Sorry for the break in my blogs recently, but I’ve been very busy moving house! I’ve downsized into a smaller home and it’s currently full of boxes which represent a lifetime of accumulated possessions. My husband and I are working through them trying to decide what to let go of and what to keep - we’ve had to think really hard about what’s important to us.
This reminded me of some of the difficult decisions our Board had to make last month, where we really had to focus on what’s important to us as an organisation.
The first one was about the future of our Health and Wellbeing College; we were so grateful that students and staff came to our board meeting to share their stories, so we could hear first-hand the value of the college and what it means to them.
We recognise the importance of this service which is heavily focused on supporting people’s well being and recovery, but know that we have to balance investment in this service against all our other services that are also under pressure and require more money. And this is in a context where we are currently running a deficit.
We recognise the importance of this service which is heavily focused on supporting people’s well being and recovery, but know that we have to balance investment in this service against all our other services that are also under pressure and require more money. And this is in a context where we are currently running a deficit.
However, after very careful consideration, we decided to continue funding the development of the college, while we work with our commissioners to explore priorities for investment, as part of our wider mental health transformation programme.
The other challenging decision our Board faced was around mixed sex accommodation. Like many trusts across the country, we still have some mixed sex accommodation in our inpatient mental health services. We recognise that for patients to have safety, dignity and privacy this needs to change. These changes could impact on how accessible our services are though, with some patients having to travel further if their local inpatient service is single sex instead of mixed.
Again, we were grateful to our staff who attended Board and shared their views about the proposals. Over the next few weeks, we are going to be carefully considering the impact of the changes that were agreed in principle, so we can ensure we find ways of mitigating these as much as possible. The Board will be receiving a final business case in September, and in the meantime, we will be talking to people about the proposed changes so we fully understand the concerns and can develop the best way to implement the proposed changes.
The other challenging decision our Board faced was around mixed sex accommodation. Like many trusts across the country, we still have some mixed sex accommodation in our inpatient mental health services. We recognise that for patients to have safety, dignity and privacy this needs to change. These changes could impact on how accessible our services are though, with some patients having to travel further if their local inpatient service is single sex instead of mixed.
Again, we were grateful to our staff who attended Board and shared their views about the proposals. Over the next few weeks, we are going to be carefully considering the impact of the changes that were agreed in principle, so we can ensure we find ways of mitigating these as much as possible. The Board will be receiving a final business case in September, and in the meantime, we will be talking to people about the proposed changes so we fully understand the concerns and can develop the best way to implement the proposed changes.
While my husband and I may be making progress sorting through our boxes of possessions, we’ve been less successful with our internet connection in our new house! We’ve also got poor phone signal, and I’ve come to realise just how much I rely on the internet and how important digital access is to my day-to-day life. It’s no different at work; on a clinical visit this week, the team told me how difficult it sometimes is for them to get onto the IT system.
That’s why our new refreshed digital healthcare strategy is so important. We want to become recognised as a national leader in the use of digital technology, to improve the safety and convenience of our services. I know we have a ways to go yet, but we have made massive progress already in the implementation of an electronic patient record across a lot of our services.
That’s why our new refreshed digital healthcare strategy is so important. We want to become recognised as a national leader in the use of digital technology, to improve the safety and convenience of our services. I know we have a ways to go yet, but we have made massive progress already in the implementation of an electronic patient record across a lot of our services.
I wanted to thank everyone who is working so hard to make this aspiration a reality, whether that’s the technical teams supporting this work, or staff in services shifting to working in different ways. It’s a huge programme of change but I appreciate people’s commitment to making this happen.
We know how essential technology is to the delivery of front line services and we want to make the most of it – whether that’s making everything you need accessible on mobiles, tablets and computers, or standardising systems so care is safe, consistent and effective. We’re planning some events later in the year, so you can tell us what matters to you and what ideas you have to improve our services through technology.
I’d like to apologise to the Irwell unit as I had to cancel my visit a couple of weeks ago, but I will visit the North and South wards soon to meet you and hear about your work.
We know how essential technology is to the delivery of front line services and we want to make the most of it – whether that’s making everything you need accessible on mobiles, tablets and computers, or standardising systems so care is safe, consistent and effective. We’re planning some events later in the year, so you can tell us what matters to you and what ideas you have to improve our services through technology.
I’d like to apologise to the Irwell unit as I had to cancel my visit a couple of weeks ago, but I will visit the North and South wards soon to meet you and hear about your work.
I did manage to squeeze in a visit to our children and young people mental health units, Hope and Horizon, at Bury this week. I was struck by the great leadership team they have: passionate leaders who are clearly visible and make a real difference to their staff. It’s no surprise Lindsay Baucutt, their operational manager, has been shortlisted for the Inspirational Leader award, and the team has been shortlisted for the Team of the Year award in this year’s Pennine Care People awards.
Despite having such amazing staff, their work is not without its challenges. It’s clearly a great place to work but they still struggle with the same issues as many of our services, such as staffing and recruitment. We’ll be working together to try and find a solution.
So that’s another hectic week over. Have a good weekend everyone - I am off to fix a leaking shower and do a bit more unpacking before a bit of R&R next week on holiday!! Despite having such amazing staff, their work is not without its challenges. It’s clearly a great place to work but they still struggle with the same issues as many of our services, such as staffing and recruitment. We’ll be working together to try and find a solution.
Best wishes,
Claire
