Light at the end of the tunnel
« People with mental health problems have a lot to offer employers | Success through Emotional Intelligence »
26th August 2011 02:43 p.m.
It breaks my heart to read Gail’s account and to read comments from others that have had a similar experience. I work for the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust as the Head Occupational Therapist (OT) serving two adult inpatient wards, and it’s not like that here. Of course, there are all sorts of patients on the wards at different stages of recovery, and the first time as an inpatient with a mental health problem will feel scary. Oxleas have a policy to have separate areas on the ward for men and women and take pride in keeping patients safe and maintaining awareness and care for those who are vulnerable, which can be men as well as women!
The patient experience is very important to us and we spend a lot of time working with patients to work out a programme of activities for each day. The nursing staff provide extra activities and time to talk. There are three acute inpatient units and the OTs meet together once every three months to discuss how to improve things for our patients.
In each of the units we use a pathway system to engage patients as soon as they arrive and help them through their journey to wellness and return home in the quickest possible time. Just recently we were talking with our patients about life on the ward. We had been told there were some patients that were ‘bored’ and felt there was nothing to do. On talking with them they were saying how hard it was to get motivated. On one ward the patients were saying how life could easily be disrupted: their favourite nurse was not on duty that day, someone who had been fun and entertaining was now feeling very negative and down, or the police bring in someone on section, and this affected their mood so much they could not get enthused about attending the activities even though they were on offer. On the other ward, the patients said it felt as if they were always waiting for something: for meals, for medication, for the medication to work, for ward round, for visitors, for bed time, for morning to come, and the sense of being in waiting affected their motivation to join in the activities.
Both these perspectives have helped us understand how it is for patients and to respond quickly to improve and encourage people to get through an already traumatic time. It is great to see people recover especially as most patients say, as Gail did, that they can never see a time when they will be well again. Seeing and hearing their pleasure at recovering is the best encouragement for staff and makes us even more determined to try harder.
We continue to try and develop new ways of hearing patients’ stories to help us improve the inpatient experience. In each of the units we have staff with differing skills and expertise so, to make the most of this, we follow the same pathway to make sure we see all patients and then utilise the expertise we have to give the best service possible. The therapeutic groups are run on the ward by OT's, nurses & psychology and we have out of hours groups and groups with a leisure focus in the evenings & weekends. In addition, we are looking to increase access to psychological therapies and have introduced Mindfulness, Using Writing As Therapy, DevelopArts initiatives, as well as providing Art Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Health and Wellbeing is also high on the agenda with lots of new initiatives to help patients improve and maintain their physical health.
The Day Treatment Service supports discharges that have a social inclusion focus, so that when people leave they can feel a valuable part of the community again. What a shame Gail did not come to Oxleas it would have been a lot cheaper than Thailand!
Filed under: Mental Health
Pauline Cooper
Dr. Pauline Cooper trained as an Occupational Therapist qualifying in 1974 at the London School of Occupational Therapy and is currently working as Head Occupational Therapist at the Woodlands unit, our inpatient unit in Bexley. She gained a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing in Personal Development at the University of Sussex. The outcome of this work exposed two writing models: creative writing and writing as therapy. Dr. Cooper, wanting to understand how these two models could best benefit clients, embarked on a doctorate to define the difference. The resulting thesis: The Use of Creative Writing as a Therapeutic Activity for Mental Health in Occupational Therapy has been the basis of ongoing development. In particular, Cooper is using and further researching Using Writing As Therapy (UWAT): a six-session course exploring identity and self esteem.
Leave a comment
The opinions expressed by the Oxleas website bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust or any employee thereof.
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the bloggers or respondents to the blog.
- Privacy policy•
- Terms & conditions•
- Sitemap•
- Feedback
- © Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Site by Neo
Comments
1 Richard Comaish says...
Given that the 'mental illness' on an acute admission ward can extend from trauma to personality disorder, I wonder whether prospective patients and carers will feel entirely reassured to learn that 'Oxleas have a policy to have separate areas on the ward for men and women.' Oxleas may also 'take pride in keeping patients safe,' but will this understanding of 'safety' be that of patients and carers from good, supportive backgrounds who have had the misfortune of falling upon challenging times? My worry about acute boredom is that patients who would appreciate better services and facilities are billeted together with those who might be inclined to destroy them, a famiiar problem with public provision but not one that one really wants to face in some 'home from home' at a time of personal or family crisis.
Posted at 12:09 p.m. on August 28, 2011
2 Pauline Cooper says...
With regard to the 'better services and facilities' the occupational therapists have developed a way of finding the people who want to engage with our activities and we discuss their recovery needs together. We also have the occupational therapy departments/units where people can come away from the wards and be separate from those who are less inclined or too unwell to participate at that time. We, alongside nursing and psychology, also have strategies to work with people on the wards to encourage remotivation and engagement using less intensive activity, or in giving time to talk.
The ward is a constantly changing environment and is an ongoing challenge that we strive to address on a daily basis.
Posted at 2:08 p.m. on August 31, 2011
3 Scott Hunt says...
I found reading both Gails story and Paulines article really useful, and goes to reinforcing the need for clear pathways for each service user and that as much as possible should be done if safe and feasible to prevent hospital admission and expedite early discharge. I trained in the mid 80s and find it quite sad that many of the issues raised now were the same then. I then take a step back and think how positive and advanced in other ways treatment and experiences are. The work of Green Parks House Day treatment Service show how positive a service user pathway can be. I think resource has a great deal to do with some of the difficulties along with training and understanding from health professionals.
Posted at 7:33 a.m. on September 1, 2011
4 Russell Cartwright says...
Great blog Pauline,
When I read Gail Porter's account in the Mail about her time as an inpatient I really felt for her but I also felt proud that I work for an organisation where the experience is different.
The thing that stood out for me was the lack of activity while Gail was on the ward. I was recently part of the judging panel for the Staff Recognition Awards and there were many nominations for ward staff and occupational therapists who put on a wide range of imaginative and meaningful activities for people while they are on our wards.
Posted at 9:13 a.m. on September 2, 2011
5 Jane Burns says...
Having been sectioned myself on Betts ward, an horrific experience where no one explained to me what was going on. I was never shown around, so didnt even know where to get food. I didnt eat for the time I was there and no one noticed or cared. Other patients ranged from scary to nicer than any of the nurses. I can only assume the ward attracts those nurses who no longer care, or simply get a kick out of being unhelpul, rude and aggressive to patients. When myself and my therapist tried to find out what was going on we were fobbed off day after day, and blatantly lied to. No attempt was made to help me at all. I was just given drugs to shut me up. Appalling. I now pay for private care, which I can't afford. I will never trust the NHS again.
Posted at 6:19 p.m. on September 4, 2011
6 Pauline Cooper says...
So disappointed to read Jane's blog. It sounds like an awful time. I was so glad though to read that Jane had a therapist who was helping her through it all. I wonder what kind of therapist that was? It is good to know that, despite the dreadful experience, there was at least one person giving significant help and providing the care Oxleas pride themselves on.
Posted at 9:41 a.m. on September 7, 2011
7 Catherine Kirwan says...
It is always really disappointing to hear that a service user feels let down by our service. It is sad that Jane felt she needed to pay for private healthcare. I have worked as a newly qualifed nurse through to being a senior nurse at Green Parks House and have always been so proud of the service we provide and of working in the NHS.
It is disheartening to hear of such experiences, as a nurse the key thing for me is being able to empathise with people and imagine how I would feel if I, or someone I cared for, was sectioned and admitted to hospital. Being in distress as a result of mental illness is devastating. There are mental health professionals themselves that will have experienced this, it can happen to any one of us.
I wonder if Jane discussed her concerns with her primary nurse or with the ward manager? There are duty senior nurses available 24 hours a day and a modern matron who takes keen interest in service users views and experiences. There are lots of leaflets and posters displayed advising on how to discuss concerns or complaints.
There are many nurses at Green Parks House that truly care about providing as safe and as therapeutic an experience as possible on the wards. We need to know if a service user has a complaint or concern so that we can continue to make our service better.
Catherine Kirwan
Bed Manager
Green Parks House
Posted at 2:11 p.m. on September 8, 2011
8 Richard Comaish says...
When I see someone advocating e.g., the ward complaints procedure as the solution, 'This,' I say to myself, 'is someone who has never been where I've been, and never will be.' Similar feeling towards the idea of 'going private.'
Posted at 7:30 a.m. on September 9, 2011
9 Carol Ovington says...
I feel this is a very sad blog, but it highlights the need for meaningful occupation towards a persons future life. The need to talk can come at any point in the persons recovery and that facility should be available. Also I feel that selected groups on wards can offer peer support, which aids recovery.The person needs re assurance that they are able to recover. Carol
Posted at 12:25 p.m. on September 13, 2011
10 Debbie Gray says...
Jane Burns sums up all that is wrong with the nursing and care you get when admitted to Betts Ward (or indeed Green Parks as a whole). I was admitted back in 2009 (my first experience of a mental health ward) to Goddington and I thought that the care on that ward was limited and unhelpful but having been admitted to Betts in December 2011 I can empathise completely with what she is saying. The comments on this blog from Oxleas staff are quite frankly unhelpful. It is time that they stopped getting defensive and listen to people like Jane because if this new triage system is supposed to be an improvement it leaves a lot to be desired. I was admitted through the community mental health team as they assessed me as needing to be in Green Parks (even though I had always said I would never go back) - I was discharged four days later having had no proper care, no sleep, no medications to talk of (they were completely messed up) and so far no follow up help or support from anyone. I have now (a month later) been offered an assessment with the day treatment team but having had nothing for a month I too am looking at going into the private sector. Well done Jane for your comments - as to Catherine Kirwan's comment about speaking to a primary nurse or ward manager I would say that on Betts ward you were not encouraged to speak about your concerns - in fact one member of staff actually said to me, when I raised concerns about one member of staffs attitude and lack of care - I would soon be going home and the staff would still be there so don't say anything i.e do not rock the boat. That sums up the attitude of the staff on Betts Ward.
Posted at 10:21 a.m. on January 7, 2012
11 Trevor Eldridge says...
Thank you for your comment Debbie. I understand you have raised these issues as a formal complaint and I would like to assure you that they will be investigated as part of this. I take a close interest in all complaints involving our wards.
Trevor Eldridge
Director of Adult Acute Mental Health Services
Posted at 1:56 p.m. on January 11, 2012
12 Debbie Gray says...
Thank you Trevor for your response but as I have had an acknowledgement of my complaint and this in itself has raised concerns as they have belittled some very serious issues, I thought I would be best raising it out in the open. Having talked through my particular health issues with my GP who is in fact in agreement that Oxleas services leave a lot to be desired I am leaving it to him to get me through a very difficult period in my life which has been made so much worse by the lack of support from the so called CMHT. I am aware that there are a lot of people in the community with a lot more serious illnesses who have had similar experiences and this is appalling in the year 2012. I do not want anything more to do with Oxleas, they have made my situation 10 times worse, I just hope that by highlighting my concerns and backing the concerns of Jane Burns someone else does not experience what we have.
Posted at 2:11 p.m. on January 11, 2012
13 Rosemary Cantwell says...
I am pleased to know that Occupational Therapy is seen as such a positive aspect of care in Oxleas - this is such an important part of feeling well and able to cope.
Posted at 6:39 p.m. on March 3, 2012