Team categories

Excellence in improving health

Improving people’s health and wellbeing is one of our strategic objectives. This award is for a piece of work that can evidence how it has improved the health and wellbeing – or reduced health inequalities – for people who use our services, their carers or people who live in our local area. It could also be for work that has improved the health and wellbeing of our staff. The judges were looking for how this is more than just normal day-to-day practice and how this work can be sustained.

Winner

Dialectical behaviour therapy team, Calderdale and Kirklees CAMHS

The team set up a dialectical behavioural therapy Group (DBT) for young people with emotional dysregulation disorder as their presenting problems. These young people often present in crisis and experience extreme distress which can be traumatic for all the family. The group had 100% attendance at each session, even during exam time.

The work made a real difference to young people and their families, evidenced by comments received from the evaluation of the work, such as: “I face my problems now, I don’t run away from them” and “I’m not scared to ask for help and I feel like I’m not going through this alone.”

 

Runner-up

Health integration team – Urban House

The health integration team, based in Urban House, provide health care assessments, on-going care and minor illness consultations for 310 clients who are seeking asylum from all over the world. The team are nurse-led with no doctor input and manage the health and wellbeing of at least 800 clients each month.

They have, in two years, reduced the number attending accident and emergency and walk-in centres drastically. They have managed an unprecedented rise in the numbers seen, and treat clients as valued individuals, giving them help and support in all aspects of their lives, most of whom are vulnerable and have suffered greatly.

Highly commended

Hospital VIP scheme, learning disability acute hospital liaison service

The VIP scheme is supported by the learning disability liaison team in the acute hospital to improve health outcomes. The scheme promotes reasonable adjustments, person-centred surgical care pathways, accessible information, and decision making care plans to support those who may lack the capacity to make health decisions. It also includes VIP champions and promotes evidence-based training. The scheme is supported by the Wakefield Patient Experience Group made up of people who have a learning disability.

The VIP scheme has improved health outcomes for patients with learning disabilities at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust. The scheme, all though multi-faceted, has one common aim; Achieving equality for patients with a learning disability.

Excellence in improving care

Improving the quality and experience of all that we do is one of our strategic objectives. This award recognises an excellent project or initiative that identified an area where quality and/or experience needed to be improved, set objectives and delivered these. This category includes work undertaken by non-clinical teams that impact on quality and experience of care.

Winner

Visual care plans, Newhaven occupational therapy team

Having identified that service users were struggling to understand their written care plans, the team co-developed visual care plans with and alongside service users. When completing the visual care plans the team sit down with the service users and co-produce the care plans using pictures and words that are relevant and understandable to the individuals involved. This is done ‘live’ with the service users then printed off and owned by both parties involved.

This is an innovative and targeted intervention that has improved engagement in sessions and greater understanding of the therapy pathway for the individuals involved. As this is co-produced there is greater ownership and improved understanding of the individual’s goals and outcomes.

Runner-up

Barnsley community brain injury team

This project was to set up a clear pathway and a dedicated team to look after patients with traumatic or acquired brain injury. The brain injury pathway aims to help people to recover, achieve their aims in life, and lead a life that is as full and as independent as possible.

This is the first brain pathway in Barnsley and has improved the health, wellbeing and the quality of care for all patients and their families with brain injury. The unique feature of this service is the inclusion of patients with brain tumours, a rarity in the UK. NHS England visited the team and said it was a model service that others can learn from and replicate.

Highly commended

Safety huddles support and development, patient safety support team

Safety huddles are daily discussions where team members gather to focus on patients and reducing harms specific to their team, eg falls or violence and aggression. In spring 2017 Chantry Ward and the stroke unit introduced this. All ward staff attend the huddle and, whether clinicians or support staff, everyone has a voice.

Huddles help the team focus on keeping patients safe from harm today and tomorrow based on past data. They aim to reduce harm by increasing staff awareness of specific safety issues, leading them to think proactively and become more anticipatory in the care they deliver. Safety huddles are delivering great outcomes in improving care and have huge potential across the Trust.

Excellence in improving use of resources

Improving our use of resources is one of our strategic objectives. This award will go to a team or service who identified a need to improve their use of resources and can describe how they tackled the problem and how the outcome was evaluated. Judges were looking for evidence of what improvement has taken place – for example, how savings have been made or efficiency improved.

Winner

Sensory workshops, Barnsley children’s therapy

Children’s therapy provides advice and support for children and families with sensory processing difficulties. The referrals for this service have increased significantly resulting in a long waiting list. The service offered individual appointments, however, on reflection, the team felt there was repetition in the advice offered and it would be beneficial for families to be able to see the sensory equipment available. The idea of a sensory workshop was born.

Sensory workshops enable the team to see up to 10 families in a workshop, potentially 20 families in a day. The workshops provide information on sensory processing, its effects on everyday life, and gives the opportunity to explore practical strategies to support their child’s sensory needs.

Runner-up

Saving money through print procurement, graphic design and procurement

The design team has worked with procurement to streamline the Trust’s graphic design and print function to make it more efficient and more responsive to customer needs. This has resulted in a better service, significant cost savings and a better use of staff time and Trust resources. In quarter 1 of 2017/18 the print procurement changes alone have saved £8,363, projected to top £25k over the course of the year. If you add on the hidden cost savings such as the more effective use of time, reduced use of the porters, removing the cost of redeliveries, and the reduced design turnaround this will be much higher.

Both teams have worked closely to devise new ways of working that are now providing a high-quality service that is streamlined and producing significant cost savings.

Highly commended

Waiting list initiative, Barnsley CAMHS

Barnsley CAMHS bid for extra funding from Barnsley CCG to ease pressures on their waiting times. They received £119,000 of funding which has enabled 208 children and young people to start their treatment earlier than anticipated, thereby removing them
from the waiting list.

Staff were empowered and encouraged to create a new sustainable group offer to help decrease the waiting time for access to the service going forward and worked cohesively as a team throughout this time. This offers low mood focused cognitive behavioural therapy, anxiety management groups and a dialectical behavioural therapy group.

Involvement and engagement excellence

This award is for any service or team who can demonstrate excellence in engagement and involvement (including co-production) with people who use services, carers or staff. It involves having a level relationship with people showing how co-production, engagement and involvement contributed to improved outcomes. The judges looked for entries that had clear aims and objectives and could demonstrate how they achieved excellent, measurable outcomes.

Winner

Participation group video, Barnsley CAMHS participation group

The participation group were inspired to make a film to address the stigma they felt they had experienced around their mental health. This remit grew as the filming took place as the group also wanted to talk positively about attending the participation group and the care they had received from Barnsley CAMHS.

The film highlights both the positive experiences that the participation group have had within Barnsley CAMHS and also the strength and character of the young people who are trying to make a difference and portray to other young people how mental health stigma needs challenging.

Runner up

CAMHS volunteer recruitment training team

The development of children and young people as volunteers within CAMHS came as a result of a child who expressed a desire to be better involved in their own care and in the recruitment process for the service. This led to a project to develop and deliver a training package to a group of service users and who had expressed an interest to participate in a meaningful way.

The time and effort this initiative took is a testament to the commitment of the team. It demonstrates compassionate care and leadership and a responsiveness to service user needs. It also demonstrates to the young people involved that the team values them and respects their opinions.

Highly commended

The afternoon tea dance and all that jazz, Wakefield therapy team

This weekly event enables and encourages service users, their families and staff to come together to enjoy music, movement and dance followed by home baking made by the service users. Families are encouraged to bring in music that holds a special place in the service user’s life, enabling them to express emotion in response to musical memories. This has led to improved communication between families and staff and means staff have the opportunity to find out more information about the service users, leading to more person-centred care planning and interventions.

The activity has engaged those who would not normally take part in groups and has also led to reduced agitation and distress in some service users.

Partnership working excellence

Entries into this award could evidence excellent partnership working, highlighting the impact of working with others. It could be a project or initiative that needed excellent internal partnership working or one that teamed up with external organisations or groups to achieve objectives. The judges were looking for a clear measurement of the impact of partnership working and the difference it made.

Winner

Focus CAMHS team, Wetherby Young Offenders’ Institute

When two neighbouring trusts were commissioned to provide a physical and mental health service in a young offender institution they faced a high degree of violence, chronic understaffing, demoralised, traumatised and burnt out prison and mental health staff.

A radical transformation programme was put in place successfully in order to help a complex, very vulnerable group of young people with a high degree of serious mental health problems including high rates of severe harm to themselves and others, and a high risk of suicide. Partnership working with the other trust, prison and commissioners proved to be crucial to the success. This resulted in service users, staff and commissioners noticing a marked improvement.

Runner up

Vocational warriors, Insight early intervention in psychosis, Calderdale

This vocational initiative works with Remploy to help individuals move towards recovery and to empower them to take control of their future. It is a strong and impactful partnership with Remploy, who provide employment support to those experiencing complex barriers to work. The initiative aims to significantly increase employment and training opportunities for service users and carers, with a strong focus on co-production, engagement, communication and breaking down barriers.

This is a valued partnership where both organisations work towards the same goals, making a real difference in people’s lives. It has enabled over 20 individuals to gain permanent employment, and 50 individuals to access accredited training and work experience.

Highly commended

Thriving Kirklees partnership

Thriving Kirklees is the healthy child partnership aimed at improving services for children and families. It is a partnership between our Trust, Locala, Northorpe Hall, Homestart and Yorkshire Children’s Centres all working together to provide healthcare services for 0-19 year olds which considers their physical and mental health needs.

Our CAMHS service is providing support for autistic spectrum conditions (ASC), working closely with partners to ensure that ASC is central and helping to reduce waiting times by offering assessments. This is a new approach to children’s health, which also includes health visiting, weight management and support for people with learning difficulties.

Read more about all our finalists in our brochure.

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