Did you know that national hoarding awareness week is fast approaching? The awareness week starts on Monday 13th of May, which is the same day mental health awareness week starts.
The awareness week started in 2014 and has grown each year. So the theme for this year is called “Then and Now”, which is centred around looking back at how much has changed throughout the last decade
Hoarding is a recognised mental health diagnosis. It is the excessive collection and retention of any material to the point that living space is sufficiently cluttered to preclude activities for what they are designed for.
Those who care for someone hoarding often go through forms of mental health stigma, which can often set difficult challenges in their relationship with the person hoarding.
Hoarding disorders are challenging to treat because many people who hoard frequently do not see it as a problem, or have little awareness of how it’s affecting their life or the lives of others. This can lead to families and friends struggling to maintain a relationship with the person who has the disorder.
There is much needed awareness for hoarding, so it is just by chance that a Leicester Animation Studio has launched Campaign for Animated Short Film Shedding Light on Hoarding Disorder.
Supported by the British Film Institute (BFI) NETWORK, the film will visually explore real human emotions within the context of Hoarding Disorder focusing on the relationship between a mother and her daughter.
Though the BFI NETWORK supported by the National Lottery is behind the project, Kino Bino are seeking pledges to complete the production. Their crowdfunding campaign is backed by national hoarding organisations such as Hoarding Disorder UK, Clouds End, and Hoarding Support, with Leicestershire Fire Service, academic experts, and organisations like the British Psychological Society, Age UK, and the APDO rallying behind this worthwhile film.
Welcome to an update of the Cygnet Annual Nursing Conference and awards ceremony that took place over at the National Conference Centre.
Just to let you know the perspective of the Nursing conference is from a carer’s perspective. I will not always repeat what took place, but might review its importance or my understanding of the event.
The Cygnet Nursing Conference took place on the 9th of May 2024 from 10:00 am till 4:30 pm, so the event was packed with updates, keynote speakers, Breakout Sessions and Awards along with certificate graduations.
You can also watch the video promotion of the event below.
I would just like to mention that in my carer engagement role, I have never been to a nursing conference before, so I was not sure what to expect. I was worried a lot of things would go over my head or there would be too much Jargon. This is important if involved patient and carers from expert by experience are attending professional events.
The evening before carer ambassadors and expert by experience were treated to a lovely meal at the Premier Inn hotel over in Birmingham.
I had not seen a few Cygnet carer ambassadors for a while, so it was great to connect and hear updates. With support from Cygnet Carer lead Laura Sheridan I was made to feel welcome. In fact we all were welcomed by David Wilmott who is Cygnet’s Director of Nursing. David has a strong nursing background and has a focus and passion for making nursing a special career for Cygnet staff.
I have to admit I did not pay too much attention to the Conference agenda beforehand, but to my surprise, it turned out some of the Keynote speakers were at premier inn meal. I had a chat with Stephen Jones who is the Head of nursing practice for mental health at the Royal College of Nursing. Did you know I am involved in a few RCN projects?
I also had a chat to Jane Murkin who is the Deputy Director of Safety and Improvement at NHS England.
It was great to see two professionals passionate about the nursing profession and I was interested to hear what they were going to say.
On the day of the conference the weather was pleasant and so was the atmosphere of the conference. Everyone was friendly and welcoming as they looked forward to the agenda. It was not long before we had welcome and introductions from David Wilmott who thanked those in attendance and mentioned how important it is to congratulate each other. David mentioned that it takes a lot to not only help others who are vulnerable, but also to help each other and ourselves.
We then had a welcome from Dr Tony Romero who is the CEO of Cygnet. Tony showed his support for those in attendance as he prepared staff for a special day.
Next to present from a video message was Prof Deborah Sturdy who is the Chief Nurse for Adult Social care at the Department of Health and Social Care. She also thanked those in attendance, but made note that we must join networks with people and their communities.
Stephen Jones presents
It was not long before we had our first Keynote speaker. This was Stephen Jones who I met the day before and had an interesting discussion about carer involvement.
Stephen spoke about Psychosocial Interventions in Mental Health Nursing. Interventions along with coproduction and codesign are the things I am involved in at the RCN. Stephen spoke about these very things and how these programmes are developed at the Royal College of Nursing.
Stephen spoke about those who promote these programmes at the RCN and the work they do.
He also mentioned why Mental Health Nursing is so important regarding psychosocial interventions. Stephen stressed that Psychosocial interventions are not a replacement for structured psychological therapy, medication or other evidence-based treatments, but work with and inform these treatments to provide a conprehensive approach to mental health care.
Stephen made his presentation easy to understand as he broke down the roles of mental health nursing. Stephen also spoke about the The Nursing and Midwifery Council, which is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to practise within the UK.
Jane Murkin NHS – Keynote Speaker
We then heard from Jane Murkin who is the deputy director of Safety and Improvement in Nursing at NHS England
Jane spoke about her reflection on nursing and delivering the best outcomes for people. She also promoted that we should consider our roles and responsibility when it comes to improving services. Jane touched on some of NHS England’s improvement approach and impact. Plus she finished up by providing an overview of the national strategic nursing priorities.
It was refreshing to hear Jane mention the importance of families, carers and patients being involved to help change systems of service delivery.
Rebecca Burgess-Dawson Presents
The third keynote speaker was Rebecca who is the National clinical lead at South West Yorkshire Parnership NHS Foundation trust.
Her presentatation was a passionate talk about mental health nursing and its overview. She challenged the audience to think closely on what mental health nursing is percived to be and why she feels cygnet has carefully thought about its identity and service when it comes to mental health nursing.
We then had a coffee break with a chance to network which then led onto how Quality Improvement helped services at one of Cygnet sites. This was presented by Rosie Hodgson-Whittle who is the Interim Hospital Manager at Cygnet Appletree.
Rosie talked about the implementation of the 7Cs Tool which aid and improve services regarding patient observations, collaboration and identifying not only the problems, but also the solutions.
Cygnet Nursing strategy
It was then back to David Wilmott who introduced Laura Sheridan and Raf Hamza on the co-production of Cygnets Nursing strategy. We heard from Raf Hamza on why lived experience should be included in developments on such strategies.
Next was more networking and lunch, where I took the time to speak to some staff and catch up with keynote speakers. I glanced through the Cygnet annual nursing conference booklet and felt the design, feel and presentation was inviting. It was easy to understand and had a professional feel to it.
Ellie Gordon presents
After lunch we heard from more keynote speakers. The first being Ellie Gordon who is the Senior Nurse for Learning disability at NHS England. Ellie talked about the importance of education and the inclusion of Nursing Associates.
Oxleas presents on Embedding Relational Security – See Think Act.
I have close links with Oxleas due to my carer forums and groups. So it was a delight to see Oxleas support the Cygnet Nursing Conference.
We got to hear from Naidoo Armoordon who is the Head of Nursing at Oxleas.
Naidoo was joined by Emma Hopkins who is the practice development nurse in the Accute & Crisis Directorate. Oxleas wanted to Showcase the transformative power of ( See Think Act ) relational secutiy knowledge and how this can be applied through a trauma informed lens.
This would be done through strong leadership within the acute inpatient setting and help enchance staff and patient well-being with a culture of excellence at Oxleas Wards.
Naidoo spoke about why such tools are needed especially when nurses face difficult challenges on the wards. As you can see from the chart below.
Emma provided a case study of a patient and how those tools produce better outcomes.
Nursing in the United states
This section was presentated by Karen Johnson who is the Chief Clinical Officer and Senior Vice Presendent in Behavioural Health at UHS. Karen was joined by Valerie Devereaux who is the Vice President of Nursing and Behavioural Health at UHS.
Cygnet is a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, which is based in the states. UHS owns and operates 400 facilities across 39 US states including Washington D.C, Puerto Rico and of course the UK. These sites include
Acute Care Hospitals Ambulatory Surgery Centers Behavioral Health Facilities Freestanding Emergency Departments
Karen spoke about the state of US health care, which included the length of stay within inpatient facilities and residential facilities. She focused on the importance of the US 2024 National Suicide Strategy and the focus on
Community-Based Suicide Prevention Treatment and Crisis Services Surveilance, Quality Improvement and Research Health Equity in Suicide Prevention
It was interesting to hear what the Nursing Trends and challenges are in the US as there seems to be similar challenges over in the states as well as in the UK.
Breakout sessions
Next we had a choice of 4 Breakout sessions where I attened 2 of those sessions
Caring for a person with Diabetes Intervention and escalation of an unwell person Role of engagement when performing observations Support and engagement in social care
I was interested in the session regarding diabetes, since my mother suffered greatly with the illness.
I remember the difficult challanges of trying to care not only for her mental health, but how her physical health was in a serious situation.
Cygnet Nursing awards
This section of the conference was one of the events I was looking forward to. I wanted to see what the nursing staff were celebrated for and how they were celebrated. You get to hear the works Cygnet Nursing staff carry out during such awards.
I was not disappointed as I watched David present awards. I heard how Julie won her award for the work she does with carers at the Cygnet Hexham site
I also observed not only the nursing awards. but also graduation certificates which was presented by Mandy ianchard who is Cygnet’s Head of Learning & Development.
Overall I enjoyed the day and felt I was not only watching the conference, but was also a part of it.
Welcome to another update of an event for carers. This blog is of the special event produced by carers for unpaid carers. The event was developed by unpaid carers Faith Smith and Annette Davis.
The point of the event was a chance for carers who care for someone unpaid to come together and showcase a talent to link carers together. This was a special event because it was produce by unpaid carers for unpaid carers. Both Annette and Faith felt carers have something to offer that can bring the community together. After viewing an exhibition, both carers felt inspired to develop an event which took some months of planning and organising.
I have known Annette and Faith a very long time and we often collaborate when there is a chance. So with the support of Carer network lead Laura Sheridan at Cygnet, we felt this would be a chance for Carers of London to learn from each other and develop confidence to share their talents.
For the first ever Positive Talents show took place at Cygnet ChurchHill hospital over in Lambeth. The location was very easy to get to, with good transport links.
There was also a good turn out as we got support from unpaid carers wanting to attend to reduce isolation and also carers who wanted to showcase their talents.
Annette and Faith opened the positive talent show with an explanation of to why carers should be given the chance to show off any skills or talents. It is just a matter of being given the chance.
We were then shown a video of a carer performing poetry. The poem was performed by Brenda Onatade who could not be present. However you can see Brenda perform her poetry below.
Next we had a video from Jo Lambert who also could not attend, however Faith gave a great talk about the video which you can see below
You can see Jo Lambert’s video called “Fairy lights of Hope” below
We then had a talk by Annette on Looking after yourself. Her talk was titled LAM “looking after ME”
As being a poet, I wanted to showcase the importance of carers recognising their talents and performed a poem called “What helps me”
I also did a learn and share session for carers to relate to the poem, which you can view below.
There was then a focus on positive wellbeing messages that were shared by the audience of carers. We all shared what was positive for our own health.
.After my poetry performance we then moved onto a comedy routine by another carer called Jo.
The routine helped destigmatize mental ill health as sometimes the only option for difficult challenges is laughter. You can see the comedy section below.
Next was a game of charades, where carers can feel welcome and join in the activities
Then next was refreshments and food along with networking. The food was prepared by Cygnet chief Titilayo
For the 2nd half of the Talent show. We had a presentation from Southwark Wellbeing hub on their focus for Black carers. There is a launch of the Black Carers Project, which I have included the poster below.
Then we have a dance section from carer Jackie Christie, where you can see the performance below
After the lovely dance show, we had another comedy routine, this time performed by Faith Smith, again the video is placed below.
Next was my 2nd poetry performance on the importance of setting a legacy.
The last two performance were led by Annette who did a few song sessions
I felt the event turned out very well since this was the first ever carer talent show. We all shared from each other and felt that we were part of something very big. Thanks for the support from the following carer centres who also helped to promote and connect carers to each other. These being Lambeth carers hub, Sutton Carers and Imago community and a special thanks to Cygnet for hosting the event for carers, plus providing food.
All who took part were awarded certificate, so well done to them.
Given the chance, carers can do some amazing things for the community. Carers can be supported to showcase their skills and talents.
Researcher Lewys Beames who is a PhD Student at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, is undertaking a research project looking at improving experiences for mental health service users on psychiatric inpatient wards.
Below is an invitation to a focus group for informal/ unpaid carers with experience of inpatient mental healthcare to discuss how service users should be supported after experiencing coercive practice.
They would particularly welcome:
People who also have experience of coercive practices such as, involuntary admission, physical restraint or forced medications,
and people from Black and racially minoritised groups and communities who we know are more often exposed to coercive practices in mental health services.
Some examples of the areas and topics the interview will cover are:
· Perspectives on possible different types of support that could be offered. · Views on how this support should be delivered. · Perspectives on how to use the current and developing research evidence to develop a support intervention for service users.
When will the focus group happen?
Service User Focus Group – 3rd May 2024, 10:00 – 12:00 Informal Carer Focus Group – 14th May 2024, 12:00 – 14:00
Interested in taking part?
Please get in touch with via the contact details below:
Welcome to another blog from carer activist Matthew McKenzie. As a Cygnet carer ambassador, I will usually blog updates of the carer events they do, especially the ones I participate in. I think it is important carers can learn what happens at those events, so they can try attend for future events.
Obviously Cygnet runs other events to promote mental wellbeing, learning experiences and engagement, but I tend to focus on carers, so most blogs will be on carer networking and events. There will be times where I report on other carer events from NHS trusts, which helps on engaging with partners and the caring community.
The event this blog focuses on is the Cygnet Hospital Maidstone event. That took place on the 20th of April 2024. The carer event was the first event I attended from my recent honours recognition ceremony that took place in London over at Tower Bridge, but I will blog about that one much later on.
Cygnet tries very hard to engage with families, friends and carers who loved ones are using their services. So Cygnet hospital Maidstone put on an excellent event to showcase what they do for unpaid carers. As mentioned the event was run on satuday to give carers a chance to attend, since during the week this might not be so easy due to work commitments.
Both Julian and myself was welcomed by the friendly Cygnet staff at the hospital, I checked out the hospital’s carers board and then we proceeded to the board room for the event, which was laid out with carer information, policies and advice.
It was not long before some carers and cygnet staff attended and soon the event was opened by Hospital General Manager Alison McCulloch.
Alison explained the proceedings for the day which was
A set of expert talks A chance to network with attendees Launch and then a tour of the facilites
Cygnet Maidstone is a very large hospital with several wards. They have their own Healthy dietician room, prayer room, A room to learn music and skills, recovery college. Plus they have an indoor physical exercise room and outdoor sports area. There was so many facilities I dont think I can remember them all, but I will explain more later on.
Going back to the “Expert talk” section of the event. The first speaker was Louisa Powell who is also a hospital manager. Lousia explained why she became a mental health nurse due to lived experince of a carer. She is still a carer, but juggles her work to do as much as she can for those going through mental ill health crisis. Louisa cares passionately about the profession and engaging with families and carers.
When then had an explaination of what Cygnet was doing for carers. This was presented by Julian De Takats who is a carer and cygnet carer ambassador. Julian talked about his lived experience as a carer and why it is so important carers know what their mental health service provider was doing for them and their loved ones using the services.
Julian explained the following
What is means to be a carer The importance of identifying carers Cygnets offer to carers being Handbooks, welcome packs, carer passport and consistant contact
Julian also touched on the Carers Trust standards called “The Triangle of Care”. This is something Cygnet has worked very hard to archieve as several cygnet hospitals have gained their first star acceditation
We then has a talk from an addictions expert and how carers can be supported. We were even taken to the addictions centre where he explained many of the resources that help patients come to terms with addictions.
The next presentation was on the Special Wellbeing Team and what they provide at the hospital. This includes healthy eating, physical activity, involvement in developing th care and treatment plan and more.
We next presentation was on consent to share and discharg planning for Patients and their carers. This was presented by Paula Tappenden who is the Head of social work and Safeguarding lead. She explained the process for patients being asked if they are happy to share information with their carers.
Paula also talked about patient rights and how carers can still be involved even if confidentiality becomes a difficult process. Use of best interest meetings can help carers become involved if the patient lacks capacity to involve loved ones. Paula also touched on the importance of the Care Act 2014, which carers should be aware of. The last part of the presentation was on discharge planning and how it should involved carers.
I then presented on carer empowerment and why I feel carers should not only be supported, but empowered to connect. I did not talk much about my carer story, but how people should be encouraged to network with the community and take wellbeing out of the hospital and into the community. Obviously my focus was on carers connecting with each other. Due to many of my carer groups, this is what I am known for. I do not mean carer support groups, but carers learning from each other and learning more about services.
As an author and campaigner, I have written many books to share the knowledge and help raise awareness of mental health carers. The mental health system is complex, under resourced and every changing. It is so important families and carers do not leave things to chance. They should not wait to be offered access to engagement groups and learn to use feedback to help change things. Carers should take every chance to join their local carers centre, national carer support e.g. Carers UK and Carers Trust, plus learn to hold to account especially cygnet hospitals, integrated care boards, local authority carer stategies and keeping an eye on government policies.
I read out 2 of my poems to promote the difficult challenging experience of the carer and the poem on carer networking. Sometimes carers are in such a desperate situation that things cannot be solved, they just want to be listened to and also connect. However the carer situation does not always have to be hopeless, with the use of activism then carers can become empowered and focus their energies for greater change
We then had a networking session, some lovely lunch and a tour of the facilities.
All in all, I enjoyed being a part of the event. As a carer it is empowering to help promote how services can support the family and carer. I expect there will be challenges, but we are all in this together to promote a caring community, with better health and wellbeing for all.
Thanks to the welcoming staff at Cygnet Maidstone hospital.
A brief update of a recent Cygnet Carers, families and friends network event. As a Cygnet carers network ambassador. I often try to engage with families and carers whose loved ones use the services of Cygnet. For those who do not already know, Cygnet Health Care is an independent provider of health and social care services for young people and adults with mental health needs, acquired brain injuries, eating disorders, autism and learning disabilities within the UK.
Cygnet aims to connect to families and carers through there carer network events, triangle of care guidelines and carer offers through strategies and policies.
The carer network event took place at Cygnet Wast Hills over in Birmingham. Cygnet Wast Hills provides support for 21 individuals with autism, learning disabilities and complex needs. The team can also support individuals who may be detained under the Mental Health Act, as well as those who have complex behaviours, or who have significant difficulties with social engagement.
As you can see Cygnet provides the best service it can for patients, but there needs to be a focus on families and friends who are providing unpaid care. So I was glad to play my part in networking with cygnet friends and families.
The journey to the cygnet site although long was pleasant as I enjoyed watching the scenary while travelling. I met up with fellow cygnet carer ambassodor Julian de Takets as we discussed what to present for the event. With great support from Laura who is Cygnet’s carer lead and service improvement manager, I felt we would make an excellent impression for the carers who attended.
The team at Cygnet Wast Hill provided the best decorated experience I have seen for a very long time. They showed their dedication to the carer network event, I am very proud of them and I am sure many carers who attended were also impressed.
I was also happy to see carer information and updates on the service boards around the hospital site.
To open the event was a great experience as I read some of my poems in order for carers to relate to the caring experience. I asked questions at the carers and staff to help raise the awareness of carers.
We then had a presentation from Philip Winterbottom who is Head of Safeguarding at Cygnet Health Care Phil has worked as a nurse and manager for 20 years in various mental health and social care settings. In the last few years, Phil has held dedicated safeguarding roles on a national level.
Next was the networking with carers as we stopped the presentations for lunch. It was great to hear carers feedback and share experiences.
Next up was Kate Mercer who runs a training organisation, ‘Black Belt Advocacy’ that offers support and formal qualifications to independent advocates including a National Advocacy Conference each year. She also acts as a family advocate at Cygnet, supporting families who have a loved one in mental health settings. It is always a welcome sight to see Kate present as many in the audience finds her entertaining.
We then heard from the Occupational therapists Heather Davis & Tracy Lambert. Carers wanted to know what occupational therapists do and how they can support families and carers.
Last but not least to present was Julian De Takats who now has a focus on the triangle of care and setting up carer network events. Julian presented his carer experience and the impact it has had on him over the years. Julian feels the experience provides him the tools to help cygnet reach other carers.
Researchers from the Centre for Health Service Studies at the University of Kent are working on a new project. They are currently working on a project around ‘Engaging people with severe mental illness with health research in Kent’. The goal of the project is to understand the experiences (if any) that people with a mental illness have with health research in Kent.
They hope to engage with people with mental illness and/or their carers, significant others, key stakeholders or those who have experience working with people severe mental illness. Researchers will collect information through interviews and focus groups in order to understand the ways of enhancing involvement and participation of those with a mental illness in health research.
If you are a carer of someone who has serious mental ill health, you can contact engagementalhealth@kent.ac.uk for more details.
Welcome to the first SW London Mental Health carers forum for the year 2024. This group is aimed at those caring for someone with mental ill health within SW London. The group aligns itself with the same areas the mental health trust South West London & St George’s covers.
Our members are from the boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Kingston, Richmond and Wandsworth. The carers forum is co-facilitated by Ava who is also a carer. Ava focuses on the carer peer aspect in the group. She is also a strong member of the Kingston Carers Network and on involvement at SWLSTG.
The speaker requested by the SW London MH carers group was Stamatia Filippou. Stamatia is the Wellbeing Practitioner of the Wellbeing Team, NHS Merton Talking Therapies. She is based at SWLSTG. Members wanted to hear what services were provided by Merton Uplift.
Merton Uplift Presentation
Stamatia talked about the following.
On how NHS Merton Talking Therapies is a free service for anyone in Merton who has a mental health or wellbeing need, whether this is due to emotional difficulties or life stressors (low mood, feeling stressed or worried, stressful family situations, financial worries, parents who are worried about their children or feeling overwhelmed, life changing events). The service is accessible to anyone living in the borough of Merton or registered with a Merton GP who are 18 years and over.
Stamatia also mentioned that they are an integrated service which consists of the following teams; Talking Therapies: Offering a range of psychological therapies, CBT (cognitive-behavioural therapy), IPT (interpersonal therapy), EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing), Mindfulness based therapies, online, over the phone or face-to-face, self-guided, in groups or one-to-one.
There is also support for Wellbeing, where this helps individuals connect and access activities and resources to meet their physical, social and emotional needs. Their outreach work focuses on engaging with individuals who have historically not fully accessed talking therapies. Merton Uplift run a variety of wellbeing workshops e.g., Coping with Stress, Food and Mood, Living Well with Chronic Pain, Managing Anger, Managing Sleep, Self-care and Relaxation, Understanding Anxiety, Reaching your potential, Work, stress and burnout plus Wellbeing for carers.
After the presentation, there was a Q & A session where carers can feedback or query what was on offer.
For Talking Therapies referrals: Phone: 020 3513 5888 Referral Email: mertonupliftreferrals@swlstg.nhs.uk Via the website: Referral Form (mayden.co.uk) The service’s admin team will register your referral and book you in for an assessment.
A Caring Mind 