Foundation Focus - January 2009 Edition - Kent and Medway NHS ...

Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Foundation Focus
ISSUE
The newsletter for the partners and service users of
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
5: JANUARY 2009
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
>> STAFF EXCELLENCE AWARDS
>> BACK TO FRONT DAY 2
>> FOCUS ON ADHD
>> AND MUCH MORE…
KMPT on the
Awards trail
Trust staff celebrate victory in local and national awards.
Turns to pages 6–9 to find out who won what!
Foundation Focus is Kent
and Medway NHS and
Social Care Partnership
Trust’s newsletter for
external stakeholders
including service users,
carers, the public and
members of our partner
organisations. This
magazine is also sent
quarterly to all our future
Foundation Trust members.
Foundation Focus keeps
readers up-to-date with
our application for
Foundation Trust status as
well as with what is going
on within the Trust.

CONTENTS
PAGE
NEWS 3–5
STAFF AWARDS 2008 6
NATIONAL AWARDS 8
FOUNDATION TRUST
PLANS 10
BACK TO FRONT DAY 2 12
WORKING AT THE TRUST 13
MAJOR PROJECTS 14
FOCUS ON ADHD 15
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 16
Contact the
Editorial Team
If you wish to contact the
Editor of Foundation Focus,
you can do so by writing to
Trust HQ, 35 Kings Hill Avenue,
Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent,
ME19 4AX, by emailing
communications@kmpt.nhs.uk
or calling 01732 520441.
About the Trust
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care
Partnership Trust is the organisation
responsible for providing Mental Health,
Learning Disability, Substance Misuse and
other specialist services and was formed as a
result of a merger between two predecessor
NHS trusts in East and West Kent. Service
provision is mainly organised through three
geographical service directorates which are
coterminous with the three Primary Care
Trusts: West Kent, Eastern and Coastal and
Medway. In addition, the Trust operates a
county-wide Forensic Mental Health Service.
The Trust boundaries are in line with those of
Kent County Council and Medway Council.
Serving a population of approximately 1.6
million people, the boundaries incorporate areas
of affluence and severe deprivation and include
both rural areas and large conurbations.
The Trust works in partnership to provide
responsive and dependable services to the
communities we serve in Kent and Medway.
It aims to provide hope, recovery, well-being
and social inclusion, individual choice and
independence through high quality care and
environments; services that are safe,
sustainable and stigma-free and a culture of
development and continuous improvement,
taking account of ethnicity, culture and gender.
For information about our services, visit our
website: www.kmpt.nhs.uk
KMPT Headquarters
35 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent ME19 4AX
Telephone: 01732 520400
Fax: 01732 520401
Welcome
The new year has brought us to a critical phase
in our application to become a Foundation
Trust. Over the next few months we will be
scrutinised and hopefully be awarded
Foundation Trust status. This will herald a new
era for the Trust and you can read more about
this on pages 10 and 11. Alongside our drive to
become a Foundation Trust we recognised the
work and achievements of Trust staff in
December with the first Staff Excellence
Awards. Awards winners came from a range of
services and included teams and individuals. I
hope you enjoy reading about them in this
edition of Foundation Focus and that you will
join me in congratulating all the winners.
Erville Millar
Chief Executive
The views and opinions in this
publication do not necessarily
reflect the policies of Kent and
Medway NHS and Social Care
Partnership Trust.
BAINES design & print 01707 876555
Printed on environmentally
friendly paper A30789
Stop Press
The first NHS Constitution for England, a landmark in the history of the NHS, was officially
launched in January. The Constitution has been created through a collaborative approach of
consultation, discussion and research with members of staff, as well as patients, public and
stakeholders. It enables us for the first time to publish in one place what staff, patients and
the public can expect from the NHS. It sets out the purpose, principles and values of the
NHS, as well as bringing together a number of rights, pledges and responsibilities for all
staff and patients. It will help give all of us the confidence that the NHS can meet the
challenges of the future on the basis of a shared understanding and common purpose. You
can read the Constitution and associated documents at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/NHSConstitution/index.htm
2
Foundation Focus January 2009

NEWS
Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
New campaign says now
is the ‘Time to Change’
Time to Change is England’s most
ambitious programme to end the
discrimination faced by people who
experience mental health problems, as
well as improve the nation’s wellbeing.
Launched in January with a major
publicity campaign, Mental Health
Media, Mind, and Rethink are leading
this programme of 35 projects, funded
with £16 million from the Big Lottery
Fund and £2 million from Comic Relief
and evaluated by the Institute of
Psychiatry, King’s College, London.
The campaign aims to engage local
community projects working alongside a
national campaign, a mass participation
week, legal test cases, training for
student doctors and teachers, and a
network of grassroots activists combating
discrimination and tackling one of the
last great taboos and social injustices.
People with mental health problems
and carers consistently identify stigma
and discrimination as major barriers to
health, welfare and quality of life. In fact
87% of people with mental health
problems recently said that either actual
discrimination or fear of discrimination
had affected them.
The impact of prejudice, ignorance and
fear around mental health can be
devastating for people, families,
communities and society collectively.
Stigma may prevent people seeking help
when they need it. It stops people with
ability getting the jobs they are qualified
to do. It can mean people can’t play an
active role in their community. It can stop
people building new friendships and
mean losing existing ones. Stigma kills
hope, relationships and opportunity.
With one in four adults experiencing
mental health problems at some point
in their lives, and over 1 in 50
experiencing severe mental illness,
millions of people across England live
with stigma on a daily basis.
Time to Change’s social marketing
campaign aims to tackle this by:
• Raising awareness of the stigma
and discrimination that millions of
people with mental health problems
face every day
• Changing stigmatising attitudes into
acceptance and respect, and beginning
to reduce discrimination
• Creating a new England-wide public
space to lead the debate on bringing
attitudes on mental health into the
21st century
To find out more about the Time
to Change programme and how you
can get involved visit
www.time-to-change.org.uk
Football, urban arts and music at I-Fest
The I-Fest, a street festival of urban arts and football to promote and celebrate mental health
was held at 'Goals' Soccer Centre and Leigh City Technology College in Dartford in October.
Organised jointly by Kent and
Medway Partnership Trust and
Charlton Athletic Football Club
Project, the event certainly lived
up to its promise as an actionpacked,
fun-filled day.
The Project is a groundbreaking
scheme that has
already won several awards. It
uses the power of football to
engage and motivate young
people recovering from serious
mental illness and to help
promote social inclusion and
social functioning – the most
powerful indicators of a full
sustained recovery.
Teams from local youth
organisations and estate leagues
from Dartford, Gravesend and
Swanley took part in the event,
which was officially opened by
the Dartford MP, Dr Howard
Stote. After a long day’s hotly
contested football action, the
team from Darenth (right)
eventually ran out winners of the
tournament and were presented
with their trophy by Barry
Simmons and Carl Krauhaus
from Charlton Athletic’s
Community Scheme Solutions.
All of the competitors were
also able to spend around halfan-hour
in the company of Luke
Varney, Charlton Athletic’s striker
(subsequently transferred to
Derby County), who was happy
to answer questions from the
players about life as a pro
footballer and sign autographs.
Charlton also donated a shirt
signed by the first team squad as
the first prize in the raffle that
raised money for Demelza
House. Everyone attending was
also given a free ticket for the
following weekend’s Charlton
match at the Valley against
Barnsley.
Other activities on the day
included graffiti art, street dance,
self-defence, drumming circle,
DJing and music and a
demonstration of circus skills.
The day was concluded by a
superb set by Hobo Jones and
the Junkyard Dogs, fresh from
their success at 2008’s
Glastonbury Festival.
Organiser of the event Pete
Wilson of KMPT’s Early
Intervention Service commented:
“This innovative scheme has
already won an award in the
NHS Best of Healthcare Awards
and is currently being rolled out
across the whole of Kent. It’s
having a significant and positive
effect upon the mental health of
those young people involved. We
have a further three schemes
starting in January
and are working on plans for an
11-a-side tournament to be held
at the Valley in May 2009 as a
joint project with the sister
scheme in Oxleas.”
Foundation Focus January 2009
3

NEWS
Older People’s Mental Health Conference
Over 120 people attended KMPT’s first
Redesign Conference for Older People at
Eastwell Manor near Ashford in October.
Representatives from the
Trust (psychiatrists,
psychologists, OTs, nurses,
finance and HR) as well as GPs,
PCT, Social Services, voluntary
sector and services users and
carers were able to participate
in the planning of services for
the future.
The proceedings were
introduced by Director of
Clinical Services David Tamsitt,
before Chief Executive Erville
Millar gave a welcome speech
which touched on many of the
issues affected East Kent that
are discussed elsewhere in this
Update.
Keynote speaker was Dr
Sube Banerjee, Consultant
Psychiatrist and Project Lead
for the Government’s National
Dementia Strategy. Dr Banerjee
Sube spoke on the problems of
accurate diagnosis in the early
stages of the disease and the
difficulties of providing suitable
care for people who have been
diagnosed. A Q&A session
followed, before Anne
Matthews, Head of Service
Redesign for Older People, and
Jon Parsons, Associate Director
for Older People’s Mental
Health, introduced the format
for the remainder of the day.
This consisted of the four
main workstreams within the
Redesign programme – Access,
Memory Services/Young Onset,
Day Treatment, and Inpatient –
each dedicating one hour to a
presentation on the work
carried out so far, followed by
Left to right: David Tamsitt, Sube Banerjee,
Erville Millar, Marie Dodd and Conference
organisers Anne Matthews and Jon Parsons.
break-out sessions during which
particular questions and
problems were discussed in
small groups before feeding
back their thoughts to the
assembled delegates.
A 30-minute plenary session
at the end of the day brought
proceedings to a close. All
delegates were also presented
with a folder containing a draft
OPMH ‘Model of Care’ for
comment and feedback.
Thanks to everyone involved
who put so much effort into
ensuring that the Trust’s first
East Kent Redesign Conference
for Older People was such a
great success. Thanks also to
staff from Eisai, creators of the
Alzheimer’s drug Aricept, whose
support of the event was greatly
appreciated.
Star Wards strikes back!
Marion Janner, the creator of
the highly acclaimed Star
Wards initiative, who paid a
two-day visit to hospitals in
the Eastern Directorate in ,
has now written in depth
about her visit to Kent in
issue 44 of the Star Wards
newsletter – the first of what
she describes as a ‘Star
Wards Trilogy’ to be featured
over the next three issues.
Marion was extremely
impressed by what she saw
on her tours around the
wards. She commented:
“I’m incredibly grateful to
Janet Hatch and Katherine
Lees for making my two-day
visit possible. It completely
blew my mind, with so much
exceptionally patientfocused,
deeply creative
practice, exemplified by
Ramsey Ward for elderly
people.”
The newsletter and other
Star Wards publications can
be downloaded from
www.starwards.org.uk.
Marion Janner, front
left, began her visit at
Ashford’s Arundel Unit.
Mural brings back memories
Staff, carers, patients and their
families took part in the official
unveiling of a new ‘memory’
mural on the Frank Lloyd Unit
in Sittingbourne Hospital in
November.
The brainchild of Highsted
Unit Manager Jane Wright and
art therapist Louise
Rimington’s, the mural was
designed and created over a
period of three months by
patients on the older people’s
mental health unit, and their
families, with the help of Trust
psychologists and professional
Mark Dishley (2nd left), Louise
Rimington (far right) and
Highsted Unit Manager Jane
Wright (2nd right) with unit staff.
artist Mark Dishley, as well as
unit staff Deputy Ward
Manager Joy Aylward, therapy
technicians Pam Smith and
Angine Beckwith, and health
care worker Jenny Stone.
As well as being great fun
for all involved, the impressive
artwork proved highly
stimulating for the patients on
the ward and brought back a
wide range of memories, with
garden and countryside scenes,
holidays and wartime
experiences all proving
particularly popular.
4
Foundation Focus January 2009

NEWS
Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Black History Month’s Food Fayre in Medway
To celebrate Black History Month, the
Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) Staff
Network held a Food Fayre in October in
the Christina Rossetti Day Hospital in
Medway
Members of staff cooked food from a
variety of countries, and all staff were
invited to wear their national dress, which
ensured a very colourful and culturally rich
event. The event was well attended, with
support from directors David Tamsitt and
Mark Brampton. Everyone had the
opportunity to sample food from all over
the world (from the comfort of Block A in
the Maritime Hospital!). The event
featured speeches from the Chair of the
BME Network, Selina Willis, the lead for
the BME Network in Medway, Noah
Kantoh and the Head of Equality and
Diversity, Aishnine Benjamin. All three of
the speeches had a message for staff
to get more involved in the network and
events like this – to raise awareness of
the diversity of cultures of staff and
service users of the Trust, and celebrate
that diversity.
Black History Month occurs every
year in October and is a time of
celebration, where awareness of the
history, literature, arts and culture of Black
and Minority Ethnic groups in the UK are
celebrated and promoted – for people to
understand how BME History is a part of
British History.
Left to right: Olayinka Soyoye, Aishnine
Benjamin, Selina Willis, Noah Kantoh,
Martine Fante and Oluwadola Gbadekale cut
the cake to celebrate Black History Month.
Romanians visit award
-winning Fant Oast
Trust Chairman Peter Smallridge
welcomes our Romanian visitors
to the award-winning Fant Oast
garden (inset).
Since 2007, The Health and
Europe Centre has been
working with health and social
care sectors across Kent and
Romania to identify where the
Trust’s health professionals are
able to offer expertise, advice
and support to their European
counterparts to help develop
the Romanian healthcare
system. This has resulted in a
number of study visits between
the two countries, including a
visit by Romanian healthcare
professionals to Fant Oast in
Maidstone during October to
learn about the Trust’s unique
inpatient service young people
between 12 and 17 years of
age who are suffering from a
range of illnesses including
depression, Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder and
eating disorders.
Our Romanian visitors were
highly impressed by what they
saw, not least by the fact that
Fant Oast has just been Highly
Commended in the Building
Better Healthcare Awards 2008
in the ‘Best External Space’
category. The awards celebrate
and reward the very best in
healthcare building projects,
product design and estates and
facilities management with one
ultimate goal – to improve the
patient experience through
well-designed, therapeutic
places which aid recovery and
recuperation. Fant Oast garden,
created with the help of awardwinning
landscape designer
Lucy Huntington as part of the
Enhancing the Healing
Environment programme, is a
therapeutic garden designed to
allow residents to relax, play
and provide them with a
homely environment.
Congratulations to everyone
involved in the project for this
well-deserved recognition.
www.kmpt.nhs.uk/camhs
Local men appointed
to Trust board
Ian McBride from Culverstone
Green and Guy Foster from
Canterbury are to be appointed
as Non-Executive Directors of
the Trust.
Ian McBride (right) has lived in
the county for 35years. Following
military service in the Royal Army
Medical Corps, he enjoyed a long
career in banking holding senior
management positions in Citibank,
Arbuthnot Latham Bank, and as the London advisor to
Emirates Bank International. Since 1992, he has worked
as a consultant providing risk management advice to
large institutions in the UK, Far East
and Africa.
Guy Foster (right, who takes up
his post on 1 April 2009) is recently
retired from mcch society ltd, a
social care provider in the voluntary
sector based in Maidstone, where
he spent nearly eight years as
Executive Director of Finance. He
also has experience as a Company
Secretary and worked for BP for
over ten years. Guy has a degree in
economics and is a fellow of the
Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.
Non-Executive Director posts within the NHS are part
time positions, which attract a taxable remuneration of
£6,005 per annum. Non-Executive Directors are
expected to spend about two and half days a month on
NHS business, although it is almost always considerably
more than this.
Trust Chairman, Peter Smallridge, said, "These new
appointments to the Trust Board are excellent news.
Their experience in providing leadership, governance
and risk management expertise – at a critical time for
the Trust – will be invaluable in helping us achieve
Foundation Trust status."
Foundation Focus January 2009
5

STAFF AWARDS
Staff Excellence Awards 2008
The winners!
The results of the very first Kent and Medway Partnership Trust Staff Excellence
Awards were revealed at a gala evening in December held within the beautiful
setting of Leeds Castle.
Hosted by BBC South East’s Rob
Smith, seven awards were presented
on the evening, with three nominees
short-listed in each category. No
fewer than 211 nominations had
been received in total from staff,
service users, carers and members of
the public by the time the voting
process closed in September.
The awards categories were:
• The Bright Spark Award
• Mentor/Coach of the Year
• The Team of the Trust
• Achievement in Learning
and Development
• Volunteer of the Year
• The Unsung Hero Award
• Above and Beyond
Sue Venables (right), a Senior Clinical
Audit Facilitator based at Queen Victoria
Hospital in Herne Bay, was the winner in
the ‘Bright Spark’ category. Sue (who was
unable to attend the award ceremony
because of a family commitment), was
presented with the award by the Trust’s
Communications Officer Louisa Tucker for
her work in introducing new electronic
data collection methods that avoided the
additional expense of upgraded software
while also offering huge potential to save
staff time.
Julie Wright (centre), a volunteer
gardener at Priority House, was presented
with the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award by
the Trust’s Patient, Public and Community
Involvement Manager, Janet Lloyd. Jools,
as she is better known, is described as a
‘rare gem’ of a person and a well-known
face around the gardens at Priority
House, where she has worked hard
for the last four years to create a
pleasant and attractive environment for
everyone to enjoy.
Elena Oro (centre), Locality Manager for
Psychological Therapies at the Courtyard in
Maidstone, was the winner in the ‘Mentor
of the Year’ category for her work in
helping to create an atmosphere in which
staff feel supported and encouraged to
deliver their best in service to others by
recognising independence, diversity, and
uniqueness. She was presented with her
award by the Trust’s Deputy Chairman,
Paul Godwin.
Winner of the ‘Team of the Trust’ Award
was the Therapies Team based at the
Arundel Unit at the William Harvey
Hospital in Ashford. This highly motivated
and dedicated team received the award
from the Trust’s Director of Mental Health
Eastern and Coastal Directorate, David
Tamsitt (third left), for their client-centred
approach to therapy, which always aims to
help each patient realise their full potential
on the road to recovery.
6
Foundation Focus January 2009

Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Joint winners in the ‘Learning and
Development’ category were Staff Nurse
Leah Scott (centre), and Mental Health
Nurse Chris Cutmore (right), both based
at the Trevor Gibbens Unit. Leah became
the first member of staff to enter the
Trust’s secondment scheme from an
admin post, and went on to prove herself
an exceptional individual by gaining a
First Class Degree. When Chris Cutmore
was first nominated for an award, he was
a keen, motivated and popular student
nurse who was passing all of his clinical
assessments with flying colours. Since
then, despite a devastating personal
tragedy when his young wife Karyn died,
Chris has gone on to qualify as a Mental
Health Nurse while also caring for two
young children. The Trust’s Director of
Social Care, James Sinclair, presented
them with their awards.
Winner of the ‘Unsung Hero’ Award was
the Housekeeping team at St
Martin’s Hospital in Canterbury, who
received their award from Non-Executive
Director Valerie Hale (far right). Since the
team took over the cleaning duties at St
Martin’s, the overall quality of the
cleanliness has improved by nearly 40%.
They achieved this by incorporating a
deep-cleaning schedule for the inpatient
areas and, to prevent too much
disruption to the running of the wards,
the team took it upon themselves to
begin work at 6.30am. These successes
are said to have not only improved
cleanliness, but also morale, with the
team always willing to do anything that
is asked of them.
Clair Vine (centre), Client Services
Manager at the Little Brook Hospital in
Dartford, was the winner in the ‘Above
and Beyond’ category. Clair was
presented with the award by the Trust’s
Chief Executive, Erville Millar, for
consistently demonstrating that she has
the best interests of patients at heart at
all times. Recently, for example, she put
in place a system to ensure that patients’
dignity and self-confidence are
maintained by making toiletry packs
accessible to all newly admitted clients.
Winning individuals took away a trophy
and a cheque for £200 to spend however
they wish within their particular NHS
service. Winning teams collected a trophy
plus £400. Runners-up and Highly
Commended nominees received by a
certificate in recognition of their
achievement in being shortlisted.
In launching the awards ceremony, Trust
Chief Executive Erville Millar, said, “NHS
staff rarely get the recognition they deserve
for the wonderful work they do. These
awards were designed to go some way
towards rectifying that by acknowledging
and rewarding those members of staff
who, day in, day out, work tirelessly,
without complaint, and simply get on with
their jobs to make a real difference to
people's lives.”
It is hoped that the awards
ceremony will now become a regular event
in the Trust’s calendar. To everyone else
within the Trust who was nominated but
didn’t make it onto the shortlist, we also
extend our congratulations in the
knowledge that someone out there has
recognised the great work you do. Well
done to you all.
Full details of all the awards winners and
the other shortlisted nominees can be
found online at www.kmpt.nhs.uk
/staffawards.
Foundation Focus January 2009
7

NATIONAL AWARDS
Louise Jessup with
award winner
Jonathan Naess.
Louise Jessup
shortlisted for RADAR
Human Rights Award
Louise Jessup, from Ashford,
was nominated by the Trust
for the ‘Person of the Year’
Award at the RADAR Human
Rights Awards 2008, which
recently took place at
Battersea Park in London.
There were eight different
awards categories: Public
Sector; Business; Media
Award for Factual
Programming; Media Award
for Fictional Programming;
Disabled Entrepeneur; Young
Person’s; Lifetime
Achievement; and Person of
the Year.
Louise had been nominated
for her Recovery story: one of
being a service-user for 25
years and eventually taking
herself off benefits to work
part time at a superstore, start
her own textiles business and
support the business
community as an expert
consultant on mental health
in the workplace. She also
helps the Trust in many ways
around their Recovery and
Social Inclusion agenda.
Louise and her guests, (Lynn
Marchant, Creating Bridges
Service User Employment and
Staff Support, and Jon Puddle,
OT Thanet Mental Health
Unit), were so pleased that,
although Louise did not win,
the actual winner, Jonathan
Naess, very much represents
mental health with his new
charity: Stand to Reason,
which seeks social justice for
mental health sufferers. As an
ex-City financier, Jonathan has
made huge inroads
into gaining
acceptance of mental health
issues among the banking
world, in politics and the
media.
The night was a very sparkly
affair, with a Cossack theme
running through it, table
decorations representing
Faberge Eggs, Crystal lighting
and young folk dressed as
Cossacks providing
entertainment.
The host was the comic
Jeremy Hardy and some of the
presenters were Major of
London, Boris Johnson, Chair
of Equality and Human Rights
Commission, Trevor Phillips,
TV presenter Joyce Ohajah,
actor Matthew Goode, and
the Rt Hon James Purnell MP,
Secretary of State for Work
and Pensions.
After the event Louise
commented: “What a
tremendous experience and
one which I shall endeavour
to use as much as I can to
further the Recovery and
Social Inclusion message to
service users, their carers and
the wider community.
“The thing that I will
remember most from the
evening was the positive
attitude among the disabled
people there. Without
exception people seemed to
use the challenges they faced
on a daily basis as a force to
change things for the better
for everyone around them.
We maybe all have something
to learn from this
overwhelmingly positive
attitude to disability and the
refusal to give in, no matter
the odds.”
Couple and family
therapy team
wins Nursing in
Practice award
The Kent and Medway Alcohol
Service Couple and Family
Therapy Team took home the
Mental Health Including Dual
Diagnosis/CCBT Ltd Award at the
Nursing in Practice Awards 2008
held at the NEC in Birmingham.
The Family Therapy Team’s
clinical ‘mission’ is to engage with
and assist couples and families
with enduring alcohol-related
problems. Couples and families
are helped to understand that
excessive drinking always occurs
in a relationship context and can
be influenced by family of origin
dynamics, or as a part of
restricted communications within
a current relationship.
The team regularly meets with
adult couples where excessive
drinking takes place. Often,
children, relatives, friends,
employers, colleagues, carers,
other professionals and the
person making the initial referral
to the team are involved in
subsequent meetings.
The service operates weekly in
Canterbury and can see clients
within a few weeks of a referral
being made. The team can also
provide evening sessions or meet
with couples and families at
clinics nearer to their homes
across Kent. The team offers a
range of skills including nursing,
psychotherapy, counselling and
school liaison work.
The Nursing in Practice Awards
2008 reward best practice in a
variety of clinical areas, and are
designed to recognise excellence
and innovation in the primary
care setting. There is so much
good work being carried out in
the world of primary care and
community nursing; work that
often goes unrecognised and
unrewarded. The Nursing in
Practice Awards is changing this
by identifying outstanding effort
and achievement.
Individual nurses and teams
across the UK submitted written
accounts of their projects, which
were then shortlisted by panels of
expert judges. Following on the
success of this year’s awards,
nominations are already being
sought for the 2009 categories.
For further information please go
to www.nursingin
practice.com/awards.
The Kent and Medway Alcohol
Service can be contacted on
01227 761310; email
mount.zeehan@kmpt.nhs.uk.
The Mount Zeehan team,
left to right: John Hills,
Lesley Middleditch, Brendan
Flynn and Ania Liro. Inset:
Brendan accepts the NIP
award at the NEC.
8 Foundation Focus January 2009

Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Best of Health
Awards 2009
The Best of Health Awards for 2009
have just been launched to celebrate
the achievements of people working
in health and social care across Kent,
Surrey and Sussex. As in previous
years, they form the regional heat of
the national Health and Social Care
Awards and include three special
regional awards.
These awards are a great way to
celebrate and showcase the
achievements of teams and
individuals across the NHS,
highlighting best practice on a
national stage and inspiring others
by showing how the Healthier
people, excellent care vision is being
brought to life.
The organisers are particularly
keen for you – the patients, carers,
service users and members of the
public who use our local services – to
tell them who you feel deserves an
award for their service to you. You
will be able to nominate within three
different categories: ‘Health and
Social Care Professional of the Year’;
and ‘Unsung Hero’ – both within the
South East Coast regional awards;
and the national ‘People’s Award for
Dignity in Care’.
All nominees from the
south east coast region will be in the
running for an award at the regional
Best of Health ceremony in May
Trust launches first Patient
Information Pack
As part of drive to improve standards
and performance, particularly in
relation to the experience that service
users have when receiving services
from us, the Trust has launched its
first Patient Information Pack.
Designed to be used by every
service user receiving care under the
Care Programme Approach (CPA), the
pack has been developed as a direct
result of the patient survey results
gathered last year. It provides clear
information to service users to help
them better understand that they
2009. Winners of the categories that
are part of the national Health and
Social Care Awards will go forward,
along with the winners from the
nine other regions in England, to be
considered for a national award at
the national Health and Social Care
Awards ceremony in July.
The closing date for entries is 6
March 2009.
For full details on both the national
and regional awards, or to submit an
application, please visit:
www.southeastcoast.
nhs.uk/bestofhealth.
If you need help completing your
application, want any further
information, or require a paper form
for any of the public nominated
categories, please call
01293 778 881.
have a care coordinator, a contact
phone number to call if they need
help and, most importantly, a care
plan.
The pack is contained in a plastic
wallet in which the service user can
keep all the relevant documentation
relating to their care. It includes
appointment cards, CPA leaflet, a
leaflet on language issues, a leaflet
for carers and relatives of service
users, information on the Patient
Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and
a complaints form.
Royal College
of Psychiatrists
Awards 2009
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is seeking
nominations for its very first national awards
ceremony, which will take place in London in
September 2009.
The RCPsych Awards is a high-profile event
designed to recognise the very best practice within
psychiatry today and to promote examples of the
outstanding services that psychiatrists and other
professionals work so hard to provide.
Any individuals, teams and organisations that
are considered to have made an excellent
contribution to mental health services can be
nominated. The Awards categories are:
• Psychiatric Team of the Year
• Psychiatrist of the Year
• Mental Health Services Provider of the Year
• Core Psychiatric Trainee of the Year (CT1–CT3)
• Advanced Psychiatric Trainee of the Year
(ST4–ST6 and SpR)
• Medical Manager/Leader of the Year
• Psychiatric Academic of the Year
• Public Educator of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement Award
Application forms, category criteria and rules of
entry can all be downloaded from
www.rcpsych.ac.uk/members/
currentissues/rcpsychawards.aspx
or can be obtained by emailing Nicola Boyce,
Campaigns and Communications Manager at
nboyce@rcpsych.ac.uk
The closing date for entries is Monday
16 February 2009.
Director of
Social Care
James Sinclair
proudly
displays the
new Patient
Information
Packs.
Foundation Focus January 2009
9

FOUNDATION TRUST
Monitor scrutiny for FT status gets underway
At the end of November and into December the Trust had its business and financial plans scrutinised
by a team of auditors from Grant Thornton. This process was called Due Diligence and led to a report
going to the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) ready for when it met the Trust Board on 11 December.
The good news is that both of these
processes went well and the SHA will now
make a recommendation to the Secretary
of State that we should move forward to
the final approval phase, which is
undertaken by the independent regulator
for Foundation Trusts, ‘Monitor’. They will
make this recommendation on 30 January
and we will be notified if we have been
accepted and begin our period of Monitor
scrutiny in mid February. If this process
goes well it is anticipated that we will be
authorised as a Foundation Trust in mid
May at the earliest.
As a Foundation Trust we:
• have a clear vision and strategic
objectives
• have a clear strategy for service
development
• have a five-year business plan in place
• get more freedom from central
government
• consistently improve performance and
meet the highest standards
• make and retain a surplus and decide
how we spend it
• work as part of the local community and
recruit members
Elections
The election to appoint public members
and Trust staff as governors of the
Foundation Trust are still planned to be
held during the first three months of 2009.
If you feel you want to become a governor
of the Trust, or wish to know more about
the role, you can visit
www.kmpt.nhs.uk/
membership or contact the FT Team at
ftoffice@kmpt.nhs.uk
A Q&A document has also been
published and will be updated regularly. A
brief selection of questions and answers is
included here. The full, up-to-date version
can be found online. If you have any
questions that you think should be
included in the question and answer
briefing, please send them to
communications@kmpt.nhs.uk
Questions & Answers
Q. If the Trust is only just getting close
to becoming an FT, what has it been
doing for the past two years or so?
A. The application process has several
stages to it. We have been tested by
the Strategic Health Authority, gained
local support from our partners,
recruited members, developed our
business plan, been tested by the
Department of Health and we are now
ready for the final tests. The past two
years have all been productive. There
were some delays but these enabled us
to develop the best plans possible and
be as prepared as possible.
Q. Does it always take so long?
A. There is no set timescale for
applications but two years is not
unusual. The important thing is to get
the application right and pass the
scrutiny phases.
Q. Are other mental health trusts FTs?
A. Yes. Trusts in Surrey and Sussex and
over the Border in Oxleas are all FTs.
Q. What are the remaining stages of
the application process?
Membership latest
The Trust has now reached its initial target of 3000 public
members – well done to everyone who helped us to recruit
members so far, but, please keep signing up new members at
every opportunity.
Our 3000th member was Sarah Webb from Faversham. A
warm welcome to Sarah for helping us reach this important
membership milestone.
In addition, two new celebrity members
were signed up at the I-Fest (see story on
page 3). Derby County (formerly Charlton
Athletic) footballer Luke Varney (right) was
happy to add his name to the growing list, as
was Portsmouth and current England
defender Glen Johnson (above), whose
popular Soccer School is based at the ‘Goals’
Soccer Centre in Dartford, where the I-Fest
was held.
A. Over the next three months we will be
closely scrutinised by Monitor. Their
work will look at the Trust’s finance and
business plans, and will also include
coming to talk to staff about the Trust’s
move to FT status. It will culminate in
the Board being tested by Monitor’s
Board. If all of these things go well we
will be authorised as a Foundation
Trust, possibly in May.
Q. What happens if the Trust is
judged not to be good enough or
is not ready?
A. We are confident we will be authorised.
If we are not, there may be some extra
work to do before we can be
authorised. The worse case scenario is
that we are not authorised and another
FT from out of the area takes over the
running of the Trust, but we are
confident it will not come to that!
Q. Once authorised does the Trust have
to pass any more tests?
A. No. We will continue to be measured
on our performance as we are now,
and we will be regulated by Monitor,
but there will be no further tests to
undertake.
10 Foundation Focus January 2009

Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
A minute with a member!
Why do people sign up to become members of a Foundation Trust? Foundation
Focus spoke to Patricia Causier to find out why she believes Foundation Trusts are so
important to the local community.
Why did you decide to sign up as a member of our
Foundation Trust?
As a Mental Health Act Manager I am working voluntarily in the
Kent and Medway Trust and keenly interested in the care of people
with mental illness or disorders, in particular the elderly suffering
with dementia.
Did you know much about Foundation Trusts before
you signed up?
No I didn’t, although Foundation Trusts had been a topic of informal
chat and speculation among Trust employees for some time and
inevitably created an air of speculation for the future of the NHS.
Why do you believe it is important for NHS Trusts to
apply for Foundation Trust Status?
I am not well-enough informed to be 100% sure it IS important for
NHS Trusts to sign up for Foundation Trust status. One big shake up
locally in the name of a Foundation Trust does not necessarily mean
the answer to all the current NHS problems. I am not a cynic and
would like to think that a Foundation Trust will restore order,
stability, quality, consistent standards, consistent allocation of
resources and well matched funding to local needs. But it will also
need to be broad spectrum in its staffing, research, clinical
excellence and ready to share expertise and resources with other
Foundation Trusts. Service providers and consumers will need to
work together to reach these goals.
Would you encourage others to sign up as members?
Yes, I would. Members will come and go for various reasons,
making ongoing recruitment necessary.
What would you like to see happen in mental health
services once we gain Foundation Trust Status?
In my opinion there should be a halt in the closure of inpatient beds
and reconsideration of the number and distribution of inpatient
beds across the Trust. I am also concerned about the care of older
adults across the Trust. I would also hope to see more funding
available for tools for the job, such as upgraded computerised
clinical records, documentation storage, emergency call systems etc.
And since the current Trust title includes the component ‘Social
Care’, a Foundation Trust must ensure effective and adequate
collaboration takes place between all groups of social and health
services staff.
Sixty seconds with a Governor!
The Trust has invited some organisations to have a seat on the Council
of Governors. Neil Jerome will be the nominated Governor for Kent
Police. Foundation Focus took 60 seconds to get his views on this
exciting new role!
What is your day job?
I am the head of Partnerships and Crime Reduction for Kent
police. This is a varied role involving me leading on a range of
crime-reduction initiatives and working with partners on joint
initiatives to reduce crime and make Kent safer.
What was your organisation’s reaction when it was
asked to put forward a governor to sit on the
Foundation Trust’s Council Of Governors (COG)?
Kent police and the National Health Service have a proud and
long working relationship. We recognise there are many
overlaps in our work and so to work more closely on the
Council of Governors is a natural progression.
Why has your organisation picked you to represent
them on the COG?
In my role I meet regularly with health colleagues and have an
understanding of the issues affecting us both. Representation
on the COG extends this role without losing the day to day
contact which is making such a difference.
What do you hope to
be able to bring to
the role?
A policing perspective
from having served across
the county as a detective
and patrol officer.
What are you most looking forward to within
this role?
I am looking forward to making a difference and ensuring that
front line services meet the needs of the people of Kent. Kent
is a great place to live and work; being healthy is essential to
ensuring we can enjoy the county to the full.
What would you say to other people thinking of
becoming a governor?
Having an influence on how the future looks and how money
is spent is a huge privilege. Becoming a governor can really
make a difference – give it a try!
Foundation Focus January 2009
11

BACK TO FRONT DAY 2
The return of Back to Front Day
The Trust’s second back to Front Day took place on 28 October when directors returned to
work in frontline services to learn about the challenges faced by staff and better understand
the nitty-gritty of how some services are delivered on a day-to-day basis.
Once again the day was deemed a resounding success by everyone
who took part, and directors were full of praise for the teams they
worked with, ranging from Community Mental Health Teams,
Vocational Rehab and CAMHS, through to Early Intervention,
Postgraduate Medical Education and Forensic Psychiatry Services.
The overwhelming message that came back form Directors was
that they were impressed with the dedication and commitment of
staff and equally impressed with the quality of the services provided.
The day also gave staff the chance to highlight areas of concern and
issues that might be improved. Directors left with clear messages
and are determined to pick up on issues that have not already been
addressed.
Back to Front Day 2 was equally enjoyed by those members of
staff given the task of looking after directors for the day and
everyone involved is certainly keen for this now to become an
annual event.
Peter Smallridge brews up on
Edmund Ward.
Erville Millar (left) and Paul Godwin (centre) both
went out on the road with Community Mental
Health Teams.
Mike Angell kept staff and patients amused
on Winslow Ward.
Brian Allpress (third left) was very impressed
with the team on Amberwood Ward.
Marie Dodd (far right) spent the day
with the West Kent Early Intervention
Service at the Elizabeth Raybould
Centre in Dartford.
Nikki Prince had a warm
welcome for visitors to the CAMHS
unit at Gatland House.
12
Foundation Focus January 2009

WORKING AT THE TRUST
Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
My job at the Trust
Iain Spink, Music Therapist
Music, wrote William Shakespeare, is the food of
love. According to KMPT, it can also be an excellent
source of therapy for people suffering with
dementia and a whole range of other mental
health problems. That’s why the Trust has recently
employed three music therapists to work across the
region. We spoke to one of them, Iain Spink, and
asked him to explain a little more about his role.
I studied for a music degree at
Christchurch University in
Canterbury before training for
two years to become a music
therapist at Anglia Ruskin
University in Cambridge. Since
the early 90s it has been
compulsory for all music
therapists to be stateregistered
and there are
currently about 600
professionals working within
the UK.
Music therapists mainly work
in psychological settings,
although not necessarily
mental health; other areas
include acute hospitals (with
stroke and brain-injury
patients), special needs
schools, nursing homes, care
facilities and hospices. The
Trust’s therapists are working
primarily with Older Adults
within acute wards, mostly
with people suffering with
dementia. Many therapists
tend to specialise in one area
and I particularly chose to work
with older people after a
placement in an OA ward
while a student.
It opened my eyes to how
responsive older people are to
music. Music can often reach
people when nothing else can
and is an excellent form of
communication for people
who have been cognitively
impaired. Some patients have
difficulty relating with others
verbally but may interact with
instruments or by singing.
Several studies suggest that
musical ability and appreciation
often remain intact after
others, including language,
have diminished. For example,
a person experiencing aphasia
and memory loss may continue
to recall and sing old songs
from their childhood.
Clients often have strong
recall for song lyrics and
melodies and we can then
work with those responses not
just to create music but as an
outlet for emotions that
otherwise might not be
expressed.
In the therapy sessions,
interactive music is
spontaneously created using a
range of instruments most
appropriate to the clients’
needs. By establishing a
relationship through music,
clients can experience and
explore new ways of relating,
leading to development and
change. We also aim to help
the client develop an increased
sense of awareness, and
thereby to enhance his or her
quality of life through creative
self-expression.
We use a variety of
instruments that are accessible
to non-musicians – drums,
shakers, xylophone etc – and
the emphasis is on interacting
with them and giving them the
opportunity to use these
instruments with other people.
Patients who won’t talk will
often engage with an
instrument; I don’t mean just
random hitting or shaking but
really engage with it musically
– rhythmically, melodically and
through their own body
language.
It sounds a lot of fun, but it
has to be remembered that this
is a form of psychotherapy and
what the patients are
expressing might not have
anything to do with enjoyment
– they might be expressing
frustration, or anger, or some
other strong emotion. Music
isn’t always associated with
happy experiences and it may
conjure up memories of loved
ones who have died or all sorts
of emotional experiences and
frustrations, but it is still useful
in helping to create discussion
within a group. Music is a very
social activity; older people can
often be socially isolated so
this provides an opportunity
for them to interact creatively
with others. Our ultimate aims
are always therapeutic, not
necessarily musical.
Iain Spink with Activities Organisers
Darren Johnson and Pauline Gemmell.
Foundation Focus January 2009
13

MAJOR PROJECTS
East Kent Redesign
A critical milestone was reached in the East Kent
Redesign programme in December. The local
council’s planning committee gave approval to
the development principles for the western half
of the St Martin’s site.
This is the half of the site
where the old hospital
currently sits and is the part of
the site the Trust may dispose
of. The development principles
outline the way in which it
might be developed in the
future, but do not go into
detail. This approval paves the
way for the next stage of work
to begin, focusing on looking
at the size and shape of the
new build that will be needed
on the eastern half of the site.
The plans do not make the
assumption that the revenue
from the western half of the
site is needed to complete the
work on the eastern half of the
site. The next steps will look at
utilising the work that has
already been done on building
design.
The Eastern and Coastal Office
remains earmarked for a range
of clinical services and the
future use of this building is
central to site development
plans for St Martin’s. The newbuild
and refurbishment
options for St Martin’s will be
developed with staff and
service users in the coming few
months, with a provisional
start-on-site for the
construction in March 2010.
New plans being drawn up for
inpatient services may
necessitate the building being
used in a different way to that
expected earlier this year and
this may affect groups
previously identified as future
occupants of the building.
www.kmpt.nhs.uk/
ekmhredesign
Redesign
in Medway
Two conferences were held
in Autumn 2008 to establish
what a good acute mental
health service looks like; the
reports from these events
can be downloaded from
www.kmpt.nhs.uk/
medwayredesign .
A Project Board, to review
and redesign Medway's
acute mental health services,
has now been established.
The first meeting took place
on 16 January 2009. As the
project structure is
developed, more news about
the work will be published.
This will include how service
users and carers will
continue to be involved and
engaged throughout the
process.
The Trust and PCT remain
committed that the current
inpatient services are
improved and that, in the
future, services are provided
in a modern and fit-forpurpose
environment that
complements new and
emerging models of service
delivery
West Kent Redesign
A report of the results of a listening exercise
undertaken, in the second half of 2008, to
understand patient needs with regard to
planning mental health services in West Kent
is due to be published shortly.
The exercise, led by Sevenoaks Area Mind on behalf of NHS
West Kent, involved the people of West Kent and asked
them to comment on how primary and community mental
health services should be delivered, asking questions via
group discussions and a questionnaire on key areas of
service delivery. Responses were gathered from around 250
people across a broad cross section of the population,
including current service users, carers, and a wider more
general audience.
The results of the exercise are now being considered by
West Kent NHS, in partnership with the Trust, and plans will
be put into place to ensure that future service delivery
addresses these areas of concern. We will bring you the
findings from the report and the steps to be taken in the
next issue of Foundation Focus. Further information can be
found at www.kmpt.nhs.uk/wkredesign.
14
Foundation Focus January 2009

Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Focus on… ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is defined by two broad groups of behavioural
problems: inattentiveness, and a combination of hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Common
symptoms within these groups include a short attention span, restlessness, being easily distracted, and
constant fidgeting.
ADHD is the most common
behavioural disorder in the UK.
It is estimated that the
condition affects between
3–9% of school-aged children
and young people, with boys
more likely to be affected than
girls. ADHD can be a life-long
condition, and many children
who have it continue to have
symptoms in adolescence and
adulthood. However, it is still
uncertain as to whether ADHD
can occur in adults without
first appearing in childhood.
Children naturally have a
tendency towards the kind of
behaviour that ADHD causes,
but this behaviour should not
be confused with ADHD. There
are several criteria that must be
met for a child to be diagnosed
with ADHD. Adults are harder
to diagnose because there is
no definitive set of ageappropriate
symptoms.
Symptoms of ADHD tend to
start at an early age, and they
may become more noticeable
when a child's circumstances
change, such as starting
school. Many people with
ADHD also have additional
problems, such as sleep
disorders, low self-esteem, and
learning difficulties. ADHD has
no effect on intelligence, but
more than half of children with
ADHD have specific learning
disabilities, such as dyslexia.
Coping with the symptoms can
mean underachievement and
poor self-esteem.
Children with ADHD are also
more likely to be depressed,
anxious and obsessive, and
may have some problems with
speech, language and
coordination. Other major
disorders may accompany
ADHD, including oppositional
defiant disorder (arguing and
intentional defying) and
conduct disorder (major
antisocial activity).
Hyperactivity may improve at
puberty but the problems
usually persist in some form
throughout adult life – up to
60 per cent of children show
ADHD behaviour in adulthood.
What causes ADHD?
The cause of ADHD has not yet
been fully explained but it may
be due, in part, by an inherited
imbalance of neurotransmitters
(chemicals that transmit nerves
signals in the brain). One of
the main problems in ADHD
seems to be that the brain fails
to filter the huge amount of
stimulation we receive every
minute of every day.
An affected child is easily
distracted and can't process
information at a normal rate.
The frontal lobes don't work as
well as they should with
processes such as decision
making, and there may be
imbalances in the brain
chemicals noradrenaline and
dopamine.
However, this is a
generalisation – brain research
shows a variety of different
problems in ADHD, with
individuals showing their own
pattern of behaviour.
Genetic or hereditary factors
are important – usually a
parent or close relative also has
the condition. Twin and
genetic studies show several
genes are likely to be involved.
Evidence of brain dysfunction
has been found in brainimaging
studies. However,
research has so far been
unable to show consistent
neurobiological differences
between affected children and
normal controls, so the
syndrome remains
controversial.
Diet may be a factor –
parents have long claimed that
food additives can aggravate
hyperactive behaviour and
research by the Food Standards
Agency and Southampton
University has shown that
certain mixtures of artificial
food colours, alongside sodium
benzoate – a preservative used
in ice cream and confectionary
– are linked to increases in
hyperactivity.
What's the
treatment?
Since it isn't clear why children
develop ADHD, it's difficult to
prevent. There's also no simple
screening test to identify those
people carrying genes that
might increase susceptibility
and antenatal screening isn't
available.
Although there's no cure,
early diagnosis and appropriate
help at home can make a big
difference. Diagnosis should be
made by formal testing by
someone with experience of
the condition, such as an
educational psychologist. With
the correct help, many people
with ADHD manage to channel
their energies with dramatic
success.
For advice and support on
ADHD, please contact:
National Attention
Disorder Information and
Support Service
Tel: 020 8952 2800
Email: info@addiss.co.uk
Website: www.addiss.co.uk
Hyperactive Children's
Support Group
Tel: 01243 539966
Email: hacsg@hacsg.org.uk
Website: www.hacsg.org.uk
Foundation Focus January 2009
15

Kent and Medway
NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Events List and Dates for Diary
January 2009
Trust Board Meeting
Wednesday 28 January
The Boardroom,
Trust Headquarters
February
Trust Occupational Therapy
Professional Development
Conference
Thursday 12 February
Kent Chamber of Commerce
Ashford Business Point
Trust Board Meeting
Wednesday 25 February
The Boardroom,
Trust Headquarters
March
Trust Board Meeting
Wednesday 25 March
The Boardroom,
Trust Headquarters
Want to Know More?
Why not log on to www.kmpt.nhs.uk or visit the Trust intranet at
nww.kmpt.nhs.uk
Also you might find more useful information online at:
www.healthcarecommission.org.uk
www.dh.gov.uk
www.mhac.org.uk
Foundation Focus January 2009