Specialist NHS intensive care unit shortlisted for national award
A specialist mental health service provided by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted for a national award. The Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) cares for people from Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield and is in with a chance of winning the national PICU Team of the Year 2009 award.
The award, hosted by the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (NAPICU), aims to recognise excellence within PICU services in terms of the care provided, team working and service improvement.
The Trust’s PICU is based at the Fieldhead site in Wakefield and provides specialist psychiatric intensive care for people in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. The unit, which opened in August last year, is for people who are in a very disturbed phase of a serious mental health disorder and are often compulsorily detained for their own safety in secure conditions.
Mental health is just like physical health, it can go through phases of being very good or people can become very unwell. When someone is in need of psychiatric intensive care it means that they are so unwell they cannot be safely and therapeutically managed and treated in an open ward. The Trust’s PICU ensures that the best care is provided in the most appropriate environment by highly skilled staff.
Staff working at the unit are one of just three teams across the country to be shortlisted for the NAPICU Team of the Year. The winning team will be named by NAPICU board at the awards conference next month, after each of the three teams has delivered a presentation about their work.
Clinical manager Karen Batty said, "To be shortlisted for this award is really exciting news and marks welcome recognition of the team’s hard work over the last 12 months. We’ve taken an innovative approach and consistently developed and improved the service, keeping the people who receive treatment at the facility at the heart of everything we do. We’re keeping our fingers crossed, and hope we do well on the day."
Gillian Green, the Trust’s assistant director for adult services said, "This is an excellent achievement for a unit that has been open for just one year and a tribute to the efforts of the team that is made up of many different professions, including nurses and therapists. I’m absolutely delighted that their hard work and dedication have been recognised and they thoroughly deserve the accolade."
The award will be presented to the winning team at a special NAPICU conference at the University of Warwick on the 10th September.