Message from the Chair News 4/5 Message from the chair Welcome to the winter 2015/16 edition of <strong>SLaM</strong> news. I have been in my role as chair for almost a year now and I am excited by our important mission to improve the lives of people locally. On my visits to dozens of services across our hospital and community sites, I have been energised by conversations I have had with staff, service users, their carers, friends and families – and so have my fellow directors. We are working hard to invest in moving care out of hospital and further into our communities. We are continuing to help more people recover from mental illness and become experts in their own recovery through effective self-management and peer support. This year has been an exceptional year of growth for our Recovery College. The college holds a number of courses and workshops run by both staff and people who use our services working together. We are also increasing the numbers of people registering to volunteer with the trust – 45% are people with lived experience, with many moving on to paid employment and further education. Having seen first-hand the valuable work our staff are doing to serve our vibrant and diverse local communities, I want to thank staff for their unyielding professionalism and positive attitude. This is illustrated by our trust's ‘Friends and Family’ test results – 82% of 5000 people asked, said they would recommend us. Our staff are, quite rightly, receiving recognition for all their hard work improving mental health. This year, not only did we make it into Health Service Journal’s (HSJ) top 100 places to work in the NHS but we have won and been shortlisted for numerous health sector and service user awards from local partners the British Medical Association, Royal College of Psychiatrists, HSJ and Nursing Times. These awards and nominations are testament to how we are successfully engaging with people who use our services by changing the way we deliver them. It is more than a year since we became the first mental health trust in the UK to go smokefree. I am proud that this achievement has had a positive impact on the health of patients and staff. In October NHS colleagues from across the country joined us at an anniversary conference to reflect on how this has been achieved. In September the Care Quality Commision carried out a routine, but our first ever, full-scale inspection of our services and we look forward to their final report and “Quality Summit” in the new year. In 2016 we will build on the momentum following the CQC’s visit and continue to improve the quality of care we provide. Thank you to all our members for your continued support. Best wishes, Roger Paffard World Mental Health Day and Black History Month in October World Mental Health Day takes place annually on 10 October. It was established by the World Federation for Mental Health in 1982 and is sponsored by the World Health Organisation to reduce stigma, discrimination and social exclusion. The theme this year was dignity in mental health. October is Black History Month and celebrates the progress, richness and diversity of people of African descent and we aim to promote a greater understanding of black and minority ethnic culture within the trust. Around the trust it was a busy time with a host of wide-ranging events taking place to mark these two important occasions, all funded by Maudsley Charity. <strong>SLaM</strong> AdArt, a group of creative service users and staff within the Addictions Clinical Academic Group, collaborated with five other mental health organisations, to hold an event called FLIGHT, transforming Tate Modern’s East Room on World Mental Health Day into a free drop-in area with installations and a range of dynamic, fun, creative workshops. Occupational therapist, Inma Otal-Coscojuela, said: “It was a fun interactive day in which everyone - families, people living with addictions and other mental health problems, children, workers, volunteers and members of the public – engaged in playful, creative activity celebrating the positive impact that arts have on mental health.” One of the comments from the AdArt group illustrated the day’s positive outcome: “I can’t remember the last time I felt so happy. It was great to interact with children and families, and seeing the children have fun and being a part of that was wonderful.” A trust service user led information team manned a successful stall at Waterloo station to hand out leaflets and give advice on mental health issues. They talked to members of the public and found that the main areas where people were seeking advice were around depression and alcohol dependency. The Social Inclusion, Hope and Recovery Project (SHARP) team, within the Psychosis Clinical Academic Group, took part in a collaborative exhibition at the Salome Gallery, with a private view for a group art show around the concept of dignity. At the end of the month a conference was held at the Centre for Global Health, King’s College London, entitled ‘Human rights and dignity in mental health care: a global Trust stand at Waterloo Station. Left to right Sheila, Ursula, Gillian and Paul FLIGHT Exhibition at Tate Modern perspective’, which focused on the potential human rights violation of people with mental health problems. A varied programme of activities and cultural experiences were held to mark Black History Month including ward parties, complementary therapies, workshops, plays, live music, food and poetry readings by people with lived experience of mental illness.