Well here we are in 2016. Christmas and New Year are sorted and the mild weather we’ve been having is finally over. Snow, frost and scraping the car windscreen in the morning. What joy! Traditionally, January as been a quiet month for Rosewood; however we have seen things pick up already in the centre and within our outreach work.
Every first Monday of the month is the Forensic new staff induction. This is the same as the Duncan Macmillan House Trust induction for new staff but due to increasing numbers induction is also located at Rampton at the Mike Harris Centre. Julie Hall, the acting Chief Executive Officer is the new recruit’s first presentation closely followed by the Involvement and Experience presentation. This is a great opportunity for volunteers, service users and carers to share their stories and experience as volunteers with new staff.
The centre meetings on a Friday as normal are busy. These meetings include Tracey Rowe the Recovery Lead from Rampton and staff from the Trust safeguarding team.
We continue to help and support our carer groups. On 7th January we had our ‘Rosie’s’ County Carer Group. This meeting was a chance for carers and volunteers to meet one of our local commissioners. We continue to help support the third sector and one of our new groups is the Alzheimer’s Carers Group. This runs the first Tuesday each month and we are ready to welcome new members.
We have some of our normal outreach work which includes the 15 Step Challenge; these are ongoing in some of our prison healthcare services including HMP Lindholme, Hatfield and. Doncaster. The 15 Step Challenge is exactly what it sounds like; a review of the healthcare environment. The 15 Step Challenge is not just based in prisons but also across the Trust’s acute and forensic hospital wards.
We continue to develop our links with forensic services holding our monthly forensic involvement group at the Rosewood Centre. This is on the last Thursday of each month from 1:30pm. Guests from our secure services include Rampton, Wathwood, and The Wells Road Centre .We are also doing some research and development around natural peers and peer support working in forensics, this is a collaboration with staff from Human Resources.
A few other things this month is our outreach work from both Involvement centres. The Story Shop is based at Queens Medical Centre. This is a great way of fighting stigma and raising awareness of mental health and has been nominated for a Trust Oscar and nominated for a national award.
At Rampton we will help to support patients at their Directorate Involvement Recovery Group. We aim build more links this year and gather more patient feedback covering all Rampton Hospital.
Services at Rampton
National Women’s High Secure Service
The Peaks Unit – Male Personality Disorder Directorate
Mental Health Directorate
National Learning Disability Directorate.
Our Involvement Volunteers are involved in meetings at patient level helping develop the two-way feedback process which aims to bring about change.
We continue to help and support interviews across The Trust. We are participating in consultant psychiatry and senior social worker interviews. We have also had the opportunity to present to 70 student nurses who hope to apply to work for the Trust.
Have a good month, I will be back to update you in February!
Nigel Groves – Rosewood Centre Manager