In your Winter 2023 edition
- Welcome from Andy Willis, Chair
- Pride of DPT Awards
- Peer Support Workers discuss compassion and respect
- Green light for new learning disability and autism service
- Devon Wellbeing Hub supports thousands of colleagues
- International recruitment
- Awards for international nurses
- Moorings pilot scheme extended
- TALKWORKS offers menopause support
Welcome from Andy Willis, Chair
Hello and welcome to the Winter edition of Mental Health Matters.
As we look back on 2023, it has undoubtedly been another very busy year. We have achieved a huge amount and our wonderful teams have continued to provide great care and support for people with mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity needs. With our NHS and social care colleagues across the county, our teams have done this in the face of some significant challenges.
The recruitment and retention of our people remains our overriding challenge but, as you’ll read below, we are making some steady headway on this front – particularly with the recruitment of overseas nurses.
Thank you for taking an interest in our organisation and, on behalf of everyone at DPT, I hope you have a restful festive break.
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Our annual Pride of DPT Awards were, once again, a joyful and uplifting occasion. Our staff do great work every day but this event gives us the time and space to acknowledge and celebrate some of that work, by individuals and teams. Take a moment to watch our highlight reel here. |
We are gradually recruiting more Peer Support Workers (PSWs), who make a unique and invaluable contribution to our work based on their own personal experiences. We now have more than 50 PSWs and we have made a short film in which Marie, Julie and Helena talk about the importance of civility, compassion and respect – key components of our organisational culture.
To watch the film, click here or click on the image below.
Teignbridge District Council has granted planning permission to build a brand new 10-bed centre on our Langdon Hospital site in Dawlish, at a cost of around £20m. The new unit will support adults with a mental health need and a learning disability or autism, whose needs cannot be met on general mental health wards. We expect the new centre to open in 2025.
We already have a great team of staff providing inpatient care and treatment for up to five people with a learning disability at our Additional Support Unit (ASU) on the Whipton Hospital site in Exeter. If the plans go ahead as expected, the ASU will remain open until the new centre is completed, and people can then be cared for and supported in the new service.
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Thousands of healthcare, social care and police colleagues have been supported this year thanks to the Devon Wellbeing Hub.
Between January and October 2023, the Hub received over 600 referrals and had 4,188 contacts with colleagues for individual and team support.
The Hub launched in March 2021 as a response to the impact of COVID-19. Since then, the service has developed and now supports individuals and teams with range of wellbeing issues, whether they’re related to the pandemic or not.
Christina Greenland, Operational and Clinical Lead for the Hub, said: “Colleagues working in healthcare, social care and the police have faced considerable challenges over the last few years, and continue to do so. It’s vitally important that those who care for others also have someone caring for them. The Hub is here to ensure people have someone to turn to if they’re struggling. We're proud to be able to continue to support even more colleagues in the New Year.”
If you work in health, social care or the police, you can get in touch with the Devon Wellbeing Hub for free, confidential support, by calling 0300 303 5455, emailing dpt.devonwellbeing@nhs.net or via the online referral form on the Devon Wellbeing Hub website.
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In addition to our ongoing efforts to recruit healthcare professionals from around the UK, we have had a good deal of success with international recruitment this year and now have around 60 internationally educated professionals working with us, with another ten or so due to start early next year.
As part of our recruitment campaign we produced a two-minute film, along with shorter versions, translated into Portuguese, which was promoted during November on social media to audiences in Brazil. The film features Gislaine, an Occupational Therapist and Senior Mental Health Practitioner with DPT, who talks about her move from Brazil to the UK.
If you or anyone you know is interested in a career at DPT, please contact our Recruitment Team by e-mailing dpt.recruitment@nhs.net or visiting our Jobs website at https://jobs.dpt.nhs.uk/
To watch Gislaine's film, click here or on the image below.
We are very proud that three of our internationally educated nurses won awards at the recent Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association 25th Anniversary celebration in Coventry.
Oyindamola Edun received the Unsung Hero award in recognition of the support she has given to other internationally educated nurses. Although not at the celebration, Queen Okesola received the Nurse of the Year award in recognition of her support to internationally educated nurses and Chukwuma Aningo won the Rising Star award for ‘his hard work and being a shining example to others’. Congratulations to all of them!
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A pioneering pilot project in Exeter aimed at supporting people’s mental health and keeping them well in their community has been granted funding until next spring.
DPT and national charity Mental Health Matters have been running activities at the Mooring Exeter Hub, providing emotional support to those in need and also giving them access to a wide variety of community resources. Since it opened, the Hub has supported more than 350 people.
The Mooring Exeter Hub, based at Wonford House, is one of three sites across Devon offering mental health support to people aged 18+ in a safe, welcoming, non-judgemental and non-clinical environment. The other two sites are in Torbay and Barnstaple.
Set up to complement more traditional mental health services, people can pop into the Hub for a chat and a cuppa and access dedicated emotional, social or practical support from professionals. Since July, the Hub has been offering additional activities to support and improve mental wellbeing alongside their usual services, including peer-led support groups, tai chi and a mindful clay group. Additionally, housing officers run a clinic once a fortnight to support people who might be facing accommodation issues.
The Mooring Exeter Hub is open 10am-midnight, Monday-Friday (including over Christmas and bank holidays), and 12pm-midnight, Saturday-Sunday. You can find out more about the services offered by visiting the Mental Health Matters website.
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TALKWORKS can help adults across Devon (outside Plymouth) to manage the physical and emotional side effects of menopause. The NHS Talking Therapies service runs a six week TALKWORKS for menopause group, where participants will be able to learn more about managing the emotional and physical side effects of menopause, as well as gaining the opportunity to share their own experiences and learn from others. The course is free and all dates and times can be found on the TALKWORKS website here.
TALKWORKS can also provide one-to-one therapy for adults (age 18+) struggling with low mood, increased stress and anxiety or difficulties sleeping. The service currently has short waiting times and a range of flexible appointments, including early morning and evening sessions which can be delivered face to face, over the phone or via video call.
You do not need a referral from a GP to access TALKWORKS, you can refer yourself online or over the phone. For more information on the different treatment options and therapy services, please visit the TALKWORKS website or call 0300 555 3344.
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