OTHER NEWS...Merger updateSuccess with new prison contract Wandsworth contract retainedQ&A with Addaction’s Dr Kostas AgathOn the lookout for nursesChristmas hamper winnerMental health campaign launched

January 2015

Celebrating best practice Find out more about successful initiatives going on across our services

Photo of Margate Beach - with thanks to Pete, a service user from Thanet’s Mental Health Service

Editor’s NoteHi everyone,

Well it’s over for another year! Hopefully you’ve all had some chance to relax and enjoyed the festivities before 2015 really begins.

It’s been a busy year for KCA, not to mention the upcoming merger with Addaction. 2015 will certainly be a new start for us as an organisation but an exciting one at that! You can read the latest update on page 3.

This edition’s theme looks at some best practice examples from across our services so that we can celebrate and show off where we’re doing great bits at work that benefit our service users. If you have something going on in your service area and you haven’t shared it, make sure you do, as other services may benefit from seeing what works.

As always, KCA Today is for staff and aims to share good news and information with you, so if there is something you’d like to share for the next issue, please get in touch!

Best wishes,

Hayley

To make a suggestion or

contribution please contact:

Hayley EversfieldMarketing

Communciations Manager

hayley.eversfield@kca.org.uk

01634 298590

www.kca.org.uk@KCAUK

5th January - Mahayana New Year (Buddhist)

19th January – Blue Monday: A day to do nice things for each other

21st January – Employee Motivation Day: A day to boost morale and increase productivity. The day also aims to support employers and businesses to better understand the power of motivation by rewarding and incentivising employees. @NatMotivateDay

25th January –World Religion Day: The aim is to unite everyone, whatever their faith, by show-ing that there are common foundations to all religions and that together we can help humanity and live in harmony. By celebrating the similarities in different faiths and understanding other religions, the day shows us how we can work together to create a better world.

Equality & Diversity: January events

Alice Crotty was presented with the Christmas hamper after entering the Christmas Quiz. In the December edition of KCA Today, we asked 15 festive questions and from the entries who got the most right, we pulled a name from the hat. Alice said: “It’s nice to win – I’ll give some of the bits to my family to share too.

The £50 hamper was created by The Whitstable Hamper Company.

And the winner is...

KCA Today January 2015

Page 2

Equality & Diversity: January events

A café has been set up in the Thurrock substance misuse service to encourage new people to find out what help is available.

As well as offering free tea, coffee and toast the café hosts drop-in sessions run by peer mentors four mornings a week, from 10 to 11am, to encourage new people and their families to come along and find out more about the substance misuse service and what help and support is available.

Service users can also enjoy the café and when the sessions are not running, the area is used for job group sessions and a computer is available for service users to use for job hunting.

People accessing substance misuse services in Tonbridge will now benefit from mental health support as part of their recovery treatment.

Our mental health service in West Kent is now working with substance misuse providers CRI, to offer their service users help and support they may need to deal with any mental health issues as part of their after-care programme. They are able o work with the clients on their symptoms of anxiety and depression at the time when their previous coping strategies are gone, which is a very vulnerable time for them.

Pioneered by our Trainee High Intensity Therapists Kim Leader and Hannah Willis, the joint working was set up after it had been identified that many substance misuse service users also have mental health issues which affects their drug and or alcohol misuse, they could benefit from additional support to help them stay in recovery as part of their aftercare treatment.

It had also been identified that there were difficulties when referring service users to mental health services as previously, it could prevent people who are using alcohol or substances excessively to be able to engage constructively in mental health support. However, by working with all providers, service users could deal with all their issues at the same time and now they will be swiftly referred into KCA’s mental health service with treatment co-ordinated to coincide with CRI’s aftercare package. This gives them the opportunities to learn specific techniques which are proven to help with anxiety and low mood which are a likely residue of substance use withdrawal, and increase their chances of success of a full recovery.

Our therapists now attend the weekly CRI team briefings to discuss suitable referrals for service users

KCA join hands with CRI Tonbridge

Tea and toast to help spread the word

KCA Today January 2015

Page 3

Merger update

A unique project set up to help young people in Canterbury look after their mind and body is proving a hit with its particpants. The risk-reduction programme was set up in response to requests from local healthcare professionals after identifying a lack of mental health support for young people aged 14 to 17.

The £10,000 project run by our Young Person’s Service, is delivered across Canterbury schools to vulnerable young people and helps to give them strategies to reduce risk behaviours including drug and alcohol use, offending and early, or unprotected sex. The young people are either already vulnerable to self-harming behaviours or at risk of others and it helps them to explore the reasons behind their behaviours and find ways to reduce them and stay safe.

The programme has a number of outcome measures include timeline follow backs (previous 28 days) on substance use, alcohol, self harm and sexual activity. Young people who have taken part said:

“ I know I am not one in a million and that there are other people going through what I do. It was hard to talk at first but it helped being part of a group and got easier each time”

“The programme was good because I felt able to open up and share my ideas. Also it was good because we were in a group and were going through similar things”

Helpful, relaxed. It has helped me. I can see what I need to do now. It doesn’t feel like a normal lesson. You aren’t pressurised”

Project a hit for risk takers

The merger is proceeding well, with a project plan being rolled out which includes a number of detailed work-streams that are already underway. We have recently received Charity Commission approval in order for Addaction and KCA to formally merge. There has been a small divergence from our original timetable in that KCA will now formally become a subsidiary of Addaction a little after 1st January, most likely by 1st February 2015. This is due to additional due diligence processes being required. Short delays of this sort are not uncommon during merger processes. Details of the final make-up of the leadership team are likely to be formally announced in the week of 19th January 2015. We are continuing to work with Addaction on our joint development priorities, and are putting together combined tenders for new services which incorporate both mental health and substance misuse elements. Our merger with Addaction will enable us to do more than ever before. By bringing together our substance misuse and mental health expertise we form something new: an organisation focused on recovery, driven by evidence and with the conviction to face the challenges affecting our communities. In the meantime if you have any queries, please contact mergerconsultation@kca.org.uk or take a look at the merger section of the staff intranet.

A brighter reception in Margate

January 2015KCA Today

Page 4

Two service users in Thanet have donated artwork to Thanet’s Mental Health Service in Margate for display in the reception area.

Both service users, Pete and Sue have benefited from the service’s help and support. Pete has donated a canvas with a photograph of Margate beach (on the front cover) which he took when out on a walk. In addition to his therapy, Pete now joins in with the weekly walking group which promotes exercise to service users and gives them the opportunity to meet new people.

Pete said: “I gave the canvas to KCA to show my appreciation for all the support they have given me since I came to them. I join the walking group every week and took this photo on one of them. I thought it would look really nice in the reception so had it transferred to canvas for them to put up.”

Sue, who accessed help for depression and anxiety, has donated one of her paintings (top right) to be displayed in reception to brighten it up for other people to enjoy while waiting for their appointments. Sue plans to set up a Facebook page to display her work publicly and this is the first step towards showing her work to others.

Thanet also has an active arts and craft group and they donated a festive wreath made from woollen pompoms which is hanging in reception. The group has been running once a month but in January, will be meeting every other week due to demand and the good turn out from service users. It helps service users to be more social and meet like-minded people doing something they all enjoy.

A new six-week course to promote the imporatnce of maintaing good mental health is now on offer at a Whitstable supermarket.

The new initiative, Feel Well, Live Well, is for people who have been referred to our Mental Health Service in the Canterbury area. The course runs on Tuesday evenings at Tesco and will help people to manage their mood more effectively, help them to challenge negative thoughts, improve motivation, overcome fears and improve sleep hygiene.

The current six-week course started in December with two more planned for January and March. The course will take place in the community room at the supermarket and has been offered to KCA to use for free, as part of Tesco’s commitment to their local community. The Feel Well, Live Well course has been previously run in different locations throughout Canterbury, but it’s the first time it’s been run from a supermarket.

People can now pick up more than a loaf

KCA Today January 2015

Page 5

A partnership, led by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, has secured the £12.6 million per year contract to provide a full range of healthcare services to the Greenwich prisons cluster of HMP Belmarsh, HMP Thame-side and HMP YOI Isis. KCA is delighted to be part of the successful team and will be delivering the clinical substance misuse and IAPT services across the three prisons, with a sub-contract worth approximately £2 million per annum.

The trust which provides healthcare throughout three south-east London boroughs and all Kent prisons, will begin providing healthcare at the site of the three facilities between Woolwich and Plumstead in April 2015. Together with a number of partner organisations, including KCA, Oxleas will lead the provision of services including: mental health services; dentistry; pharmacy; podiatry and a GP service. More than 2,600 prisoners are housed at Her Majesty’s Prison/Youth Offenders Institute Belmarsh, HMP Thameside and HMP/YOI Isis.

Oxleas will also be responsible for providing a new healthcare IT system throughout the complex. The trust’s Forensics and Prison Services Director, John Enser, said: “We are delighted to have won this contract. We look forward to providing healthcare to this cluster of prisons from next spring and for at least five years into the future. I would like to thank all colleagues that worked so hard to secure this contract during the tendering process”.

Ryan Campbell, KCA CEO said “This is a wonderful opportunity for KCA and is our first contract which combines mental health, adult and young people’s substance misuse services. The new contract supports our strategy to bring together substance misuse and mental health provision and unite these two disciplines. It also adds to our substantial portfolio of work within custodial settings, which is great news. It will no doubt require a lot of hard work over the coming months.”

Success with new prison contract

We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in retaining our contract in Wandsworth. The new contract which starts on 1st April will be led by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAM), who will deliver the overarching clinical governance for the service. The successful contract includes KCA, Addaction and St Mungo’s Broadway. SLAM already work in partnership with KCA in Wandsworth and know the borough, which will help us to ensure a smooth transition to the new service delivery model.

Karen Tyrell, Director of Development said “The new service is built around service user needs, with teams being arranged into ‘pathways’ – there will be specific focus on opiate users, alcohol users and other drug users, with staff arranged into teams, focussing on the different needs of these groups. This builds on the successful service which SLAM delivers in partnership with Addaction in Lambeth and I am very excited to see how this can further be developed in Wandsworth.”

Wandsworth contract retained

January 2015KCA Today

Page 6

Fancy earning an extra bit of money in the new year? If you can help us to find nurses to work within our Surrey Prisons contract, you could earn yourself £500.

If you know a nurse who is looking for a move, this job could be the one for them. If you recommend someone for a job with our Surrey Prisons Clinical team and they are successful, we will give you £500 ‘finder’s fee’* to say thanks - and the successful applicant will receive a £2,000 ‘bonus’ when they start.**

We are looking for Band 6 nurses to join KCA, working within Surrey’s prisons – HMP Highdown, HMP Coldingley and HMP Send, to deliver a comprehensive service to people with drug and alcohol problems.The nurses we already have are focussed on recovery and on giving their clients the best chance of maintaining their recovery when they leave prison. This is a great opportunity for skilled and ambitious nurses to slot into this clinical substance misuse team and make a real difference.

*Only available to KCA staff**The successful candidate would need to stay for a minimum of 12 months, or part of the starting bonus would be re-payable, pro-rata.

On the lookout for nurses...

We have launched a new campaign to encourage people who need help and support to get in touch with our mental health services over the Christmas and New Year period.

The campaign features a radio advert and newspaper advertising to highlight that the festive period is not always a happy time for everyone and for people who are experiencing a mental health issue including stress, anxiety or depression, our mental health services are not far away.

The campaign started in December and runs until mid-January. The radio advert can be heard on KMFM with adverts in local KM newspapers to promote our mental health services and treatments available across Kent.

You can listen to the advert through our mental health website. www.kcamentalhealthservices.org.uk

On air to help people this New Year

January 2015KCA Today

Why did you become a Psychiatrist? Whilst a medical student I came across Freud’s work on dreams. Suddenly, obstetrics and gynaecology did not look attractive anymore!

How has your career led you to Addaction? A background in sociology and health services administration helped me appreciate the holistic care offered within the 3rd Sector. Addaction had the added advantages of vision clarity (Simon Antrobus) and an operations powerhouse (Gerv McGrath). The opportunity arose four years ago, and the rest, is they say, is history! What were you doing before joining Addaction? Working as an addictions consultant psychiatrist in the NHS.

What major projects have you achieved whilst at Addaction? Setting up a great clinical governance team that continuously contributes to the quality improvement of our clinical services.

What are your thoughts about the merger with KCA and do you have any plans in mind to improve/change services? This is a merger of soul mates. Our shared core values and vision should nurture diversity. Our larger talent pool and resources will lead to innovations. Our clinical and social governance directorate will quality assure the relevant processes.

What has been your most challenging moment at Addaction? Ensuring the safe transfer of care for hundreds of service users when a contract changes hands: our successful track record makes it no less challenging the next time!

What is the best aspect of the job? The ability to troubleshoot at the speed of light!

What has been your greatest achievement, at work or otherwise? Always analysing mistakes until I find what *I* could have done better.

What piece of advice would you give your younger self? The sun will shine again – it always does!

Do you have a phrase or motto that you live your life by? To find a needle in a haystack, get rid of the magnifying glass and hire a helicopter!

What do you enjoy doing, outside of work? Going to a concert before dining with friends.

If you weren’t doing this job, what do you think you would be doing instead? Doing time for crimes against humanity for choosing to be a musician: the aspiration was there but the talent was nowhere to be seen!

What is your favourite film? Citizen Kane (Welles 1941): Happiness comes from sharing not amassing!

Q&A: Dr Kostas Agath

January 2015KCA Today

Page 8

Help put a smile on our families’ facesDon’t forget about our in-house campaign to give nice presents and useful items to some of the families our FIP team work with. We are collecting gifts to give to the FIP (Family Intervention Project) to hand out to their families in January, so if you have any unwanted gifts that you don’t need or want, or another items that could be useful to someone else, please bring any donations to the Development and Marketing office at Pender House. If you can’t bring them, please let us know and we’ll arrange to collect it from you. Thanks in advance for your donations and for helping us to give a little extra to our FIP families.

A very merry Christmas was had at Jubilee Way after Beverley Hills from the Data team brought in this wonderfully festive cake. We don’t think it took long to eat this delicious treat!

It’s that time of year again... more than 75% of staff have already completed their information governance training. If you haven’t completed yours yet, please do it as soon as possible. If you’re not sure if you need to complete anything, please contact Training at Pender House.

In 2014, we achieved IG Toolkit level 3 but in order to retain this, we need to fulfil certain requirements. Over the next few months, the Safety Coordinator will be visiting services and carrying out some Information Governance Health Checks with staff.

IG refresher training

Training dates

Our Thurrock service is in with the chance of winning £1,000 for taking part in a First Give project with a local school.

The Hathaway Academy in Grays asked KCA to partner with them to create a presentation as part of their project to highlight social issues where they live. The students invited Psychological Therapies Coordinator Nicola Canham to their school, to interview her about what KCA does, its history and about who it helps. She told them about how clients refer to KCA, what treatments they provide, support and about the therapists who deliver the treatments. They were also interested in how many people in the Thurrock community have been helped.

The students will use the information what she told them to put together a presentation to their school and the best presentation of their year group will win £1,000 for the charity they worked with.

Thurrock helping school for £1k prize

Prevent YPS Monday 12th January, Pender House9.30—1.00

Substance Misuse AssessmentFriday 16th January, St John’s Wandsworth

Managing Drug-Related RiskWednesday 28th January, Thurrock