MHM March 2010 - West London Mental Health NHS Trust

movingon upIf you would like us to feature a colleague in moving onup send an email to communications@wlmht.nhs.ukjoinermoverleaverDr Christopher Muller-Pollard has joined H&F SDU as a Consultant Psychiatrist on theadmissions ward. His previous experience at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trustincludes setting up and running an adult ADHD service, working on an inpatients personality disorderunit and an outpatients psychotherapy department. Chris says: “H&F is an area with an extremelydiverse population. I am looking forward to the rewarding but challenging task of creating a safe andtherapeutic environment for all patients of all backgrounds.”Alex Barrie has moved within the IM&T directorate, from ICT Service Desk Engineer, to IntranetProject Assistant. He says: “It will be an interesting challenge, combining my previous knowledge andexperience of technology, design and support.” Alex is assisting in the technical development and overallsupport of the Exchange, including building and preparing pages for content publishers plus arrangingand delivering user training.Eric Pwamang has had a successful career in forensic services after initially joining the Trust in 1993as a student nurse. His most rewarding role has been Senior Nurse Manager of The Orchard since it’sopening in 2007. He has helped in the development of staff, assisted in the provision of extra facilities forPearl Ward as well as maintaining safety and security. John Doherty says: “Eric has shown commitmentand helped the Orchard grow and mature into the service we have today. I would like thank Eric onbehalf of the service users and all staff and wish him every success in his new post.” Eric will miss theEaling site, as it holds many memories of his career and many patients he has nursed. He is moving ontoa new challenge as Service Manager of acute services.West London Forensic - Senior Nursing TeamGillian Tuckhas successfullybeen appointedas ConsultantNurse for thewomen’s service.An importantcomponent of the role, whichforms part of the senior nursingteam in WLFS, is assuring ongoingimprovement of service users’experience by ensuring systems offeedback are in place and used toinform nursing developments. This isa clinical post and half of Gillian’s timewill be spent in direct clinical practice.In her role, Gillian will support nursesthrough working alongside as well asproviding expert nursing consultationand supervision. She will cascade clinicaldevelopments within the nursing teamand offer a wide variety of training anddevelopment. In the future she hopesto undertake research in the field ofwomen’s secure services and use thisto enhance clinical practice.Congratulationsfrom the left:: Appiah Oyinke , Doreen Whande, McginiNkomo, Maureen Cushley and Sachendra Beeraje.to Maureen Cushley who hasbeen appointed as Senior NurseManager for the men’s directorateat West London Forensic Service.Maureen is the lead nurse foroperational management across 15clinical areas and will have the task ofensuring service user experience isat the heart of everything nurses do,while also achieving some complexmanagerial outcomes. Maureenwill be supported by three seniornurses, two of whom are also newlyappointed. Sach Beeraje has beenappointed to the medium secureservices and Mgcini Nkomo hasbeen appointed to the low secure andspecialist rehabilitation services. Theirmain role is to lead and manage theward managers within their areas andalso to promote good nursing practicewithin the clinical areas, especiallythat which involves empowering andincluding service users. DoreenWhande has also been appointedas Senior Nurse within the women’sdirectorate.Anne Aiyegbusi Head of Nursingfor West London Forensic Servicessays: ‘‘We are striving for excellencewith regard to safety, service userexperience and effectiveness of nursing.As such I could not be happier with thesenior nursing team we now have inplace. I am very much looking forwardto what we will achieve together.”think family strategyNicole Douglas and Samantha MarshallFollowing last year’s Think Familyconference, the Hounslow SDUheld a workshop for seniormanagers and clinicians in January.Chaired by Dr Alice Parshall, ClinicalDirector, staff considered ways bywhich the three critical strandsof the family strategy could beembedded into everyday activities inthe SDU.While safeguarding children andvulnerable adults principles arecentral to the Think Family Strategy,the strategy goes further to providesupport for the whole family. Itaddresses the needs of familymembers, provides support forchildren and young adults, whilelooking after the needs of serviceusers, to help achieve a positiveoutcome for all.The defining three strands of theThink Family strategy are:• Safeguarding Children policy• SCIE 30 “Think Child, Think Parent,Think Family”• Hounslow SDU Women’s Strategy.The day commenced with staffconsidering the National Patient SafetyAgency, “Rapid Response Report:Preventing Harm to Children fromParents with Mental Health Needs”.This is the highest level of alert andinforms clinicians of six vital pointsto consider when managing patientswith severe mental illness whohave children that may be at risk ofharm. Teams demonstrated theirunderstanding of the document andits importance, and identified waysthey could work together, to ensureall six points were implemented withinday-to-day risk assessment processes.Staff then looked at the “Think Child,Think Parent, Think Family” document,which describes the long term impactof a parent’s mental health on theirchildren, who are frequently youngcarers, isolated and have attachmentproblems. The workshop discussedadjustments services need to maketo ensure they prioritise the needs ofthe family. Nicole Douglas, PsychologyGraduate, and Samantha Marshall, StaffNurse, shared learning gained fromtheir visit to Camden and IslingtonChild and Adolescent Team. Theypresented strategies the SDU coulddevelop, to ensure family orientatedservices, such as parental and familyskills groups that could complementthe women’s and men’s health groups,currently held within the Star Wardsprogramme. They are also exploringways to develop child friendly leafletsrelating to mental health.Finally, Suzanne McMillan, ServiceManager, presented the HounslowSDU Women’s Strategy, which wasdeveloped using guidance from,“Into the Mainstream” (DoH, 2002),learning accumulated through incidentinvestigation pathways and the SDU’swomen service users. The team hasfocused on the particular vulnerabilityof women when emotional lossimpacts on their lives.The workshop was considereda success, as it increased theunderstanding of the three strandsthat define the Think Familystrategy, boosted enthusiasm for itsimplementing within Hounslow SDU,and helped realign the SDU’s visionto consider inter-agency working withCAMHS teams.22 MENTALHEALTHMATTERS MENTALHEALTHMATTERS 23