and London-based charity
Foundation 66 will operate as
one organisation to provide a
community-based treatment
and support service for those
with substance misuse issues.
The partnership builds on similar
successful approaches SLaM
has taken with a range of
voluntary sector partners in
Lambeth and Southwark.
Sally Scriminger, CEO at
Foundation 66 said: “Foundation
66 is totally committed to
reducing the harm caused by
alcohol and drug misuse. We
are delighted to be working in
partnership with SLaM in
Croydon. This service combines
the best of what the NHS and
voluntary sector has to offer.
Working together in this way will
strengthen services and bring real
benefits for our service users.”
The new service will offer
assessments, a drop-in service,
information workshops, a
needle/foil exchange, physical
and mental health checks and
referrals into treatment
according to need. There will
also be involvement from local
general practitioners (GPs),
midwives and social workers.
Fast, accurate
test for Alzheimer's
Working in partnership allows
community drug and alcohol
services to benefit from the
combined strengths of the NHS
and the voluntary sector. The
new Croydon contract will see
SLaM and Foundation 66 operate
from one base, use one clinical
record system and a
single point of access.
Mark Allen, clinical director of
addiction services at SLaM, said:
“Doing things differently
creates services that are more
effective, efficient and tailored
to the individual needs of local
referrers, service users and their
families. We are confident that
by working in partnership
with Foundation 66 we can
meet the needs of people
dealing with substance
misuse issues in Croydon.”
Mark Allen
Scientists at the Biomedical Research Centre for
Mental Health at the Maudsley Hospital are the
first to use an advanced computer programme to
accurately detect the early signs of Alzheimer's
disease from a routine clinical brain scan. The
new scan can return 85% accurate diagnostic
results in under 24 hours.
The 'Automated MRI' software automatically
compares or benchmarks someone’s brain scan
image against 1200 others, each showing
varying stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This
collection of images is thought to be the largest
of its kind in the world.
SLaM
Foundation 66
Normally in routine clinical practice, brain scans
are used to simply exclude diseases that can
mimic Alzheimer’s disease, but here automated
MRI software is being used for the first time in a
NHS setting (SLaM’s memory clinics) to make an
early and accurate diagnosis of the illness.
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's is clinically difficult
and patients with the early signs are frequently
not treated until their symptoms become stronger.
The new scan however facilitates early diagnosis.
An early diagnosis allows someone to plan their
care before the condition worsens - helping to
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prevent institutionalisation, dramatically
improving their quality of life. It is also a cost
effective and efficient way to manage and
organise treatment of the disease.
The scan has been developed by scientists at
the National Institute for Health Research’s
Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health
at the Maudsley Hospital and King’s College
London, together with colleagues from the
Karolinksa Hospital in Stockholm.
The system is being 'field tested' over the next
twelve months with patients attending the
SLaM's ground-breaking memory services in
Croydon, Lambeth and Southwark. The ‘field
test’ will also provide a supply of research grade
images, which has important implications for
the development of the next generation of drugs
for dementia and individualised treatments.
There are 750, 000 people with dementia in
the UK. The financial cost of dementia to the
UK is over £20 billion a year. According to the
Alzheimer’s Society, in just 15 years a million
people will be living with dementia. This will
soar to 1.7 million people by 2051.
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Feature
22/23
Phil Angold, support worker, Mayall Road
The network of rehabilitation support
homes run by SLaM in Lambeth includes
a number of properties which have
interesting histories and locations.
One example is a large house in leafy
Woodbourne Avenue, Streatham: once
visited by the journalist and presenter, Polly
Toynbee, who in her subsequently televised
Panorama article, described it as, “A model
of community care”. In 1990 it was one
of the first homes to be opened for
former, long-term in-patients of the now
demolished, Tooting Bec Hospital – now
a fading memory for those remaining
residents living in supported housing who
were among the first to make those early,
important steps out of institutional care.
Another is a spacious nine bedroom house
in Mayall Road, Brixton, which, despite
being a conversion, blends in well with
its neighbours. It has been something of
a guiding principle for those involved in
supported housing that support homes
should not stand out as being obviously
different from neighbouring houses.
The use of signage is, therefore,
scrupulously avoided.
Mayall Road, my workplace for some years,
has the distinction of neighbouring the
once notorious Brixton “Frontline”, Railton
Road. The rear of the house overlooks part
of that internationally infamous drag and
subject of Eddy Grant’s much-loved lyrics,
sensational press coverage, and even part
of the ground-breaking Public Inquiry into
the causes of the Brixton Riots of April ’81
(Scarman, 1981).
The house has also seen its share of lively
action, albeit of a different order, since
its inaugural opening in the summer of
1993: an event which I was lucky enough
to attend. I recall beautiful floral
arrangements; a sumptuous buffet;
lashings of ginger beer; and a formal
blessing by the then Trust Chaplain.
Residents and support team members alike
were dressed in their finest. An especially
elegant, shimmering kingfisher blue lounge
suit, still looms large in the memory
Concerns, however, were raised early on
that, given the close proximity of the drug
dealing scene in Brixton, and the high
incidence of mugging and prostitution
nearby, vulnerable residents might find
themselves preyed upon, once their
presence in the area became known. Some
residents were “befriended” which was a
problem for a time but, whether due to
residents’ maturing street wisdom, better
policing, or the tact and vigilance of staff,
these difficulties have now receded.
Annual summer street parties are a regular
feature of the August Bank Holiday,
with both residents and team members
enthusiastic participants. I learned recently
that, some years ago, these neighbourhood
events unexpectedly came to the attention
of Specialist Registrar at SLaM…
Living near the
“Frontline”
Two stories from SLaM’s network of supported housing
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Dr Matthieu Crews (specialist registrar)
“In 2003, during my first job as a qualified
doctor, I moved into a flat on Mayall
Road – one of those properties where
the Eurostar would pass perilously close,
shaking my room from 5am until late.
I was unaware at the time that the
building across the road formed part of
a network of properties run by SLaM. It
resembled any other house on the street; I
did not know what SLaM was and, at that
stage in my career, I had never done a day’s
work in psychiatry. Little idea did I have
that, by strange coincidence, I would find
myself working there as a psychiatrist,
several years later.
The summer I moved to Mayall Road
colourful, traditional street bunting crossed
the road along its entire length. Curious to
know why, I later discovered that residents
of Mayall Road had put on their famous
street party for many of the next twenty
five years since the 1977 Royal Jubilee.
To my disappointment there was no party
the year I lived there; nor would there be
for sometime – perhaps through a lack
of interest in things royal, or a wider
loss of community pride? Six years later
however, in 2009, whilst working within
the Lambeth rehabilitation service as a
psychiatrist providing input to SLaM
residential houses, I learned that the
annual Mayall Road party had returned
and that the residents of the supported
home were once more able to share
in the sense of community belonging
and friendliness.
If ever passing through the area, a walk
down the street is recommended. Given
its truncated form, the street leads
nowhere. It is largely deserted other
than by the odd car parking and children
playing freely in the road; something
that adds to the unique feel of the place.
A feeling, apparent to me the very first
day I walked along the street and still
exists each time I return, is that the street
retains a true sense of community,
something perhaps lacking in much of
modern day London.”
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SLaM in the Media
Arts
Fast, accurate test for
Alzheimer’s (7 March)
Bethlem Gallery programme 2011
BBC One Television (Breakfast News,
One O’clock and Six O’clock News),
BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, BBC
News Channel, BBC Radio 5, Daily Mail
and Daily Telegraph all featured the
story of the Maudsley Hospital field
testing a new brain scan to test for the
early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. The
scan was developed at the Maudsley’s
Biomedical Research Centre and can
accurately detect the early signs of the
disease from a routine clinical brain
scan in less than 24 hours. (For more
information see page 21)
Visionary Buildings
by Albert
SLaM makes the
headlines
Why physical
wellbeing is the
forgotten casualty
of mental illness
(11 February)
The Times newspaper
featured a large article
on initiatives by King’s
Health Partners to treat
physical and mental
health conditions
together. Consultant
psychiatrist Prof
Matthew Hotopf
highlighted the
initiatives by describing
the effect mental
illness can have on
physical health and
life expectancy.
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24/25
Back
Guardian mental
health supplement
(6 April)
SLaM experts had a
central role in the
Guardian's special fourpage mental health
supplement looking at
the new mental health
strategy for England. The
supplement featured
interviews with three key
staff. Professor André
Tylee gave his views on
depression and the role
of primary care, Tony
Coggins discussed mental
health promotion and
the wellbeing of the
population and
Dr Jerome Carson raised
the profile of the
'Recovery' agenda.
Forward
An exhibition of large-scale
pencil drawings depicting
visions of imaginary
buildings, homes, fences and
structures. Albert is a former
patient of Bethlem Royal
Hospital, his unique style and
talent has been recognised
and acquired by collectors
and institutions across
Europe. This is his first solo
exhibition.
Opening: 18 May, 3-6pm
Exhibition continues:
19 May - 10 June
Wednesday - Friday
11am - 6pm
Gallery and Museum open
4 June, 11am - 6pm
Art from Ephemera
A joint exhibition between the
Bethlem Art Studio and
Bethlem Museum and Archive.
This exhibition combines artists'
use of the everyday and
'throwaway' in their art with
items selected from the
Ephemera Collection within the
Bethlem Museum's collection.
Opening: 22 June, 3 - 6pm
Exhibition continues:
23 June - 22 July
Wednesday - Friday
11am - 6pm
Gallery and Museum open
6 August, 11am - 6pm
Artists Anonymous
An exhibition of works
from anonymous artists
selected from the Reserve
Collection at the Bethlem
Museum and Archives.
Opening: 27 July, 3 - 6pm
Exhibition continues:
28 July - 19 August
Gallery and Museum open
6 August, 11am - 6pm
Cover
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26/27
Poetry, art, music –
helping adolescents
overcome mental
health issues
Adolescents at SLaM’s
Snowsfields Adolescent Unit
have produced a collection
of poetry, images and sounds
made during their admissions
to the Unit.
behavioural therapy (CBT) and
medication,” Dr Corrigall said.
Dr Richard Corrigall, consultant
psychiatrist at Snowsfields,
described the project as an
innovative way to help young
people work through their
mental health problems.
“Figures of Speech is an
example of how a creative
approach to education can help
staff and family members to
better understand the anxieties,
concerns and experiences of the
young people we care for. It
also helps the young people
to better understand, and
empathise with each other.”
“At Snowsfields, we try to tailor
treatments to fit the individual
needs of young people. We use
creative therapies, including
drama, art and music, to
complement our more formal
approaches like cognitive
Snowsfields Adolescent Unit
offers inpatient mental health
care for adolescents with serious
mental illness who require
hospital admission. Patients are
aged between 12 and 18
and have a serious psychiatric
illness which requires urgent
assessment or hospital
treatment.
“The young people at
Snowsfields have serious mental
health problems like early onset
psychosis or severe depression,”
Dr Corrigall explained.
“We were the first adolescent
mental health unit in the
country to offer 24-hour
emergency access, which enables
us to deal quickly with young
people in the midst of a mental
health crisis.”
The types of mental health
problem most commonly
managed on Snowsfields include
psychosis, mood problems,
self-harming, severe anxiety
problems, obsessive compulsive
disorders and eating disorders.
Figures of Speech/Tower of
Sound is the result of a
collaboration between the
young people at Snowsfields,
teachers of Bethlem and
Maudsley Hospital School,
performance poetry
organisation Apples & Snakes,
poet Jared Louche and musician
and producer, Karen O’Brien.
For more information on
SLaM’s Snowsfields Adolescent
Unit visit:
www.national.slam.nhs.uk/
camhs-snowsfields
camhs-snowsfields
OCD at
School
“Without treatment, OCD can continue to be a
significant problem and in some cases increase
in severity so we think it is extremely important
to enhance awareness of OCD. Given that
children spend a large proportion of their time
at school, we feel that teachers are in a very
good position to look out for signs of the
disorder. Through raising awareness, we hope
that children will be supported in accessing
appropriate and timely treatment.“
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Isobel Heyman
and clinical psychologists Dr Holly Diamond
and Dr Amita Jassi have been working with
OCD Action and the City Bridge Trust to
develop the OCD at School project which
launched this March.
The OCD at School project was established
with involvement from educators, parents and
young people with OCD. A network of parent
volunteers has been established who will visit
schools to meet with special educational needs
coordinators, school nurses and counsellors.
The project brings awareness of OCD (obsessive
compulsive disorder) to schools by helping
educators to spot the signs of OCD and to
provide support to pupils with the disorder.
An OCD at School resource pack has been
developed and is available to schools, parents
and young people with OCD. There are also
plans to hold a meet up day for young people
and their parents as well as a training day for
educational professionals.
Dr Diamond said: “OCD can be a very time
consuming and distressing anxiety problem
and it can interfere with many aspects of life
including socialising with friends, getting
on with family members and academic
performance.
For more information please visit the OCD
at School website at
http://school.ocdaction.org.uk/
“OCD can take many different forms and whilst
many people are aware that it can involve fears
about contamination and compulsions such as
excessive hand washing or aligning objects,
there are many symptoms that are less
commonly talked about for instance obsessions
of a sexual nature, mental rituals or rituals that
may involve rereading text or rewriting words
again and again.
wsfields
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Members' Council news
Staff stuff
Make me Smile Again
The 110 successful bidders to the Members’ Council’s ‘Make me Smile
Again’ bids scheme are now starting to implement their projects.
With bids ranging from outings to art projects, exercise classes to
gardening, setting up a library to purchasing music equipment for wards,
the range of ideas submitted this year was excellent. Several groups will
be putting on exhibitions of work, and there will be another series of
‘Music in Hospitals’ concerts and performances by a stand up comedian.
The scheme is supporting the publication of users’ poetry and the
production of a couple of newsletters, as well as sponsoring the launch
of ‘Recovery Film’ on April 14.
Longfield House residents are creating a mosaic (see picture) with the
message ‘Your Journey Starts Here’ to join the one installed over their
entrance last year.
Look out for reports on these projects in future editions of SLaM News.
28/29
Holistic Adult Mental Health
Assessment Tool Guidance
Manual and Forms
Recently published by Pavilion
publishing and written by
Debbie Garlick, lead nurse,
Psychological Medicine and
Louisa Rhodes, assistant
psychologist, this toolkit is for
professionals who need to
assess someone’s mental health
needs. It uses a standard
framework and provides
guidance for multidisciplinary
staff to complete a general,
holistic assessment of clients
who are referred to
community mental health
teams. The manual is
accompanied by forms for
staff to record the assessment.
The manual can be used as a
supervision tool and to assess
competency in this area.
The manual seeks to improve
standards of assessment across
teams and encourage the
involvement of carers and
service users in the assessment
process. It provides detailed
guidance for students or
inexperienced staff and is also
a valuable reference resource
for more experiences staff.
To order your copy visit
www.pavpub.com.
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Staff stuff
Q&A
30/31
What am I
doing here?
Name:
Steven Badger
Job Title: OASIS team leader
New training - helping
service users get the
information they need
From NICE guidelines to the NHS Constitution
and White Paper, it is widely acknowledged
that information is crucial in empowering
patients to make informed choices, besides
also easing anxiety and frustration. But
while there is a lot written and said about
information itself, a lot less is actually
communicated in a way that is easy to
understand, timely and relevant.
While 10% of complaints to the NHS relate
to information and communication, a new
report from the revised Patient Opinion
website (In their words: what patients think
about our NHS, 2011) shows that 25% of
patients and carers surveyed had problems with
poor communication or miscommunication
between staff and patients.
On 10 February Roslyn Byfield (patient
information manager), Phil Timms (consultant
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psychiatrist and clinical lead for patient
information) and Sarah Samuel (SUITE trainer)
presented a pilot workshop to staff including
nurses, OTs, healthcare assistants, a doctor and
sports instructor. The aim was to improve the
service user experience by enhancing clinicians’
communication skills in this area, specifically
enabling attendees to understand the
importance of information, know the principles
of information transfer, identify ways of
helping patients get what information they
need and reflect on their own practice eg
areas for development.
Feedback was very encouraging and an
extended workshop will now run on 26 May
at Southwark Training Centre and 6 October
at Lambeth Hospital.
For more information click here or contact
Roslyn Byfield on 85318.
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What is OASIS?
OASIS (Outreach And Support In South London)
is the early detection service for people at
increased risk of psychosis in Lambeth and
Southwark. We aim to identify young people at
increased risk of psychosis and to provide help
and support as early as possible. By doing so we
hope to prevent or delay the onset of psychosis
and to ensure that people get seen quickly by
Emergency Intervention (EI) services if symptoms
of acute psychosis do develop.
We offer two years of care involving Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based psychological
interventions, medical review and practical/social
support and advice. We also have a well
integrated research programme which comprises
work on service development, health promotion,
psychopathology, treatment effectiveness,
neuropsychology and neuroimaging.
Why is OASIS important?
Identifying people at high risk of psychosis and
offering help early can make a real difference
in people’s lives, and reduce the distress that
psychosis can cause. Also, by combining research
and clinical practice we can ensure that we are
able to offer the most effective interventions
at the right time.
What does your job involve?
My job involves working with GPs and
organisations that come into contact with young
people to raise awareness of the early warning
signs or risk indicators for psychosis. It also
involves seeing those young people who are
referred for an assessment promptly, and
helping to provide appropriate treatment and
support over a two year period. In addition, I
help to identify ways of developing the service
to make it more effective, integrate research and
clinical practice and provide support for my
colleagues in the team.
What do you like best/least about your work?
What I like best is the opportunity to meet and
work with a lot of interesting and inspiring
people, including the clients we see, their
families and the different professionals within
the team and in other services.
What I like least is the uncertainty regarding
some of the changes and financial constraints
faced by the NHS.
If you weren't doing this job, what would
you like to do?
There’s no field I would rather work in than
community based early intervention for
psychosis. And I like working in the same
community where I live, in Lambeth and South
London, because it’s an area I’ve come to know
quite well.
When you're not working what do
you enjoy doing?
Away from work I’m an enthusiastic idler.
Cover
Exhibitions/competitions
Books
Inside Jokes
Why does humour exist? Why do we spend so
much of our time telling amusing anecdotes,
making jokes or watching comedy on TV and
films? In Inside Jokes, authors Matthew Hurley,
Daniel Dennett, and Reginald Adams offer an
evolutionary and cognitive perspective.
They argue that humour evolved as the result of
a computational problem that arose when human
beings first developed open-ended thinking. The
brain is constantly trying to predict the future by
building mental models of the world, and it is
important to actively discover when these models
are correct and incorrect. To help this along, the
brain rewards us with humour when we come
across an incorrect expectation – such as a clown
in shoes that are far too large.
Inside Jokes looks at the variety of things we find
humorous including jokes, puns, sitcoms and
anecdotes. The authors take comedy seriously but
Inside Jokes is also a real page-turner, filled with
funny jokes and anecdotes and offering plenty of
insights into how the mind works.
Competition
For this edition’s competition there are
4 sets of 5 classical CDs up for grabs.
To enter, please state how many
Magnet Ambassadors there are at
SLaM. The answer can be found
somewhere in this edition of SLaM News.
Answers, along with a contact
number, should be sent to
communications@slam.nhs.uk by
July 31, 2011. All emails should have
‘Competition’ in the subject field.
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Congratulations to specialist
registrar Dr Matthieu Crews for
winning the competition in the last
edition of SLaM News. Matthieu
wins £100 of vouchers from
www.nhsdiscounts.com
for correctly naming Tunisia as the
country two members of Lewisham
community mental health team visited
to bring back a patient who was unwell.
Cover