ByTrevor Clower - Carer & Involvement Volunteer
I want to share some of my work as a carer and Involvement Volunteer with you all. I am working with Tony Bernard, (Community Psychiatric Nurse) and Rene Custers, (Peer Support Worker) to pilot 'Time to Talk' project at Highbury Hospital, Bulwell, Nottingham. Every Wednesday evening between 4pm & 6pm we are trying to get 'Time to Talk' off the ground and make it known to everyone. This includes carers and families as well as professionals.
Well, something I want to share with you was that I witnessed the kind of breakthrough that 'Time to Talk' is designed to do. Yes, we had two family members call in to talk about their son and discovered that although their son had been a patient for two years, the family have never met his doctor in charge of his treatment, only letters and other official documents, informing them of the basics of their son’s treatment.
After only two weeks of them contacting us at 'Time to Talk', in the family room at Highbury Hospital, we managed to get the doctor and the two family members together for a five-minute chat.
The five-minute chat lasted almost an hour with a very positive outcome. The doctor is now going to include the family in their son’s treatment plan, so they will be fully informed and not left in the dark, as they have for the past 2 years.
This is enabling the doctor to talk with the two family members directly at every opportunity, but also to prosper from the knowledge the two family members hold about the patient he is treating.
We have also opened the door towards Behavioural Family Therapy, to help them manage their lives and still be able to cope with the situation.
One down, just another 28, 999 to go, yes there are 29, 000 carers in the City of Nottingham!
'Time to Talk 'is all about creating a dialogue between professionals and ward staff and helping carers and families of Nott's Healthcare FT Trust to be included.
For more information please contact me via janedanforth@nottshc.nhs.uk and Jane will pass on my details or alternatively contact me via Twitter @Trevorclower
Carers Time to Talk is Working!
Carers Time to Talk is Working! https://www.careopinion.org.uk/resources/blog-resources/8-images/9f9cdc9eab624539936a2c0cb2918814.jpg Care Opinion 0114 281 6256 https://www.careopinion.org.uk /content/uk/images/logos/co-header-logo-2020-default.pngUpdate from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Posted by Jane Danforth, Involvement & Experience Officer, Involvement, Experience and Volunteering Team, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, on
About: Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust / Adult mental health (inpatient) Highbury Hospital
Response from Tony Bernard, CPN, Highbury Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust on 28 Oct 2015 at 11:26
Being one of the leads of Carers time to talk I also echo it was great to see this positive outcome however; we still recognise that there is still work to do. Seeing the Carers joy and relief of having a face to face meeting with the Medic; they now feel that they have been heard and listen to. On reflection, the ‘carers’ time to talk’ created the opportunity by delivery of supportive environments and strategies. For instance, by closely communicating with Rowan 1 ward (Debbie Bacon). This is a good example of efficiency by having the Carers time to talk in Highbury Family Room which has close proximity with the inpatient wards and other multidisciplinary services in Highbury. It’s reasonable to say, we’ve helped to enhance the carers’ experience.