THE smiles say it all - Mersey Care NHS Trust

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: 

New era for Windsor Clinic: 

PAGE 5 

Tackling stigma, raising awareness: 

PAGE 7 

Award double for Mersey Care: 

PAGE 21 

TV star’s praise for recovering addicts: 

PAGE 23 

P R O D U C E D B Y M E R S E Y C A R E N H S T R U S T . . . 

VOLUME 6 . ISSUE 4 . October/November 2010 

. . . F O R T H E W H O L E M E N T A L H E A L T H C O M M U N I T Y 

THE smiles say it all: Phil Redmond presents 

the Winner of Winners award to the Standing 

Up For My Human Rights Group at the Positive 

Achievement Awards ceremony at the Anglican 

Cathedral, Liverpool, on 30 September. The 

group had earlier received the team award in 

the Give section of the competition based on 

the five ways to wellbeing, part of 2010 Year 

of Health & Wellbeing. 

ALL THE WINNERS – 12-PAGE CENTRE SUPPLEMENT

2 

AGM ANd PosiTiVE ACHiEVEMENT AWArds 2010 

Evening of celebration 

and focus for the 

next five years… 

Anglican Cathedral setting for 

the AGM and Positive 

Achievement Awards. 

AN AWARDS ceremony laced 

with music, dancing and a 

finale solo act that had the 

audience on their feet and 

even dancing in the aisles, 

added to special occasion that 

has now become the Positive 

Achievement Awards. 

The audience was given a 

warm welcome to the 

Cathedral by Canon Anthony 

Hawley before introductions 

got under way from 

chairman of Mersey Care 

beatrice Fraenkel. 

bbC Radio Merseyside 

broadcaster Roger Phillips 

was on hand to co-present 

the awards ceremony with 

Christine Hughes, the Trust’s 

director of corporate affairs 

and communications. Dramamaker 

and Liverpool cultural 

legend Phil Redmond 

presented the awards. 

Special thanks went to Mitie 

for its donation to help make 

the event as special as it was. 

■ MERSEY CARES ■ OCTObER/NOVEMbER 10 

LIVERPOOL’S majestic Anglican Cathedral was the setting 

for Mersey Care’s biggest annual general meeting to date, 

followed by a pulse-raising Positive Achievement Awards 

2010 evening that brought cheers and audience 

participation on an unprecedented scale. 

In recognition of all those who attended or were 

nominated for a Positive Achievement Award we have 

produced a special supplement inside this special awards 

edition of Mersey Cares. All of the winners and highly 

commended are featured. And everyone who received a 

nomination – 100 teams and individuals in total – is listed 

on the back page. 

Human rights group take the main honours 

Chairman Beatrice Fraenkel: 

Welcome for guests at the AGM 

in the magnificent setting of the 

Anglican Cathedral. 

Each of 10 team and individual 

winners was given their 

trophies, awarded by an 

independent panel of judges. 

The audience voted for the 

Winner of Winners which went 

to the Standing Up for My 

Human Rights Group, whose 

work included a booklet on 

rights for people with learning 

difficulties produced by service 

users, carers and staff at 

Mersey Care. 

Patient satisfaction 

number one priority 

says annual meeting 

WITH a track record of 

meeting its financial and 

statutory obligations Mersey 

Care is in a good position to 

face the next five years 

despite an uncertain world of 

NHS savings and difficult 

decisions ahead, the annual 

meeting heard. 

Executive director of finance 

and performance Neil Smith 

said the Trust’s wide range of 

services had done well. Local 

services had 45,000 

outpatient attendance and 

community contacts over the 

past year, 18,000 day hospital 

visits, and there was an 

average of 290 in-patient 

admissions a month. In high 

secure services 247 patients 

had received care.

Chief executive Alan Yates: 

looking forward to the next 

five years. 

Community services including 

Early Intervention, Crisis 

Resolution and Home 

Treatment, and Assertive 

Outreach, had all “consistently 

performed above the targets 

set by the Department of 

Health,” with good news over 

a reduction of delayed 

discharges, down from 55 in 

2008 to 2009, to an average of 

17 for 2010 to 2011. 

On the finance front the Trust 

had successfully implemented 

cost improvements year on 

year thanks to the efforts of 

staff across the Trust, he said, 

with a target of £7 million 

worth of savings needed for 

2010 to 2011. 

The Trust has managed its 

cash reserves well, enabling 

funds to be ploughed back 

into major capital projects. In 

2009 to 2010 over £6 million 

was spent on such projects, 

including ward 

refurbishments for single sex 

accommodation, improving IT 

infrastructure, a new therapy 

suite at Ashworth Hospital, 

security and building 

improvements at Scott Clinic, 

and others. 

Executive director for nursing 

and care Karen Wilson said the 

Trust’s Care Manifesto was 

helping embed its commitment 

to improving the quality of inpatient 

and service user and 

carer experience. Patient safety 

was paramount and Mersey 

Care had exceeded the 

national target for seven-day 

follow-ups under its care 

planning procedures. 

Inspections by the Patient 

Environment Action Team 

received a rating of “good” 

and the Trust had an 

unblemished record of 

hospital-borne infections for 

MRSA and Clostridium Difficile. 

She said patient experience 

had improved, with 

“excellent” ratings for quality 

of food, privacy and dignity, 

and 98 per cent of those 

surveyed stated they were 

listened to carefully. 

Chief executive Alan Yates 

asked key questions in his 

opening remarks: “What do 

the next five years look like? 

A one-way roller-coaster? Is it 

all down hill from here? Is it a 

case of the bankers have 

spent our money and now our 

public services have to pay?” 

He added: “The statistics 

show we have to save a 

significant amount of money 

in the coming years and we, 

like all public sector 

organisations, have to play 

our part in that. 

“But we believe our strategy 

will help us to improve 

quality and increase value. 

We can do this through a 

number of ways including 

enhancing partnerships; we 

have seen the success of joint 

ventures with the Everton 

Foundation and The Reader 

Organisation. 

Executive director of finance 

Neil smith: Trust in a good 

position to face the next five 

years despite an uncertain 

world of NHs savings. 

Executive director of nursing 

Karen Wilson: commitment to 

improving the quality of care. 

“We also need to consolidate, 

develop and expand key 

services, and improve 

community mental health 

services, enabling them to be 

more orientated to progress 

and recovery of the 

individual, through more 

community provision and 

support, enabling fewer 

in-patient beds. 

“We see these priorities as 

including the TIME (To Improve 

Mental health Environments) 

Project, an expanded forensic 

service, and in high secure the 

development of a national 

neuro-cognitive service and a 

service for under-18s by 2012.” 

Alan responded to a 

question-and-answer session 

and then asked the audience 

to vote on its priorities using 

an electronic voting system. 

Eighty per cent of the 

audience of 400 agreed 

patient satisfaction was the 

outstanding priority, and as a 

second vote it was the TIME 

Project (48 per cent). 

Alan also asked some tough 

questions about reducing costs 

over pay and staffing, as 

salaries and wages account for 

84 per cent of our costs. Nearly 

a third of people thought a 

combination of reducing staff 

numbers and pay could reduce 

costs, but more than a third 

did not know. 

■ 

See full list of winners inside 

■ MERSEY CARES ■ OCTObER/NOVEMbER 10

sErViCE UsErs ANd CArErs 

Good practice briefing for DoH team 

bRUCE Calderwood, director 

for mental health policy at 

the Department of Health 

and his deputy Stephen 

Waring, spent a morning with 

Mersey Care service users and 

carers as part of a two-day 

fact finding tour of the North 

West looking at good practice 

in mental health care. 

Director, service users and 

carers Lindsey Dyer said: 

“Bruce and Stephen are new 

to their posts and we 

welcomed the opportunity to 

describe the Trust’s 

partnership with service users 

and carers which is 

recognised as one of the best 

things going on in mental 

health in the region. 

“We covered our unique 

human rights based approach 

to involvement. Service users 

and carers talked about the 

wide range of decision 

making that they get 

involved in, emphasising the 

positive difference it makes 

in terms of their mental 

health and wellbeing and 

also to the Trust. This 

includes changing attitudes 


and practices, contributing to 

better environments and 

services and changing the 

culture of the organisation. 

“Bruce and Stephen went 

away impressed that so many 

service users and carers are 

involved across the whole 

organisation and that it is not 

tokenistic. We showed them 

that involving service users 

and carers really works.” 

The visit was arranged by the 

North West Mental Health 

Mersey Care’s role in getting 

people back to work 

High-tech audience participation for one of the groups in The Automatic 

at Liverpool innovation Park with supported employment specialist Colin 

Goodwin (centre) and the John Moores University team of Nick 

Medforth and Gareth Price. 

Improvement Programme 

Team and as well as meeting 

with service users and carers 

from Mersey Care, they 

visited a mother and baby 

unit in Manchester, Anxiety 

UK in Manchester, the John 

Denmark Unit in Prestwich 

which is one of only three inpatient 

units in the country 

for people with mental 

health problems who are 

deaf, and the Community 

Recovery Service in birkenhead. 

Bruce Calderwood (centre) with (from left) Lindsey dyer, stephen 

Waring, service users and carers representative Cath Mills who described 

the work of the sUrE (service User research and Evaluation) group and 

Trust medical director dr david Fearnley along with other service user 

and carer representatives. 

NETWorK EMPLoYMENT 

MORE than 60 members of 

staff attended a series of four 

employment days organised 

by Network Employment and 

Liverpool John Moores 

University to develop a vision 

for how Mersey Care service 

users can overcome the 

challenges in gaining and 

retaining employment. 

In a recorded message for the 

delegates, chief executive Alan 

Yates said: “To have a mental 

health problem all too often 

means that your chances of 

holding down regular

New era for Windsor Clinic 

AN independent review of 

the alcohol addiction services 

offered through the Windsor 

Clinic at Aintree has 

prompted a major re-think 

and action plan designed to 

sustain future services in 

Liverpool, Sefton, Halton and 

St Helens and Knowsley PCTs. 

A year-long review of existing 

services – excluding Alcohol 

Services Knowsley – was 

undertaken by a team led by 

Professor Colin Drummond, 

specialist clinical addiction 

network lead and a professor 

in addiction psychiatry at 

King’s College London. 

The team recognised the 

Windsor Clinic’s national 

reputation for service 

innovation, training and 

research, but noted these were 

increasingly under pressure 

from a mounting workload of 

referrals to the service which 

would render it unsustainable 

if no action was taken. The 

service offers in-patient 

detox, community-services 

and home treatment teams. 

At a meeting to discuss the 

review’s next steps, service 

director bob Dale put it into 

perspective. He said: “When 

employment is severely 

diminished and the increased 

likelihood of spending a 

lifetime on benefits. 

“Almost half of people on 

long-tern state benefits have 

experienced a mental health 

issue and we know from 

research that their chances 

of getting work once they 

are well enough to do so are 

less likely. 

“As a leading provider of 

mental health services we are 

here to help people get 

better. But if we know that 

work is a key factor in 

keeping people well, what 

part can we play in helping 

the Winsor Clinic was 

commissioned in 1977 it saw 

approximately 60 patients for 

its in-patient treatment in 

that first year. If we look at 

today we have 1,926 referrals 

over a six month period, with 

70 per cent of these coming 

directly from GPs. Of those 

we are seeing around 321 a 

month and naturally we are 

under pressure.” 

One of the recommendations 

from the independent review 

was to streamline the service 

so only the most dependent 

alcoholics were seen by the 

appropriate services offered by 

the Windsor Clinic. There was 

AddiCTioN sErViCEs 

Members of the review project group at the Windsor Clinic (from left): 

assistant director of service development and delivery Claire ravenscroft, 

service user representative david Hartwell, dr Faizal Mohammed, service 

user Angela Howard and Bob dale. 

someone achieve this during 

their journey of recovery? 

“Service users repeatedly 

express a preference for 

work and Mersey Care has a 

responsibility to ensure that 

part of the pathway to 

recovery ensures that service 

users who wish to work get 

that opportunity.” 

Employment partnership 

development manager 

Malcolm Kennedy said: “The 

sessions came up with a 

number of recommendations 

which will be shared with the 

senior management team 

and the Board of the Trust.” 

a need for better sign-posting 

to other available community 

services provided by other 

agencies for those service 

users with less severe needs. 

A review project group which 

includes managers, clinicians 

and service users, has been 

meeting to discuss the 

options for dealing with the 

issues raised by the 

independent review. 

One step already taken has 

been to ensure GPs better 

understand the range of 

alcohol services available to 

them and that the Windsor 

Clinic is only appropriate for 

referral of the most dependent 

drinkers. Another option is to 

set up a social enterprise 

which could provide ongoing 

support for people who have 

had treatment but feel they 

may need the support of a 

“self-help” group to remain 

alcohol free. 

Clinical director Dr Faizal 

Mohammed said: “We see 

this as an opportunity for us 

to ensure a safe and effective 

service so we can target the 

right group of people who 

need this specialist support 

and service. We would like to 

thank the staff and service 

users for their help and cooperation 

over the period of 

the review.” 


KirKBY CoMMUNiTY MENTAL HEALTH TEAM 

New base for a 

‘seamless service’ 

Paul Lafferty (left) with rosemary Hawley, Trust 

chairman Beatrice Fraenkel and service director 

Karen Lawrenson at the opening of Northwood 

House, the new base for Kirkby CMHT. 

NORTHWOOD House, the 

new base for the community 

mental health team in Kirkby, 

was formally opened by NHS 

Knowsley chair Rosemary 

Hawley in July, marking the 

latest stage in developments 

to provide a seamless service 

between healthcare and 

social care in the area. 

Kirkby CMHT is one of five 

community mental health 

teams in the Sefton, Kirkby 

and North Liverpool area and 

aims to promote recovery, 

prevent relapse and encourage 

social inclusion for people 

with mental health problems. 

E-LUNsErs 

AN electronic version of a 

system to monitor and assess 

the side-effects of medication 

is to be introduced in Mersey 

Care which has more than 

20,000 contacts with service 

users every year. 

The side effects rating tool 

LUNSERS (Liverpool University 

Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating 

Scale) will support staff in their 

care planning and interventions 

with service users. 

Executive director of nursing 

and care Karen Wilson said: 

“LUNSERS is a well validated 

and widely used self-rating 

assessment for measuring the 

side-effects of anti psychotic 

medications. The National 

Institute for Clinical 

Excellence guidelines for 

schizophrenia suggest that 


Team manager Paul Lafferty 

said: “The Kirkby team, 

previously based in Delfby 

Crescent, provides a multidisciplinary 

service including 

doctors, nurses, social 

workers, occupational 

therapists, psychologists and 

support workers with skills to 

cover the needs of all clients. 

Our philosophy is to be 

approachable, courteous, 

understanding, and able to 

develop positive relationships 

with service users and others, 

founded on the basis of hope 

and optimism.” 

routine monitoring of 

medication side-effects is an 

element of good practice 

when caring for people 

diagnosed as experiencing 

schizophrenia. 

“There is much evidence 

linking poor treatment 

outcomes, relapse and self 

injurious behaviour in 

psychosis to poor medication 

concordance/compliance. A 

key factor in improving 

concordance is effectively 

monitoring and managing 

side-effects.” 

E-LUNSERS is a computerised 

version of the scale that 

provides accurate automatic 

self scoring across the seven 

subscales and provides rich 

information in the form of 

trend graphs that allow 

Service users are seen in the 

outpatient clinic and care 

programme approach reviews 

are in their own homes. 

Assessment and support is 

provided by the team to 

people with mental health 

problems who may need 

support in understanding 

their symptoms, managing 

their medication, and dealing 

with a range of activities such 

as education and social 

activity, which will help 

promote recovery. 

Measuring medication side-effects on screen 

careful monitoring of the 

frequency and severity of side 

effects across time. 

Karen added: “LUNSERS is 

validated for use for both 

typical and atypical 

antipsychotics in particular 

(Clozapine and Risperidone). 

Although it has not been 

specifically validated with 

other atypical antipsychotics, 

it covers their adverse effects. 

However, results of physical 

tests, such as diabetes 

screening and electrocardiographic 

changes, are 

not covered and should be 

dealt with separately. 

“Many thanks to Neil McBride 

in high secure services and 

the IT technical support team 

for their work undertaken 

with this implementation.”

MEMBErsHiP 

Left: The LBV Television camera crew focused on projects such as the imagine Your Goals community football 

programme run by the Everton Foundation and Mersey Care – here service user sean Bradley and Everton’s rob 

Thomas talk about the programme. right: A wide range of services from all of Mersey Care’s clinical business 

units are included in the promotional film – here it’s the turn of Mossley Hill Hospital, Liverpool. 

Tackling stigma, raising awareness 

MERSEY Care was out and 

about during World Mental 

Health Week in October as 

one of a number of public 

sector organisations taking 

part in major roadshows in 

Liverpool and Sefton. 

A community roadshow was 

held at The Strand in bootle, 

(October 4 to10) featuring 

short films made by specialist 

film-maker LbV Television 

about organisations providing 

key local services on a bank of 

big screens seen by thousands 

of shoppers and passers-by. 

Mersey Care’s promotional 

film was used as part of a 

membership recruitment 

campaign as the organisation 

works towards becoming 

equivalent to a Foundation Trust. 

The government has made it 

clear it wants all NHS trusts to 

become Foundation Trusts. 

Corporate affairs manager 

Julie Crompton said: “The 

film not only supported our 

membership recruitment but 

will help the wider public 

better understand the role of 

Mersey Care’s specialist 

services. A key message in it 

from people who use our 

services was about tackling 

the stigma associated with 

mental health issues.” 

The next roadshow will be 

held in St John’s Precinct in 

the City Centre during the 

week beginning 15 November. 

MERSEY Care continued its 

drive for more members as 

it works towards Foundation 

Trust equivalence with a stand 

at the Liverpool Pride event 

at the beginning of August. 

The recruiting team of 

Debbie Clarke (below right) 

and Lyndsay Ore are joined 

by equality and diversity lead 

Meryl Cuzak and Psychiatric 

Intensive Care Unit clinical 

lead Nick Wade who were 

representing the Trust on 

the nearby Liverpool LGbT 

(lesbian, gay, bisexual and 

trans-gender) stand. 

Corporate affairs manager 

Julie Crompton, who took 

the pictures, said: “We’re 

progressing towards our 

target for public service 

user and carer members 

■ 

and welcome all as we 

spread our message across 

the region.” 

The Trust is currently 

awaiting Strategic Health 

Authority approval of its 

application for Foundation 

Trust equivalence. 

Preparations have included 

finalising the membership 

strategy, constitution 

document and election rules 

and the Trust’s five-year 

integrated business plan. 

FTe deputy project manager 

Wendy Copeland-blair said: 

“We are preparing for the 

final stages of the 

application process which 

will include further external 

assessment. The application 

process is expected to take 

a further six months.” 

To join in and become a member, go to www.merseycare. 

nhs.co.uk/membership or call 01 1 1 2 for details. 


BrAiN iNJUrY rEHABiLiTATioN CENTrE 

Timely texts on the road to recovery 

MERSEY Care is pioneering a 

low cost reminder service to 

help people recovering from a 

brain injury overcome what 

can be a daunting experience 

when even the simplest of 

tasks like taking medication or 

even eating can be forgotten. 

A head injury was particularly 

traumatic for service user Ivan 

Jenkins who was used to 

running his pub, restaurant 

and hotel businesses with the 

help of up to 150 staff. but 

now, after three months as 

an in-patient at Mossley Hill 

Hospital, he hopes to be back 

in action soon, picking up his 

role as the boss who was 

never afraid of pitching into 

any job that needed doing. 

Ivan’s new-found confidence 

has been boosted by the 

reminder service introduced 

by clinical lead and acting 

consultant psychologist Dr 

Paul Skirrow with assistant 

psychologist Graham 

Simpson-Adkins who wrote 

an easy to use instruction 

manual for service users. 

Paul said: “After a brain 

injury, many people have a 

great deal of trouble with 

memory, planning and 

organisation. As a result, 

they often forget to do the 

most basic things such as 

remembering to take 

medication, to eat or to get 

washed which means that 

they are massively disabled 

and require a lot of help from 

others such as family or 

support workers. 

“Some services do exist that 

provide reminders for people 

with brain injuries but these 

are often prohibitively 

expensive, particularly for 

anyone on benefits, and 


ivan Jenkins updates his Google Calendar diary with Paul skirrow (left) and 

Graham simpson-Adkins. Below: Text message reminder on ivan’s mobile. 

could cost around £60 a 

month. But now the free 

on-line technology we’ve 

identified can help people 

remember their appointments, 

medication times and pretty 

much any reminder they 

need. We believe this is the 

first time the system has 

been used in this way.” 

The system is based on 

Google Calendar, already in 

regular use on office-based 

computers, but also available 

through text messages on a 

user’s mobile phone. The 

simple system means entering 

a customised programme of 

reminders on a computer online 

diary which are then 

received by the service user in 

the form of a text message 

on a mobile phone. This diary 

can be updated at any time. 

At the end of the pilot phase, 

Ivan Jenkins said: “It’s a 

fantastic system and helps put 

people back in control and 

not have to be so reliant on 

carers. During the trials I was 

sometimes even reminding 

staff that my medication time 

was imminent! 

“My own schedule includes 

reminders about washing, 

shaving, changing bed linen 

and even tidying my room as 

well as the more crucial 

things like hospital 

appointments and medication 

times. If you’ve never 

suffered a brain injury it’s 

hard to imagine how easy it 

is to forget such simple 

things so I hope this system 

will help more people get to 

grips with their problems.”

GroW ANd sHoW 

There’s more than 

just fruit and veg at this 

event 

MERSEY Care’s second Grow 

and Show event demonstrated 

that there is much more to it 

than the traditional rows of 

carrots, cabbages and bunches 

of flowers. 

More than 70 entries from 

service users, carers, staff, 

families and partner 

organisations invaded the 

Trust headquarters in 

Liverpool in a wide range of 

classes including fruit, 

vegetables, photography, 

crafts and cakes. 

Organiser and director for 

service users and carers 

Lindsey Dyer said: “The 

competition was friendly and 

fun and it was really nice to 

see such a wide range of 

people taking part, including 

some service users who were 

showing produce they had 

grown on their allotments. 

“The standard of some of the 

entries was really high and the 

cakes were mouth watering! 

Lots of people came along in 

the afternoon to look around 

the show and were treated 

to some lovely music from 

Georgina Aasgaard, one of 

the Trust’s musicians in 

Karen Birchall (left), Chris Clarke, Linda Kearns, Afroza Ahmed and Laura Bingham 

with Mossley Hill service users’ winning peacock. iNsErT: on display at Mossley 

Hill with its creators Jeffrey Evans, Edward Gray and Thomas Barron. 

residence, who played her 

cello. This was the first time 

she had ever played to a 

display of fruit and vegetables! 

“It looks as if Grow and 

Show is going to become an 

annual event and I hope we 

will get lots of entries next 

year and that people will be 

encouraged by their success 

to enter other local shows.” 

ines Kaposa and Julie Leather. 

Alan Yates (left) with early intervention practitioner Matt Flowers, service 

users danny Fearon and dean shaw and sTr worker Linda Langley. 


10 

PErsoNAL HEALTH BUdGETs 

Cash plan for service users 

SOME Mersey Care service 

users could soon be receiving 

money to allow them to 

select their own choice of 

personal healthcare to help 

with their health and 

wellbeing needs. 

The Department of Health has 

named Merseyside as one of the 

first eight areas in the country 

to offer direct payments for 

healthcare to individuals as 

part of a new programme 

that will let them decide 

what care is best for them. 

The announcement means 

that up to 75 service users in 

Sefton, Liverpool and 

Knowsley could get direct 

payments for personal health 

budgets. This will allow the 

three primary care trusts in 

the area – NHS Sefton, 

Liverpool PCT and NHS 

Knowsley, together with 

Mersey Care – to give a set 

amount of money to some 

service users involved in the 

pilot directly to them, so they 

can decide how, where and 

from whom they receive their 

healthcare, in partnership 

with the local NHS. The aim is 

to improve their experience 

and the effectiveness of their 

care and to give them more 

control over their healthcare. 

Personal health budgets can 

be used for a range of things 

to meet health and wellbeing 

needs such as exercise 

equipment or gym 

membership. They could also 

fund ongoing support 

packages not provided by 

their local NHS. 

Initially, people using mental 

health services in Sefton, 

Liverpool and Knowsley will 

be identified to try out the 

new scheme, but this could 

be extended to more groups 

of patients if it is successful. 

Personal health budgets have 

already been used successfully 

in social care, and it is 


expected that the new scheme 

will make a real difference. 

NHS Sefton is leading the 

pilot on behalf of the three 

Merseyside PCTs. Sefton’s 

deputy director of strategy 

and service development Tina 

Wilkins, said: “Personal health 

budgets are a way of 

allowing people more control 

over how money is spent on 

their healthcare and the pilot 

builds on positive lessons 

learned from direct payments 

and personal budgets in 

social care.” 

The new pilot also builds on 

successful work carried out by 

Mersey Care which piloted 

personal health budgets to help 

people with their recovery. 

Jenny robb: good results with 

personal health budgets. 

Deputy director of social care 

Jenny Robb said: “We already 

have people accessing 

personal health budgets on 

Merseyside with good 

results. It’s great news that 

the pilot has been extended 

to allow people to access 

direct payments, which will 

give them even greater 

control about what they 

need from their healthcare to 

meet their health objectives.” 

This new scheme will be 

closely monitored. It is hoped 

that the learning from the 

pilot can be used to benefit 

people across Merseyside in 

the future. As those involved 

in the pilot are already 

accessing health services, 

there will be no additional 

cost to the local NHS. 

Knowsley 

Support Groups 

KNOWSLEY people living with 

the effects of heart disease or 

stroke and their carers are 

invited to join community-run 

support groups being 

established across the borough. 

Knowsley Chest, Heart and 

Stroke Support Groups (CHASS) 

hold regular meetings with a 

range of activities, giving 

people who have experienced 

heart or chest problems or a 

stroke and their carers the 

chance to socialise with other 

people with similar experiences. 

The support groups have been 

developed following requests to 

Knowsley Health & Wellbeing 

from local people who have 

been affected by heart and 

chest problems and strokes. 

support group meetings: 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Prescot: Every Wednesday, 

2pm – 4pm, at Greenwood 

Close Community Hall, 

Greenwood Close, Prescot, 

L34 2SL. Information from 

Jimmy Jordan on 2 0 . 

Huyton: First and third 

Thursday of the month, 

7pm – 9pm at Connaughton 

Resource Centre, Tarbock 

Road, Huyton, L36 5XW. 

Information from Isobel 

Mcbain on 1 02. 

Halewood: Second and 

fourth Thursday of the 

month, 7.30pm – 9.30pm 

at St Mary’s Church Care 

Centre, Hillingden Avenue, 

Halewood, Liverpool L26 9TZ. 

More information from 

Pauline Dooley on 121 . 

Kirkby: Every Friday, 2pm – 

4pm at the YWCA, 101-105a 

Cherryfield Drive, Kirkby, L32 

8SA. Information from 

Jimmy Jordan on 2 0 .

HEALTH ANd WELLBEiNG 

Watch out for 

the health and wellbeing team 

THE STAFF health and wellbeing team have been ‘on the road’ 

around the Trust and are a planning more visits later this year. 

Health and wellbeing manager Tracey Paxton said: “All the 

days have been very well attended – thanks to all the 

managers for allowing the staff time to come along.” 

The events, including this one at Mossley Hill Hospital, were arranged 

to help staff improve their health and wellbeing by highlighting 

opportunities to create a healthier, more engaged workforce. 

dental advice for diane Parkhouse, sheila Noonan and sandra Triggs. 

LAKEsidE LAdiEs: 

A team of Mersey Care 

‘Lakeside Ladies’ finished 

fourth in the first Sefton 

Active Workforce Team 

Challenge at the new 

Crosby Lakeside Adventure 

Centre, won by ‘Team 

Extreme’ from Sefton 

Council in 1 hour 50 minutes. 

More than 40 people took 

part in the team building 

day with activities such as 

kayaking, bell boating, wall 

climbing, raft building and 

problem solving. 

The event was organised by 

the Active Workforce team in 

partnership with the water 

sports development team. 

Trust health and wellbeing 

manager Tracey Paxton said: 

“It was great to see a 

variety of staff taking part 

in this 10-event competition. 

These activities are 

excellent for team building 

and any new skills can be 

transferred into the 

working environment. 

All teams were very 

competitive and it was a 

close run thing with ‘Cuban 

Raft Riders’ from Sefton 

CVS finishing in second 

place five minutes behind 

the winners. ‘The Misfits’ 

from Shop Direct finished 

just ahead of our team.” 

■ 

The free registration form 

for the Active Workforce 

project is available from 

the Active Workforce 

team on 01 1 2 0 or 

email: active.workforce@ 

leisure.sefton.gov.uk 

MEN’s HEALTH WEEK: 

Men on Gladstone ward 

at Stoddart House, 

Aintree, enjoyed a range 

of health and wellbeing 

sessions based on choices 

from the Patients’ Forum. 

Here practice nurse Mal 

Dougherty puts Stan 

Keiller to the test with a 

breath carbon monoxide 

monitor during smoking 

cessation learning. Other 

activities included healthy 

food, physical activity and 

information on medication. 

Ward manager Denise 

Carey, occupational 

therapist Lisa White and 

Mal were joined by 

Sefton’s Active Lifestyles 

development officer Jay 

Claydon to discuss the 

challenges of accessing 

community exercise 

programmes. A music 

session was held and talks 

were given on community 

history, alcohol awareness, 

diabetes awareness and 

drug awareness. 

HEALTHY EATiNG 

QUALiFiCATioNs: 

Royal Society for Public 

Health Level 2 certificates 

in healthier foods and 

special diets have been 

awarded to Shelley 

Williams, Ian Stephens, 

Chris Price, Louise Scriven, 

Rebecca Cunningham, 

Kelly Wilson, Robert 

Chiocchi and Jackie Potter. 

Head of catering Paul 

Macdonald said: “Feedback 

has shown that this form 

of training is of benefit to 

our health and welbeing 

aspirations for service 

users and staff alike.” 


11

12 

‘A’ rating for Dave’s 

bee group 

TWO hives of bees at the 

Crown Street Resource Centre 

in Liverpool are providing 

staff and service users with a 

new angle on relaxation – 

and a tasty addition to their 

morning toast. 

The bee colonies are the idea 

of resource centre worker 

Dave Roberts, a member of 

the british beekeeping 

Association with three hives 

of his own, supported by 

colleagues Maureen Jackson 

and Gwyn Farleigh and the 

backing of service manager 

Mike Marple. 

“Members of the group find 

looking after the bees very 

relaxing and rewarding and 

have commented on the 

calming affects of the work. 

Several members of the group 

now want to keep bees 

themselves when they’re 

ready,” said Dave who sent 

the group on a one-day course 

with Manchester and District 


beekeeping Association which 

is a nationally recognised 

centre of excellence on good 

apiary practice. 

The Crown Street hives, which 

are housed in a secure 

courtyard which can be 

viewed from all sides, started 

with frames of bees 

containing eggs, larvae, 

workers and a mated queen 

bee. These where placed in 

the hives and fed with a 

sugar and water solution. 

“One hive is currently 

without a queen for some 

unknown reason,” said Dave, 

“so we need to get a 

replacement as soon as 

possible but as there is a 

honey flow on at the 

moment we could end up 

with 30 to 40 pounds of 

honey this year.“ 

Dave takes his beekeeping 

seriously and is studying for 

his first british beekeeping 

Association examination, all 

CroWN sTrEET rEsoUrCE CENTrE 

All kitted out and ready to go in the Crown street bee enclosure (from left): dave roberts, Maureen Jackson, 

service user Peter seeclear and Gwyn Farleigh. The beekeeping group also includes service users sarah McGrath, 

Aileen Benn, dennis o’shea, Alan Case, Ben Holden and Vicky Lee. 

part of his concern for the 

decline in the UK bee 

population. 

“Changes in farming practices 

such as large farms and mono 

crops mean there is less 

forage for honey bees 

throughout the year. This is 

why it is felt that urban bees 

will do better as there is 

more variety of forage and 

little or no pesticides or 

insecticides in use. 

“Bees are reckoned to carry 

out £420 million worth of 

pollination work a year but 

they are handicapped by the 

varroa mite which leaves 

colonies vulnerable to other 

diseases and viruses. It’s 

good to think we are doing 

our bit to help the bee 

population and everybody 

with a bit of garden could 

help by planting bee friendly 

plants or adopting a bee hive by 

going to the association website, 

www.britishbee.org.uk.”

soCiAL CArE sEMiNAr 

Providing the right 

environment for 

treating young people 

YOUNG people with mental 

health needs can feel 

uncomfortable if treated in 

an adult ward, reacting with 

comments such as ‘full of old 

people’, ‘did not feel safe’, 

and ‘the ward was dark and 

dull, smelling of smoke’. but 

experience of a young people’s 

ward brought comments such 

as ‘nice location’, ‘better 

having people of my own 

age’, and ‘felt safe’. 

This snapshot of comments 

was based on a small research 

project by consultant 

psychiatrist Dr Rachel Duffy 

and presented at the seminar, 

attended by 75 staff, service 

users, carers and partner 

organisations. 

Dr Duffy, who works with the 

16 to18 team, said: “The 

differences between the 

two environments also 

highlighted how staff 

communicated with parents. 

On the adult ward this was 

done over the phone 

but in the young people’s 

ward the parents were 

invited in as well as school 

being involved. 

“The young people 

acknowledged the differences 

between the two wards and 

how busy the staff were on 

the adult wards but would 

not want to repeat their 

experience.” 

Dr John Stevens, a consultant 

psychiatrist working within 

the early intervention central/ 

north team, dealt with the 

details of legislation covering 

the care and treatment of 

children and young people 

with mental health needs. 

This included changes in the 

Mental Health Act, the 

Human Rights Act 1998, 

Mental Capacity Act 2004, 

Children’s Act 1989 and the 

United Nations Convention 

on the Rights of Children. 

He said that chapter 36 of the 

Mental Health Act Code of 

Practice provides good 

practice guidance on care and 

treatment, including 

admission to hospital and 

detention of young people 

under the age of 18. 

“The Mental Health Act 

Amendments implemented 

on 3 November 2008 provide 

improved protection in a 

number of areas for people 

under the age of 18. The time 

limits for automatic referrals 

to the Mental Health Review 

Tribunal were reduced and 

where a person under 18 is 

admitted to hospital (voluntarily 

or detained), hospital managers 

must take particular action,” 

said Dr Stevens. 

“If a person under 18 is being 

considered for electroconvulsive 

therapy (ECT), 

whether detained or not, 

special rules apply. The 

treatment of those under 16 

subject to community 

treatment orders is also 

covered by special rules.” 

■ 

People under 18 are 

provided with advocacy 

from The National Youth 

Advocacy Service (contact 

Jenny Ness email: jenny. 

ness@nyas.net). 

HEALTH LiBrAriEs 

GroUP CoNFErENCE 

International 

audience 

for librarians’ 

research 

MERSEY Care library 

manager Cath McCafferty 

and outreach librarian Clare 

Payne were among the 

speakers at the biennial 

Health Libraries Group 

Conference held at The 

Lowry Centre in Manchester 

on the theme Keeping 

information centre stage 

amid changing scenery. 

Cath, who covered her 

research on the clinical 

relevance of information 

about patients’ use of the 

library in high secure 

services, said: “Although the 

conference theme was 

chosen early in 2010, it was 

given added significance 

with the recent publication 

of the White Paper and its 

emphasis on evidence 

based outcomes.” 

Clare’s presentation 

described working in 

partnership with the Trust’s 

allied health professionals. 

This included their 

collaborative effort to 

support staff working across 

60 sites and developing a 

tool to measure the impact 

that information provided 

by the library makes on 

their work. 

The keynote address at the 

start of the conference was 

by Gillian Leng, deputy 

chief executive at NICE and 

chief operating officer for 

NHS Evidence, who 

described how evidence is 

improving access to credible 

healthcare information for 

all who work in the NHS. 

Other speakers from the UK 

and overseas covered topics 

such as e-learning, external 

collaboration and evidence 

based practice. 


1

1 

Head of spiritual and pastoral care Michael Crilly and Chris Clarke with 

memories of six generations of her family woven into her design. 

sUdLEY HoUsE ‘LisTEN’ EXHiBiTioN 

Listen. The silence 

will astound you* 

WHEN Ralph Killey speaks, 

everyone tends to listen as his 

rasping tones deliver a 

staccato of fun through the 

artistry of his poetry read and 

performed at the Liverpool 

CbU’s Sudley House Project. 

Ralph’s success is all part of 

the philosophy of developing 

confidence, self esteem and 

communication skills among a 

diverse group of service users 

brought together to work 

with Steve Rooney and Sue 

Williams from the artist group 

TAG, in a unique gathering at 

Sudley House in Liverpool. 

The success of the ‘Around the 

Table’ exhibition last year when 

the group looked at how artists 

had used table settings and 

utility objects as a means of 

expressing their experiences, 

led to the latest approach of 

‘The Garment’ as a means of 

expression and communication 

in the latest project. 

Ralph knew the limitations of 

his drawing ability but when 

reminded by Steve Rooney 

that he too was an artist, he 


was inspired to transfer his 

words as part of his 

contribution to ‘The 

Garment’. He also has the 

bonus of new outlets for his 

work on bbC Radio 

Merseyside and in the 

Liverpool Echo. 

but the results of the Sudley 

Project are impressive for all 

members of the group. The 

impact of Chris Clarke’s 

representation of six 

generations of her family in 

decoration of the garment is 

summed up in her dedication 

at the opening of the 

exhibition when she said: 

“The group has provided a 

service that cannot be found 

anywhere else in the Trust. 

“Each member of the group 

has come in overwhelmed, 

unsure and asking what can I 

create that tells a story about 

me. Each member has a deep 

story and the garment only 

tells part. 

“Not many understand the 

pain, the endurance and the 

path that has brought each 

Above top: Lynne Wilkinson and her tattoo 

design with artists steve rooney and sue 

Williams. Above: poet ralph Killey explains 

the thinking behind his work to Trust 

chairman Beatrice Fraenkel. 

*The first line of a poem on the 

wall of the exhibition. 

one to this stage. Steve 

and Sue are to be 

congratulated for the work 

they have produced.” 

The exhibition, which was on 

display at the AGM and is 

planned for further showing 

around the Trust, was formally 

opened by chairman beatrice 

Fraenkel who paid tribute to 

the willingness of the service 

users involved to open up 

their inner-sense of who they 

were and show it to other 

people: “It’s a difficult and 

generous thing to do and 

coming into the exhibition is 

like entering someone’s house 

– it’s a quite extraordinary 

feeling of relaxation,” said 

beatrice. “And Ralph’s poetry 

might be humorous but it’s 

serious underneath.” 

■ 

A new project, involving 

new service users, started 

in September. Further 

details from Margaret 

brown, Project Manager, 

Liverpool CbU, on 01 1 2 

0 , or email: margaret. 

brown2@merseycare.nhs.uk

our painting session. 

Where’s my depression? 

By Ralph Killey 

There’s a palace that’s 

called Sudley Hall, a 

monument really supreme. 

It was built by the Holts, 

who had hundreds of 

boats. 

And this family created a 

dream. 

The artwork is really 

sublime. All of this beauty 

was theirs. 

Then on the first floor, 

there’s a little white door, 

Behind which some magic 

occurs. 

An art course is run for 

disabled. We are people 

with mental ills. 

We’ve been anxious, 

depressed and by devils 

possessed, 

And we’ve taken the 

potions and pills. 

Sue and Steve manage the 

project, their techniques 

and skill they impart. 

They find out what you, 

have an aptitude to. 

Then they help you, 

express this as art. 

The patients in there are 

all loving. We’ve all 

suffered similar pain. 

And Stephen and Sue, 

know just what to do. 

To help people whose 

brain’s ‘down the drain’. 

But joking aside, it’s 

fantastic, feels so natural 

when we’re all together. 

And when the course 

ends, we will all be good 

friends. 

But I wish it could go on 

forever. 

AsHWorTH HosPiTAL 

Exercise to music is a smash hit! 

A 10-week Exercise to Music 

project in one of the wards at 

Ashworth Hospital has helped 

boost patient self confidence 

– and the desire to get fit 

through healthy exercise. 

The hospital’s cognitive 

rehabilitation service 

piloted the project on 

Hazlitt ward in partnership 

with The Liverpool Institute 

for Performing Arts (LIPA) 

as part of the Trust’s 

programme of bringing 

creative approaches to 

mental health care. 

The project was initiated 

and co-ordinated by 

psychiatrist Dr Mary 

Knowles in co-operation 

with LIPA dance instructor 

Penny Caffrey and physical 

health promotion coordinator 

Mick Caldwell. It 

ended in an award 

ceremony where patients 

gave an impressive 

performance of their 

Exercise to Music prowess. 

Certificates of achievement 

were presented to patients 

by assistant chief executive 

Dr Mandy Chivers. 

Lead consultant clinical 

neuropsychologist Ryan 

Aguiar said: “The Exercise 

to Music project is a good 

example of how thinking 

’outside the box’ can have 

such a powerful impact on 

the wellbeing and care of 

our patients. Often the 

blocks are in our own minds 

in not embracing such 

approaches more readily. 

“As providers of mental 

health services we first 

think of resource 

implications and other 

obstacles when it comes to 

creative approaches in 

health care. Yet when we 

dare to try something 

different the results are 

nothing short of amazing, 

as evidenced by some of 

the feedback we have had 

from the patients who 

participated in the project: 

‘It’s good for my mind’…’I 

feel fit and healthy’…’I’ve 

started going to the gym 

now’. The change in patients’ 

self confidence is palpable. 

“Projects like this need 

champions and committed 

drivers with a ‘can and will 

do’ it attitude. But this is 

only the beginning… dance 

with the music still goes on!” 

Mary Knowles (left) with Mandy Chivers who presented a commemorative 

gift made at Ashworth Hospital to dance instructor Penny Caffrey to 

mark the end of the pilot project, with Mick Caldwell looking on. 


1

1 

iMAGiNE YoUr GoALs 

Partner Cup runners-up rake square 

Second season 

was a winner 

all round 

A SUCCESSFUL 2009/2010 

season culminated with a 

flurry of activity and host of 

medal and trophy 

presentations for the Imagine 

Your Goals community 

football programme. 

At a presentation for service 

users and staff held at 

Goodison, Liverpool Clinical 

business Unit service director 

Carol bernard said: “This 

success is really important to 

the partnership working 

between Mersey Care and 

the Everton Foundation. We 

cannot underestimate the 

power of partnerships 

between organisations like 

ours in bringing about change. 

“I am delighted that 63 per 

cent of service users who 

responded to a survey by the 

Service User Evaluation and 

Research Group said they had 

felt significant health benefits 

as a result of taking part in 

the programme, with 88 per 

cent noting an increase in 

their levels of concentration. 


“Now we have completed 

Year 2 of the programme we 

have to continue to work 

hard with other partners and 

beyond to ensure the 

benefits of the programme 

continue into the future.” 

More than 160 community 

service users who have 

mental health problems 

access the programme, 

attending one of six coaching 

sessions held at venues across 

the Mersey Care geographical 

patch each week. 

Matches are played in the 

Imagine Your Goals league 

once a month and last year a 

second league, sponsored by 

bibby Maritime, was 

established to meet 

increasing demand from 

new teams and players from 

other organisations who play 

guest matches. 

Professional project manager 

Matty byrne paid tribute to 

the commitment of link 

workers who supported 

Partner cup winners the Fire service 

service users to access and 

attend the programme, as 

well as the volunteers and 

coaching staff from Everton. 

Everton Foundation mental 

health co-ordinator Rob 

Thomas said the project was 

continuing to gain pace and 

they were looking to expand 

coaching sessions by a further 

two. He added: “We’ve now 

had 40 service users and 

members of staff gain their 

Level 1 coaching certificates, 

which is a great boost for the 

confidence of all those 

concerned and will help 

sustain the programme.” 

Among the other accolades 

for the project received at the 

end of the season were the 

Sports Industry Award’s best 

community programme and 

the Tony Adams Award for 

challenging stigma, donated 

by the former Arsenal and 

England player turned 

manager after attending a 

‘Mad About Football’ event.

Here is the round-up for the teams and players for the 

Imagine Your Goals trophy winners season 2009/2010: 

League one 

Winners Outreach FC 

Runners-up Kingsway FC 

Golden Boot billy Fitzsimmons (Crown St) 

Goalkeeper Darren Kelly (Kingsway FC) 

Fair Play Crown Street 

Bibby Maritime League 

Winners Early Intervention 

Runners-up Southport Casuals 

Golden Boot James brady (Early Intervention) 

Goalkeeper Larry Adams (Early Intervention) 

Fair Play Southport Casuals 

League Cup 

Winners Early Intervention 

Runners-Up Kingsway FC 

Golden Boot Tom Parker (Kingsway FC) 

Goalkeeper Jamie Jones (Early Intervention) 

Fair Play Natural Networks 

Partner Cup 

Winners Fire Service 

Runners-Up Rake Square 

Golden Boot Sam Gainer (Fire Service) 

Goalkeeper Darren Kelly (RT Select) 

Fair Play Southport Casuals 

individual achievements from the Partner Cup matches… best 

goalkeeper darren Kelly (left), while the Golden Boot award from the 

Partner Cup went to sam Gainer (right). 

League one winners outreach FC. 

Bibby Maritime winners 

Early intervention. 

League one runners-up 

Kingsway FC. 

Bibby Maritime League runnersup 

southport Casuals. 

Bibby Maritime Golden Boot 

winner James Brady (left), 

Partner Cup winner Jacob Burrill, 

and Fair Play southport Casuals. 

Terry smith with Partner Cup 

runner-up award for Natural 

Networks rake square. 


1

1 

EArLY iNTErVENTioN iN PsYCHosis 

Combining professional expertise 

can help speed recovery 

iain Wright: led Mersey Care’s work on early intervention in psychosis 

and passed on his expertise through a clinical manual. 

IAIN Wright, Mersey Care’s 

former clinical lead for early 

intervention in psychosis and 

now specialist practitioner for 

safeguarding, has written a 

chapter in a leading clinical 

manual – Promoting Recovery 

in Early Psychosis: A Practice 

Manual. 

Centred on the early 

psychosis declaration, the 

book explores the 

declaration’s five themes 

through contributions from 

mental health practitioners, 

service users and carers. It is 

designed to help those 

working with people 

experiencing psychosis at an 

early stage of illness to 

develop and implement 

effective early intervention 


skills, enabling them to 

examine and refine their 

practice. Most importantly, 

the book is a practical guide 

to delivering early 

intervention strategies with a 

unique focus on recovery. 

Iain’s chapter, entitled Roles 

of Different Professionals, 

examines the current drivers 

and influences for EIP 

services, and the strategies 

which can be used to develop 

productive partnerships. The 

chapter discusses some of the 

challenges of engaging with 

a wide range of different 

professionals, exploring 

how their unique 

contributions can be valued 

and maximised. 

Research has 

shown that 

there are often 

delays in getting 

help; there are 

a number of 

reasons for 

this… which can 

cause people to 

try to manage 

alone. 

Iain said: “I am thrilled and 

honoured to have been asked 

to contribute a chapter for 

this book. The editors, and 

other contributors, are high 

profile academics and 

clinicians such as Paul French, 

Max Birchwood, and Grainne 

Fadden, whom I cited in my 

own essays while studying 

for my COPE BSc (Hons) 

degree. It feels quite surreal 

to find my name being listed 

alongside theirs!” 

Iain said that with the right 

help, most people can recover 

from psychosis, and at least 

one in four will not 

experience further episodes. 

Research has shown that 

there are often delays in 

getting help. There are a 

number of reasons for this, 

including people not 

recognising that they have a 

problem, their symptoms 

getting confused with 

teenage behaviour or drug 

use, and stigma around 

mental health difficulties, 

which can cause people to try 

to manage alone.

Here is Iain’s outline guide to early intervention in psychosis: 

Psychosis describes a state of 

mind in which the individual 

experiences a distortion or loss 

of contact with reality, without 

clouding of consciousness. This 

mental state is characterised by 

the presence of unusual strongly 

held beliefs (sometimes called 

delusions), unusual perceptions 

(sometimes called hallucinations) 

and/or confused thinking or 

communication (sometimes 

called thought disorder). 

As well as these symptoms 

(which are sometimes referred to 

as positive symptoms), negative 

symptoms such as appearing 

emotionally flat and loss of 

motivation can sometimes occur. 

In addition, there are a number 

of other secondary features that 

can present during a psychotic 

episode such as depression, 

anxiety, sleep disturbance, social 

withdrawal and impaired role 

functioning. It is these features 

which often provide the clue to 

the presence of psychosis. 

Psychosis can be caused by a 

complex interaction of social, 

environmental, psychological 

and biological factors and are of 

major social and public health 

importance with about 2 per 

cent of people experiencing a 

psychotic episode at some stage 

in their life. When the impact on 

the individual’s family is also 

considered, the indirect effects 

and costs of these conditions are 

just as great. 

Experiences that may occur 

in psychosis include: 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Having difficulty telling what 

is real and what is not 

Changes in thoughts, such as 

preoccupation with new ideas 

Changes in perception, such 

as hearing or seeing things 

that others cannot 

It can become harder to think 

clearly or organise activities 

Becoming more withdrawn 

from interests, friends or family 

■ 

■ 

Changes in mood, including 

becoming depressed, 

increasingly irritable and anxious 

Physical changes such as sleep 

disturbance and loss of energy. 

In order to try to understand the 

experience of psychosis it is useful 

to group together some of the 

more characteristic symptoms. 

Confused thinking: 

Everyday thoughts become 

confused or don’t join up 

properly. Sentences are unclear 

or don’t make sense. A person 

may have difficulty 

concentrating, following a 

conversation or remembering 

things. Thoughts seem to speed 

up or slow down. 

Preoccupation with 

unusual beliefs: 

It is common for a person 

experiencing a psychotic episode 

to become preoccupied and 

distressed by beliefs that don’t 

make sense to other people. 

They may appear completely 

convinced of their belief despite 

overwhelming evidence to the 

contrary. Common false beliefs 

may include believing that they 

are being watched or followed, 

or others want to harm them 

and believing that they have 

special abilities or powers. 

Changed perceptions: 

In a state of psychosis, the 

person may see, hear, feel, smell 

or taste things that are not 

physically present, but which 

seem extremely vivid and real to 

the person experiencing them. 

Changed feelings: 

How someone feels may change 

for no apparent reason. They 

may feel strange and cut off 

from the world with everything 

moving in slow motion. Mood 

swings are common and they 

may feel unusually excited, 

anxious, upset or depressed. 

Changed behaviour: 

People experiencing psychosis 

often behave differently from 

the way they usually do. They 

may be extremely active or 

lethargic, laugh inappropriately 

or become angry or upset 

without apparent cause. Often, 

changes in behaviour are 

associated with the experiences 

already described above. 

Experiences vary from 

person to person and may 

change over time: 

All of these can feel very 

frightening for the person 

experiencing them; lead them to 

act out of character or cause 

arguments between family 

members or friends. There are 

many different causes of 

psychosis and usually no one 

thing is to blame. Common 

factors might include stressful 

events, drug use, or a history of 

psychotic problems in the family. 

Who is affected? 

The onset and course of 

psychosis is determined by an 

underlying vulnerability to 

psychosis coupled with the 

impact of environmental 

stressors which may then trigger 

active psychotic symptoms. 

Psychosis is most likely to occur 

in young adults. 

What causes psychosis? 

While the precise identification 

of individual vulnerability is not 

possible, it is clear that certain 

people are at more risk of 

developing a psychosis than 

others. An estimated 80 per 

cent of first episodes occur 

between the ages of 15-30. 

Psychosis can affect people of all 

nationalities, social standings 

and intelligence levels as well as 

both young males and females, 

although there does tend to be 

an earlier onset of psychosis in 

males than females. 

A number of theories have been 

suggested as to what causes 

psychosis, but there is still much 

research to be done. 


1

20 

Iain’s outline guide to early intervention in psychosis, continued: 

Because there are many possible 

factors associated with the 

development of psychosis, it is 

necessary for a young person 

who appears to be experiencing 

psychosis for the first time to 

have a thorough assessment to 

rule out other explanations such 

as medical causes. This usually 

involves medical tests as well as 

a detailed interview with a 

mental health specialist. 

The course and outcome vary 

from person to person. Recovery 

is likely, with most people 

experiencing a cessation of 

positive symptoms within 12 

weeks from acute onset once 

adequately treated. 

What can be done? 

Effective treatments are readily 

available to treat psychotic 

experiences. The earlier support 

is provided, the quicker and 

better the recovery. With 

appropriate treatment most 

young people who experience a 

psychotic illness will recover. 

All people experiencing 

psychosis should be provided 

with specialist assessment and 

assistance to maximise the 

likelihood of recovery. Treatment 

typically involves antipsychotic 

medication, cognitive 

behavioural therapy, family 

interventions, practical support, 

and involvement in a holistic 

recovery programme that 

focuses on helping work 

towards social and psychological 

recovery, rather than focusing on 

“symptoms” alone. 

Usually, early interventions aim to 

help people control and minimise 

distressing experiences and 

provide support with making 

sense of their experiences, 

overcoming the consequences of 

any associated traumas. They also 

prevent relapse through 

decreasing risk factors such as 

stress, substance abuse, family 

conflict and stigma. 


A targeted programme of 

recovery also focuses on 

protective factors such as: secure 

accommodation and income; 

engagement in work or study; 

developing coping strategies to 

deal with stress; strong social 

networks and family support. 

What can you do? 

Young people experiencing 

psychosis are not always able to 

understand, or willing to explain 

what is happening to them. 

Most fear they will be labelled as 

“mad”. Many do not seek help 

on their own. Professionals 

working with young people may 

be in a position to identify a 

young person experiencing 

psychosis and assist the young 

person to get the help they need. 

General practitioners can provide 

an initial assessment and 

possibly even start medical 

treatment while also assisting 

referral to a specialist mental 

health service. 

What is early intervention? 

Typically, people develop 

psychosis in late teenage years 

or early adult life. This can occur 

slightly earlier for men, usually 

between 14 and 25, than 

women, where it typically 

happens between ages 20 and 

35. It can affect people from any 

class, culture or background. 

Psychosis affects people when 

they are developing their own 

identity, making the transition to 

adulthood, dealing with 

decisions, changes and stresses 

in relation to work, education 

and relationships with families 

and peers. Delays in getting help 

can lead to disruptions in these 

areas or the development of 

other problems such as 

depression, substance use or 

unemployment. Delays can also 

affect the time it takes to recover. 

Since the 1990s, the UK has 

been at the forefront of 

developing innovative ways of 

helping young people recover 

from psychosis and these 

developments have been led by 

grassroots. In 2001, the World 

Health Organisation rated 

psychosis as the third most 

serious health complaint, 

including physical illnesses, and 

argued that it needs to be given 

a far higher priority than has 

traditionally been the case. This 

message was taken up by the 

government who developed an 

innovative plan to provide ‘early 

intervention in psychosis’ services 

across the whole of England. 

Early intervention is providing 

information, assessment and 

treatment at the earliest possible 

opportunity for all young people 

who begin experiencing psychosis. 

This can also involve preventative 

work with people who are at high 

risk of experiencing psychosis as 

well as people experiencing a 

first episode of psychosis. Early 

intervention is aimed at shortening 

the course and decreasing the 

severity of the initial psychotic 

episode, minimising the many 

complications that can arise 

from untreated psychosis and 

improving the long-term prognosis. 

Early intervention can be 

provided through secondary 

consultation to GPs and other 

mental health services as well as 

through education to youth 

specific services to aid in the 

identification of people with 

psychotic experiences. 

More information from: 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

North Liverpool early 

intervention team: 

01 1 0 1 

South Liverpool early 


01 1 0 1 

South Sefton and Kirkby 

early intervention team: 

01 1 2 2 

Southport early 


01 0 02

THE food provided at nine 

out of 13 Mersey Care NHS 

Trust sites is ‘excellent’ and 

the rest are ‘good’ according 

to the latest findings 

published by the National 

Patient Safety Agency. 

Top scores for food go to the 

Rathbone Low Secure Unit, 

Heys Court in Garston, 

Mossley Hill Hospital, the 

Kevin White Unit in Liverpool, 

boothroyd Unit in Southport, 

Windsor House in Liverpool, 

Rathbone Rehabilitation 

Centre, Windsor Clinic on the 

Aintree site, and Scott Clinic 

in St Helens. 

All nine sites are also classed 

as ‘good’ for the quality of 

the environment and privacy 

and dignity along with the 

same classification for the rest 

of the 13 surveyed – the 

Hesketh Centre in Southport, 

Ashworth Hospital, Stoddart 

House on the Aintree site, 

and the broadoak Unit at 

broadgreen Hospital. 

PEAT lead Sandra Hulme said: 

“Our service users deserve to 

be treated in clean 

surroundings, with good 

food and with respect for 

their privacy. It’s reassuring 

to see that Mersey Care 

staff continue to maintain 

and improve on the high 

standards which the Trust 

has established by putting 

service users at the heart 

of everything we do.” 

■ 

PATiENT ENViroNMENT 

ACTioN TEAMs 

Where the 

food is 

‘excellent’ 

More information on this 

year’s PEAT scores is 

available at www.nrls. 

npsa.nhs.uk/patientsafety-data/peat 

CArE ProGrAMME APProACH AssoCiATioN 

CPA Association awards for John Park and 

Marcella Camara. 

MERSEY Care’s pioneering 

work on the application of the 

care programme approach to 

mental health care has 

received awards in the Care 

Programme Approach 

Association’s 2010 awards. 

The awards went to 

Southport community mental 

health team manager 

Marcella Camara for her 

team’s work on a staying well 

programme and CPA 

implementation manager 

John Park for the Trust’s 

person-centred risk 

assessment initiative. 

John, who received the 

awards on behalf of the Trust 

at an awards ceremony in 

Nottingham, said: ‘’The CPA 

Association is an affiliated 

network of mental health 

stakeholders dedicated to the 

ongoing delivery and 

development of high quality 

CPA and care co-ordination. 

It enables members like 

myself, responsible for the 

implementation of CPA, to 

share ideas and innovations 

so that our time is not spent 

in isolation trying to invent 

the same wheel.” 

Marcella’s staying well 

programme is delivered at a 

series of four weekly clinics 

designed to help discharge by 

building service users’ selfbelief 

that they can direct and 

self-manage their own care. 

Award 

double for 

Mersey 

Care’s 

CPA work 

The one and a half hour 

sessions include input from an 

occupational therapist, 

community care practitioners 

and a support worker with 

customised toolkits providing 

individual guidance for 

service users. 

Marcella said: “We saw an 

opportunity to promote 

wellness and recovery 

through working with service 

users in an individualised 

way. Giving choice and 

control to people who use 

mental health services by 

promoting ability rather than 

disability, helps to build 

confidence thereby easing 

the return to everyday life.” 

The Trust’s revised personcentred 

risk assessment 

procedure takes account of 

safeguarding developments 

and involved service users on 

the development group. 

Others provided written 

feedback on sample 

documents at two CPA 

conferences with written 

feedback on final proposals 

from the service users’ forum. 

John said: ”The new risk 

assessment enables service 

users to explore their own 

concerns about risk and 

vulnerability in discussion 

with practitioners in order 

to develop risk management 

plans which help them 

feel safer.” 


21

22 

LEArNiNG disABiLiTiEs AWArENEss WEEK 

if it’s information you need, we’re the ones to ask – helping out on the stand at sing Plus are (from left): southport physio 

assistant sarah Lloyd, north sefton social worker Maggie Youngson, community focus team member Tony Colenso, support 

worker Manny ranat, clinical psychologist Clare Punshon, southport physio Aarti Narula, community focus team member 

Heather Eaton and Tracey Thompson. 

Sefton community teams 

on show at Sing Plus 

SEFTON community teams 

joined social services and 

other supporters for a day of 

displays at the Sing Plus 

venue in Seaforth as part of 

Learning Disabilities 

Awareness Week. 

Southport community nurse 

Tracey Thompson said: 

“We represented community 

learning disability teams from 

Sefton to show how we work 

together to support service 

users as some people may 

not be aware of what we can 

offer. As well as staff, service 

users Tony Colenson and 

Heather Eaton helped with 

the displays and the day was 

a great success.” 


service user Kevin Turner’s artistic talents were spotted when he was a 

young schoolboy, despite severe sight and hearing problems, and he 

has since been featured at many exhibitions. He also likes a challenge 

and wants to go ‘sphereing’ – rolling downhill inside a giant ball! 

Kevin now lives in his own home supported by carers.

THE rEAdEr orGANisATioN 

TV star’s praise for 

the courage of 

recovering addicts 

AMERICAN actress Sonja Sohn, who starred as 

Detective Kima Greggs in all 60 episodes of the cult 

TV series The Wire, paid a surprise visit to Mersey 

Care’s Kevin White Unit where she said that 

recovering addicts could be brilliant, urging them to 

“discover the creative spark within you.” 

Sonja was speaking to a full 

house of service users at the 

detox unit run by the Trust’s 

Addictions Service as part of a 

visit to the UK at the 

invitation of The Reader 

Organisation which works 

with Mersey Care to 

encourage reading groups 

across all its in-patient and 

community services. 

Sonja’s reading from The 

Corner gave an insight into 

the struggles of a family 

suffering from the effects of 

drug addiction, one of the 

many topics covered by The 

Wire which deals with life in 

the US city of baltimore but 

she said her main aim in 

visiting the unit was “to listen 

to you guys and how you’ve 

faced your problems with 

such courage.” 

Speaking ahead of her public 

appearance at Liverpool 

Philharmonic Hall, Sonja told 

the Kevin White audience: 

“I know what the drug scene 

can be like and how easy it 

can be to get dragged back 

into old habits, especially if 

you mix with the wrong 

people. It’s so important to 

keep people around you who 

are clean and clear. 

“I applaud your courage in 

getting help at the unit, help 

that could cost 40,000 dollars 

for a similar programme in the 

States so just think about that!” 

Sonja has taken a break from 

acting to set up a not-forprofit 

company, ReWired for 

Change, which helps at-risk 

young people who have been 

involved in criminal activity. 

The programme is run by the 

Maryland School of Social 

Work and uses episodes of 

The Wire as a teaching tool, 

encouraging the participants 

to examine and query their 

own lives and past actions. 

Other actors and writers 

involved in The Wire also 

serve as board members. 

Kevin White Unit deputy 

manager Maggie Sherwood 

said: “Reaction from service 

users was very positive such 

as ‘she gave me a lot of hope’ 

and ‘very excited to meet a 

star who has been involved 

in helping people’ while they 

enjoyed her reading. 

“Sonja was very inspirational, 

especially when she spoke to 

sonja sohn at the Kevin White 

Unit: she came, she read, she 

listened, she talked… 

them individually at the end – 

and signed autographs with a 

lot more than just her name.” 

Former service user Tracy 

Riley said: “I thought Sonja’s 

visit to the unit brought a lot 

of positivity to the service 

users. There was a total buzz 

about the unit on the day.” 

Mersey Care’s director, service 

users and carers Lindsey Dyer, 

who has been seconded to 

The Reader Organisation for 

one day a week, said: 

“I am hugely grateful to 

Sonja for taking time out of a 

short visit to the UK to pay 

the Kevin White Unit a visit. 

She was really keen to meet 

service users and had real 

interest and empathy. It is not 

easy to go through a detox 

programme and Sonja 

recognised this and inspired 

us all that we can change 

our lives.” 

Kevin White Unit welcoming party (from left): Tracy riley, deputy 

manager Maggie sherwood, The reader organisation director Jane 

davis, sonja sohn, communications assistant Filian Mentizi and director, 

service users and carers Lindsey dyer. 


2

2 


Round up… 

Treadmill marathon men (and one woman): 

Staff and service users in the 

Rathbone PICU (Psychiatric 

Intensive Care Unit) proved their 

fitness during Men’s Health 

Week by completing a treadmill 

marathon in four and a half 

hours. Pictured in the recovery 

stage after the relay are (from 

left) senior clinical nurse Owen 

Winsland, support worker Ste 

Cameron and technical 

instructor Nick Ashall who were 

joined by two services users, 

Brook Place open day: 

Community drugs team worker 

Paula Strickland (second from 

right) with colleagues and 

service users at the Brook Place 

open day held to promote 

health and wellbeing for service 

users throughout Mersey Care. 

The day included advice on 

World cup designs: 

support worker John Murphy, 

clinical service manager Nick 

Wade and senior clinical nurse 

Gemma Johnson. 

options for dealing with 

substance misuse along with 

information, goodies and fresh 

fruit! Paula said: “The open 

day was a great success with 

positive feedback from service 

users, staff and external 

agencies who attended.” 

Winning T-shirt designs in a 

design competition for patients 

on Keats ward, Ashworth 

Hospital, in the run-up to the 

World Cup with (from left) 

service manager Jay O’Looney, 

in-patient service director Iain 

Wilkie and senior occupational 

therapist Yuvaraj Kaithamalai. 

Coast-to-coast ride: 

Inspired by his 63-mile fundraising 

bike ride around 

community mental health team 

locations, Moss House nurse 

Alan Arnold is planning a 207mile 

Trans Pennine Trail ride next 

May to mark his 50th birthday. 

His ride, covered in 4 hours 18 

minutes, raised £260 – £100 

going to the Moss House service 

users’ Christmas party and the 

rest to Winston’s Wish and 

Walton Neuro Centre in memory 

of Dr Sophie Lynch. 

The coast-to-coast ride, from 

Southport to Hornsea, uses 

canal towpaths, disused railway 

lines, riverside pathways, urban 

cycle paths and minor roads for 

most of the way. Devised in 

1989, the route was opened 

officially in 2001 as part of the 

National Cycle Network. 

Bike leasing scheme: 

Closing date for Mersey Care’s 

trial run with the Bikes for the 

NHS cycle leasing scheme is 

22 October. The scheme is part 

of the Government’s Green Travel 

Plan to encourage people to 

cycle to work and provides the 

use of a new bike in return for a 

salary reduction over 12 months. 

■ 

More information on 

www.nhsbike.co.uk/hci.html, 

email bikes@smehci.com or 

phone 0870 3606323. 

Non-executive 

reappointed: 

Liverpool solicitor and football 

enthusiast Brian Lawlor has been 

re-appointed as a non-executive 

director for Mersey Care. Brian, 

who is a senior partner with a city 

centre law firm, welcomed his reappointment 

to the Board and will 

serve a further four-year term from 

1 June 2010 to 31 May 2014.

Mountainous trek ahead: 

One of Mersey Care’s suppliers is 

taking on the challenge to trek 

to the summit of the mighty 

Kilimanjaro for charity in October. 

John Robinson, who works for 

Dimensions Print Solutions in 

Toxteth, is aiming to raise money 

for SHAP – safe houses to help 

women and children escape abuse. 

He said: “I am funding all of 

my own expenses so every 

penny I’m sponsored will go 

to the charity. The trek takes 

five days along the Machame 

Route which is tough but 

spectacularly rewarding.” 

■ 

To sponsor John contact 

Dimensions on 0151 709 6375 

or email design@ 

dimensions-studio.co.uk 

Log on at ruby’s 

Cyber Café: 

A new cyber cafe has opened at 

Ruby’s restaurant on the Maghull 

site, enabling staff to log on to 

their email accounts and internet 

when away from their desks and 

give computer access to those 

who do not use them regularly 

as part of their job. 

No service user information is 

available on the computers and 

staff cannot print. The facility is 

subject to all the rules, policies 

and procedures in the IM&T 

Security Policy governing 

personal computers. For 

information on training contact 

Teresa Johnson on 0151 471 2641. 

Other places where staff can 

access computers are: Trust 

libraries at Maghull and 

Rathbone; the e-café at 

Maghull; and The Bistro in 

Ashworth Hospital. 

Round up… 

Think family on film: 

The third in a series of films 

focusing on best practice 

guidance around Think Family 

was filmed in Liverpool for 

broadcast on the national web 

TV channel Social Care TV. 

Commissioned by the Social 

Care Institute of Excellence, the 

video features a panel of local 

experts looking at issues raised 

in two other films in the series. 

Pictured from left are Paul Taylor, 

safeguarding lead for Bellerive 

Catholic College; Rose de 

Paeztron from Family Action 

facilitating the debate; Allan 

O’Leary, Mersey Care’s Park 

Lodge community mental health 

team manager; Ruth Haig- 

Ferguson from Liverpool 

Children’s Centres; and Louise 

Wardale, from Barnardo’s Action 

with Young Carers. 

Social Care TV is a free online 

resource channel for everyone 

involved in the social care and 

social work sector. 

■ 

There are also other films 

made in Liverpool by Mersey 

Care’s young carers on the 

film resource – find the link 

at www.scie.org.uk 

Veterans information 

and networking: 

Ashworth Hospital and together 

for Mental Wellbeing hosted the 

first meeting of organisations 

delivering services for ex-service 

men and women. The 

presentation by Staff Sergeant 

Kevin Cornwell, trauma risk 

management co-ordinator with 

the regular armed forces, gave 

an in-depth insight into the level 

and type of support provided to 

serving personnel in the area of 

mental health and the 

associated complex issues facing 

serving personnel. Other 

presentations were given by 

David Quinn, from Resettlement 

Property Services, who described 

the development of a peer 

support network; and Chris 

Clarke and Rob Thomas from 

the Everton Foundation ‘Inside 

Right’ veteran’s project which is 

having a positive impact on 

veterans’ self-esteem, confidence 

and self-worth. 

Activities include football 

training sessions, league games 

and the chance to take the 

Football Association Level 1 

coaching qualification. This has 

led to full-time employment as 

football coaches for some and 

the chance for more 

qualifications. The FA has 

adopted the work of the Everton 

project development team in the 

area of mental health along with 

Portsmouth, Colchester United, 

Lincoln City and Chelsea. 

The team also has an extensive 

disabilities project led by 

Steve Johnson. 

■ 

More information from Dave 

Leigh, together for Mental 

Wellbeing, tel: 0151 472 

4583 or email dave.leigh@ 

merseycare.nhs.uk 


2

2 

Mad about dance: 

The latest in the series of dance 

programmes initiated two years 

ago by Mersey Care in 

partnership with Liverpool 

Institute of Performing Arts 

(LIPA) has just produced its latest 

group of staff willing to take 

back the fun and fitness activity 

to in-patient settings. The staff, 

from a wide range of disciplines, 

took part in a 10-week training 

programme at LIPA in the city 

centre and will help run sessions 

aimed at providing therapeutic 

dance and movement to music 

classes across a range of services. 

Graduation photocall (back row 

from left): Patricia Howard, Chris 

Kirby, Rachael Parkinson, Rebecca 

Morris, Berenice Gibson, Louise 

Clarkson, Mary Knowles, Martha 

McManus, Mick Caldwell, Jayne 

Rafferty and Chris Clarke with 

(front row) LIPA’s Lydia Bates and 

Paul Win. 

Put your hands on your hips… 

the group are put through their 

paces in the LIPA dance studio 

(from left): Chris, Rachael, Mary, 

Jayne, Chris and Louise. 


Round up… 

Tree of life and wishes: 

Technical instructor Ann 

McCormick (right) with service 

users Bob Harkley and Lillian, 

and the papier-mache and 

chicken wire tree on Elm ward at 

Aintree. The tree is decorated 

with cards containing individual 

wishes ranging from good 

health and happiness to winning 

the Lottery. Ann said: “Along 

with OT staff, service users 

Maghull in bloom: 

Patients and staff at Ashworth 

Hospital have once again 

supported Maghull in Bloom by 

providing new surrounds to 

cover the drab and old concrete 

planters in the town’s central 

square. The illustrations were 

provided by children from the 

primary schools in Maghull, 

Lydiate, Aintree and Melling and 

the screen printing was 

completed by local company 

Caractor Graphics. Maghull in 

Bloom chairman George Baker 

(pictured left with competition 

judge Malcolm Eubank) said: 

“The partnership with 

Ashworth started in 2008 

when flower-filled hanging 

baskets were provided for the 

Deyes Lane shopping parade 

by Harry Ryan and Gerry 

Hoskar’s gardening team, 

followed by a bench and 

planters last year. The bench 

went shopping to choose 

materials and made posters 

of poetry, pictures of trees 

and flowers which were 

displayed around the trees. 

One service user quoted lines 

from a song about trees. The 

exercise helped people gain 

confidence, self-esteem and 

team building skills.” 

and planters are 

now being relocated to 

Maghull King George V Park 

to help Maghull Town Council 

achieve a Green Flag Award 

for the park in 2011. Last 

year’s display gained merit 

award in the North West in

dementia roadshows: 

Visitor Kathy Anderson (centre) 

receives a dementia update from 

Mossley Hill community mental 

health team nurse Melanie 

Roberts (left), support worker 

Louise Warwick and Age 

Concern and primary care trust 

personal health trainers Diane 

Kennedy and Rebecca Boyce at 

the Royal Liverpool Hospital. 

Mersey Care’s lecturer 

practitioner in dementia Jill 

Pendleton said: “We were 

involved in roadshows at the 

Royal and the Asda store at 

Hunts Cross as part of national 

Dementia Week. The events 

were to raise awareness, 

answer questions and talk 

about our services. Many 

people asked about themselves 

or family members who they 

were concerned about and 

were given informal advice. 

Many people had questions 

about types of dementia and 

what the signs and symptoms 

were.” Other Mersey Care staff 

who were involved were Joe 

Hanna, Afroza Ahmed, Maggie 

Cuzak, Chris Finney, Sarah 

Butchard and Charlotte Priestley. 

Book stall: 

The Reader Organisation is 

looking for paperback and 

hardback fiction books to sell 

from its stalls at its Reading 

Revolution events around 

Merseyside. Books can be 

dropped off in the foyer at 19 

Abercromby Square, L69 7ZG or 

at any of the events detailed at 

www.thereader.org.uk or call 

0151 794 3849. 

Round up… 

spirit of Merseyside 

awards: 

The Salvation Army based in 

Stanley Road, Bootle, has 

praised the contribution by 

Mersey Care’s volunteer service 

users after winning the 

Prosperous Community Award 

presented by the Community 

Foundation of Merseyside. 

Writing to executive director of 

nursing and care Karen Wilson, 

the Army’s co-ordinator Alan 

Roper said: “This is a great 

achievement for our centre, 

especially for the volunteers 

that help us every week. The 

contribution that the clients 

from Mersey Care who 

volunteer with us on a Friday 

is very much appreciated and 

we look forward to welcoming 

more clients in the future.” 

The Salvation Army’s centre is 

open three mornings a week for 

breakfast and lunch and serves 

between 50 and 60 people a day, 

all of whom are homeless, have 

substance abuse addiction, mental 

health issues or are elderly. 

Alzheimer office 

changes: 

Work carried out by the 

Liverpool and South Sefton 

branch of the Alzheimer’s 

Society out of the Liverpool 

office has been split between 

Liverpool and Southport. 

The Liverpool office is now 

known as Alzheimer’s Society 

Liverpool operating from the 

Neurosupport Centre, Norton 

Street, Liverpool L3 8LR; 

telephone 0151 298 2444 or 

email liverpool@alzheimers. 

org.uk. The South Sefton area 

is now run from the society’s 

Sefton and West Lancs office, 

previously known as the 

Southport Branch, located at 

18 Stanley Street, Southport PR9 

0BY; telephone 01704 539967. 

Those boots were 

made for walking: 

Service user and carer 

representative David Hartwell 

with Lee Brown and Rob 

Dumbell who completed a 

sponsored walk from the Pier 

Head in Liverpool to Windsor 

Clinic, Aintree, finishing at the 

clinic’s annual barbecue. 

Medal day at the palace: 

Former Mersey Care staff side 

chair Jean Atkinson on the steps 

at Buckingham Palace where she 

received her MBE awarded in the 

New Year Honours List. During 

most of her 28 years in the NHS 

she has been active in the 

Liverpool Community and 

Hospitals Branch, first as a steward 

in NUPE and later in UNISON, 

becoming branch secretary until 

she stood down last year. 


2

Mersey Care is published by Mersey Care NHS Trust 

and produced by the Communications team, 

Trust Offices, Parkbourn, Maghull L31 1HW 

Tel: 0151 471 2336 Fax: 0151 473 2863 

Email: communications@merseycare.nhs.uk Website: www.merseycare.nhs.uk 

Mersey Cares is available in other formats on request. Please pass on for others to read and recycle. 

DEADLINE for the December 2010/January 2011 issue of Mersey Cares is Friday 29 October but please let us know as soon as 

possible of any likely items, especially if supporting photography might be needed. Contact the communications team 

on 0151 471 2336 or email communications@merseycare.nhs.uk

THE smiles say it all - Mersey Care NHS Trust

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