Rebecca Gray, Director of the NHS Alliance’s Mental Health Network, visits CWPT
After speaking at the 'Design in Mental Health' conference in Coventry, Rebecca Gray, Director of the NHS Alliance's Mental Health Network, felt visiting CWPT was too good an opportunity to miss.
Hosted by Mary Mumvuri, Eammon Kelly, Don Tapfumaneyi, Viral Kantaria, Dr Ruth Scally, Alastair Penman and Rob McCullum, Rebecca was given a tour of the almost completed building works of a decant facility at the Caludon Centre, which will house the Place of Safey and PCDU while the new Mental Health Clinical Assessment Service is fitted out. This will provide a much-improved environment for both patients and staff compared with its current location.
Mary explained that the Caludon Centre is the Trust's main mental health hub and cares for the most complex patients, with services on the site including Crisis teams, plus acute and PICU wards.
Following the short tour, Rebecca and the group had a vast and diverse conversation about the narrative around and future of mental health care, both for adults and children.
The conversation covered topics ranging from the increasing complexity of patients and changing causes of mental health crisis, to CWPT initiatives and new services to identify and intervene early with children struggling with their mental health. Rebecca Gray was particularly interested in the new Think Family Outreach Team based in Nuneaton and the Crisis and Acute Liaison Team based at UHCW. Both are resulting in a reduction in admissions to the Children's Ward (14), ensuring young people in crisis are diverted to the right support for them at the right time.
The group also discussed the work CWPT is carrying out to its estates to ensure the right environment for both patients and staff (including community bases) and the cultural shifts needed to improve data quality and to demonstrate clinical outcomes.
Reference was made to the forthcoming 'Independent Review into the prevalence of mental health conditions, ADHD and autism' and the Milburn Report into 'Young People and Work', due out over the next few months, and what the insight and recommendations will come out of these.
Mary said:
It was a great opportunity to be able to welcome Rebecca Gray to our Caludon Centre site and show her some of the changes we are making to improve the environment for both our patients and staff.
It was good to hear Rebecca's thoughts and insights into the future of both adult and children's mental health services and partnerships, including her experiences of developments and innovations in other parts of the country.