mental health drug & alcohol news · ognitive and emotional impairments underpinning suicidal...

Mental Health Drug & Alcohol

16 December 2019

News

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Drug & Alcohol Mental Health & Gambling in the Elderly Forum — Page 4

Cameron Building Aboriginal Mural —

Recovery Oriented Practice Forum— Page 5

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Director’s Report

Page 1 | NSLHD Mental Health Drug & Alcohol News | 16 December 2019

Yaama! It has been exciting to see the beautiful work of Selwyn Williams come to life in the Cameron Building entrance’s foyer. MHDA had commissioned Selwyn’s work in an effort to support our services to be more welcoming to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. The artwork depicts the tree of life along with Australian animals, and is a reminder that we pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging on this land on which we live and work.

I had the humbling experience of being part of the Mental Health Commission’s Gladesville Hospital Cemetery Memorial. Along with Michael Appleton who has lived experience of admissions to Gladesville Hospital, I have had the privilege of being part of the Commission’s co-design Advisory Group responsible for planning the memorial to commemorate those 1200 people buried on the hospital grounds without acknowledgment. I would like to acknowledge the words of Michael Appleton, in sharing his experiences as part of the Acknowledgement to Lived Experience on the day. His words are powerful, humbling, and a poignant reminder of our service’s role in upholding human rights and supporting citizenship. Michael’s acknowledgment can be found at the end of this report and you can read more about the memorial on page 8. Accreditation is on the horizon as we move into 2020. It is a timely reminder that all teams should be reviewing their mandatory training records and ensuring that currency of practice is being maintained through completing mandatory training. As we head into Summer, I urge you all to continue being vigilant, and to regularly review emergency warnings and incident information using the NSW Rural Fire Service app Fires Near Me NSW. Wishing you all a happy festive season! If you are having a break over Christmas, I wish you a relaxing and rejuvenating time. To our staff who continue to work over this holiday period, we thank you for your service and commitment.

Above: Michael Appleton & Paula Hanlon

Hello, my name is Michael Appleton. I am a person who has lived with mental health issues for 51 years. I had long hospital stays from the age of 12, including 2 and a half years at Gladesville in the mid-seventies. I am grateful to have been asked to provide this acknowledgement of people who have lived experience of mental health issues past and present. I would like to start by saying let’s not mourn the deaths of people who died here at Gladesville Hospital but remember their struggles to be seen and heard as citizens with human rights and learn from this to ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes from the past. Being in hospitals like Gladesville for long periods would create for many a sense of community, bonds and a caring for each other. We would work alongside each other, share our dubious talents on social nights, play games and listen to music. However, we also experienced family and social disconnection, loss of career and other life opportunities and stigma and discrimination within the broader community.

I believe their lives, struggles and deaths were not in vain but can help us to improve the care for people in our hospitals and community services. Like me and others, who have lost friends or relatives, our memories will keep them alive and our voices will echo their unspoken words. I would like to express gratitude to the NSW Mental Health Commission who has led us to this memorial day and look forward to further acknowledgements of our lost peers and friends in other large psychiatric hospitals in NSW.

- Michael Appleton

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Publication is at the discretion of the editor. Items may be

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| NSLHD Mental Health Drug & Alcohol News | 16 December 2019

Drug & Alcohol Staff Recognised at APSAD

The work of two of our Drug & Alcohol Service staff has been recognised at the annual Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD) Conference. The contributions of Dr Mark Montebello were recognised in him being awarded the Clinician Award. This award recognises excellence and leadership in clinical practice in the field of substance use in any discipline. He was nominated by colleagues from Northern Sydney Local Health District and South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Drug and Alcohol Services for “excellence in clinical care, development of treatment services, and teaching addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine trainees”. Mark said it was a great honour to receive the award, which was presented by Professor Michael Farrell, incoming President of APSAD. He also acknowledged

the impact that Dr Jon Rampono, Professor James Bell and Professor Nicholas Lintzeris have had on his career, and thanked his colleagues that work with him to deliver the best clinical care possible. At the conference closing ceremony, Drug & Alcohol Service’s Research Coordinator, Dr Lauren Monds, won the Early Career Poster Presentation Award for her poster How intoxicated are you? Comparing self & observer intoxication ratings to blood alcohol concentration. We congratulate Mark and Lauren on these well deserved acknowledgments.

Tony Piras

Above: Prof Michael Farrell &Dr Mark Montebello

MHDA Research Contributions 2019 Jenny Law

Mental Health Drug and Alcohol’s (MHDA) research projects currently number around 45. This is an incredible number for the service where people are busy with their day to day work and still manage to undertake research projects. There is a quarterly Clinical Research Committee meeting where the projects are discussed and reported on. This meeting includes representatives from all of the MHDA sectors and includes showcasing any research projects that have been completed and subsequently published in a journal. The latest list of journal articles are as follows: Emotion Oriented Coping style predicts self-harm in response to acute psychiatric hospitalisation Nabiximols for the Treatment of Cannabis Dependence A Randomized Clinical Trial Cognitive and emotional impairments underpinning suicidal activity in patients with mood disorders: An fMRI study Default Mode Dysfunction Underpins Suicidal Activity in Mood disorders Reductions in emergency department presentations associated with opioid agonist treatment vary by geographic

location: A retrospective study in New South Wales, Australia The effects of childhood trauma on adolescent hippocampal subfields Effect of stress gene-by-environment interactions on hippocampal volumes and cortisol secretion in adolescent

girls “I’m not telling an illness story. I’m telling a story of opportunity”: Making sense of voice hearing experiences If you have had any research project articles published please let Jenny Law know via email [email protected] so we can keep an up to date log of the journal articles published by our talented staff.

Left: Dr Lauren Monds

mailto:[email protected]


Westfield Hornsby Hero Award

Cherie Raffan from Ability Options recently won the 2019 Westfield Hornsby Hero. Cherie is co-located within the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Mental Health Services and provides support to consumers of the service to access employment opportunities. The top prize was $10,000 which will be managed by Ability Options who partners with Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Mental Health Service to deliver this support service to consumers. The money will be directed towards safe driving courses and lessons to assist with accessing employment. Cherie has been an employment advisor for people with disabilities for thirteen years because she loves helping people. Some of the people that Cherie works with are highly qualified but experience difficulty with finding a position; others have never worked or have no recent work history. Many have a mental illness. Cherie enjoys working with people in a way that empowers and supports their belief in themselves, particularly when people struggle to believe that they will be able to find a job. “We say that right now you’re a little bit stuck, grab my hand, and we will drag you out of it.” Some people are fearful of employment, fearful of failure or fearful of bullying. “We help them overcome those barriers,” says Cherie. “We try to

keep them positive and focused. It might mean creating a resume for someone who has never had a resume or upskilling them to open new doors.” Cherie feels both embarrassed and honoured to be the winner of Westfield Local Hero. “I don’t see myself as extraordinary. But I am so very grateful to everyone who voted for me. It’s a huge honour for disability employment services to be recognised.” She believes people should encourage and support each other to reach their potential, and always takes care to treat people as individuals. “Listening to people - really listening to them – and working out how they want to be helped and how I can help them is the first part of connecting with people in this industry,” Cherie says. Once a person has a job, Cherie and a multidisciplinary team provide ongoing support to help them thrive in their new role. “Seeing any unemployed person return to the workforce is incredibly rewarding,” says Cherie.

Above: Cherie Raffan and Leanne Frizzel

Mel Perry

Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Employee of the Month

The recipient of Employee of the Month for the last month of this year is Dr Mohan Gilhotra. Dr Gilhotra is described as someone who has been instrumental in providing feedback and guidance to the Team Stripes project in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Adult Mental Health Unit (AMHU), and whose expertise has helped the team move forward with improvements in multidisciplinary team meetings and unit rounds. He is recognised for his willingness to trial new initiatives, being lovely to work with and upholding the CORE values of the organisation. Dr Gilhotra has worked with the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Mental Health Service since 2018 and holds the Senior Staff

Specialist role in AMHU. He also supports registrar training, high quality inpatient care and care planning for post

discharge follow-up, and reintegration to

community care. Dr Gilhotra is very passionate

about working with families, carers and the next of

kin to promote recovery and to maximally family

involvement and collaboration.

Left: Eleni, Hayley, Anne, Dr Gilhotra, Leanne, Mel, Anne, Susan & Dr Jayalath

Mel Perry


Intellectual Disability & Mental Health

Kerry Hides-Pearson has joined the MHDA team as a Senior Project Manager,

leading the Intellectual Disability and Mental Health Specialist Team and Training

Program. The program is aimed at increasing the capacity of Northern Sydney

Local Health District clinicians working with people with an intellectual disability.

Kerry has most recently worked at the HETI Mental Health Portfolio, where she

led a number of statewide programs, including the Clinical Care of People who

may be Suicidal: Education and Training Initiative (COPSETI), NSW Health

Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention, Accredited Person, and NSW Mental

Health Act training. She also developed a number of resources for the HETI

Higher Education Team.

Kerry has also designed and delivered education and training in the general

health setting including the Financial Management Essentials, People

Management Skills and CORE Chat programs. Above: Kerry Hides-Pearson

Drug & Alcohol Mental Health & Gambling in the Elderly

Drug & Alcohol Mental Health and Gambling in the Elderly (DAMHAGE) is a joint initiative of the NSLHD Older People’s Mental Health Service (OPMHS) and the NSLHD Drug & Alcohol Service. One of the key aims of the initiative is to raise awareness for MHDA clinicians of substance use and gambling in our elderly consumers and to increase the rates of screening for substance use and cognitive impairment in our inpatient and community services. Let’s Get Together was held at the Northern Beaches Community Health Centre on 27th November following a similar successful event at the Royal North Shore Community Health Centre last year and was attended by an array of clinicians from Brookvale and across the district. Dr Megan Alle, Clinical Director of OPMHS, opened proceedings by presenting a clinical scenario. This illustrated the consequences of unrecognised substance use in an older lady which eloquently outlined a series of missed opportunities for our clinical services to intervene by simply asking relevant questions. Dr Mark Montebello, fresh from receiving his Clinician’s Award at the 2019 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol & Other Drugs Conference, presented a fascinating perspective on alcohol use patterns in older people including the risks associated with intoxication and withdrawal syndromes and some advance notice on safe alcohol consumption levels particularly considering increase numbers of baby boomers entering Older People’s Mental Health Services. Veronica Clipsham is a clinical psychologist with the Involuntary Drug & Alcohol Treatment (IDAT) program and presented on cognitive assessment and patterns of impairment in severe alcohol misuse and Dr Darren Lee

presented on Brief Interventions in Drug & Alcohol. The presenters wound up proceedings by forming a panel and fielding questions from the floor. Evaluations indicated that the audience rated the afternoon as excellent or very good and there was a collective request for more locally delivered in-service education programs. The DAMHAGE team look forward in 2020 to mapping clinical pathways for older people with substance use disorders and look at establishing opportunities to partner with community organisations in the gambling space.

Andrew Clement

Above: Dr Darren Lee, Veronica Clipsham, Dr Mark Montebello & Dr Megan Alle


Hornsby Ku-ring-gai’s First Interagency Forum

In October 2019, a working party was formed with the coordinators of the Northern Beaches to establish a Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Mental Health Interagency Forum. Terms of reference were modelled and the Primary Health Networks were also engaged to be part of the process. Under the leadership of Kathleen Schelling (Community Services Manager) and Jess Wakely (Social Worker), the day was a success with a second forum planned in December to complete service mapping. The interagency forum was part of a wider clinical leadership project looking at building relationships with community managed organisations. Jess Wakely will graduate from the program in December 2019.

MHDA Recovery Oriented Practice Forum

The annual Recovery Oriented Practice Forum was hosted at Hornsby RSL on 27th November with a focus on the value of lived experience within multidisciplinary teams (MDT). The forum also explored the value of lived experience in the co-design and co-production of recovery oriented mental health services. The forum included 92 participants – managers, clinicians, peer workers, consumers, carers and community managed organisations. This made for a dynamic day that incorporated a diverse range of perspectives and experience. Jae Radican, Program Manager, NSW Official Visitors Program and former

Peer Workforce Manager for the NSW Ministry of Health, set the scene for

the day by reflecting on the long history of peer work within mental health

services in Australia. He shared his insights into the ‘embedding’ of lived experience within services, highlighting the

importance of specialist position descriptions and true collaboration that moves beyond a tokenistic role within

multidisciplinary teams.

Kath Thornburn and Sandy Watson from Inside Out & Associates Australia, presented on how mental health services can engage in transformative co-production, in particular, addressing imbalances of power. Kath and Sandy challenged us to consider what is needed for non-consumer partners to position themselves as learners, and what is needed for consumer partners to position themselves as leaders within co-production. Kath and Sandy also facilitated a workshop in the afternoon to support us in ‘thinking outside the paradigm’ through considering the practical application of the principles and practices of co-production within our work settings.

The program also included a number of ‘snapshot presentations’ from peer

workers both within NSLHD and the community managed sector on the integration of the peer worker role within the

MDT. These presentations really showcased the valuable work that peer workers do in supporting consumers on their

recovery journey. The forum was well received by participants. Special thanks to the organising working party who

went above and beyond to ensure the day was a success.

Sarah Mahoney

Mel Perry

Right: David White, Kath Schelling, Craig Parsons, Allison White & Jess Wakely

Above: Sandy Watson & Kath Thorburn

Above: Jae Radican


Compliments

Feedback to Leanne McLean and her team at the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit from a family member of a consumer who they supported:

“Just wanted to say a big thank you for all you have done for [consumer] and I. Your patience and support really kept us together and pushing on. I really appreciate it. The team of staff are all amazing and [consumer] and I are grateful for all you have done for us.” Feedback to the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit for their support and care of a number of

consumers: “I have since always been treated with respect, empathy and understanding but most importantly, patience and care. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all staff—Doctors, nurses, dietician, social worker, occupational therapist, psychologist, activity coordinator, and domestic staff. I cannot express in enough words the positive impact, and future outlook I can now look forward to.” “To all the wonderful team of doctors and nurses of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Mental Health, I couldn’t have made such a great recovery after this last episode.” Feedback from a colleague leaving the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit to their team: “To the amazing staff of the Adult Mental Health Unit, thank you for being such a big part of my life over the past two years. I have learnt so much from each and every one of you and will miss the crazy antics of our work life here at the Adult Mental Health Unit. You are great, hard working people and should be proud of the work you do.” Feedback from one of the consumers at Macquarie Hospital who was one of the featured artists in the InsideOut

Gallery Macquarie Hospital and Ryde Council’s collaboration Art for Mental Health: “You know what, when I was a teenager, all I wanted was to be famous. Now that I'm older it's just all coming together". Feedback from Veronica Morton and the GradStart Nurses (formerly Transition to Speciality Practice Nurses) to

Mark Joyce for his collaborative efforts with the GradStart Nurses: “Thanks for taking the time to come out and speak with the GradStarts. The GradStarts appreciated the opportunity to get to know you and to be heard by you. Your feedback was passed on regarding progress already made in terms of rotations and preceptors. The GradStarts are looking forward to improved support and visibility of their rotations.” Feedback to Michelle Young in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Acute Care Team for her support of a consumer during their

time in the service: “She was nice and helpful. She was always professional, caring and understanding of all my needs. I really miss her.”

Inpatient Drug & Alcohol Team’s Therapy Dogs Rebecca Rossi

Introducing Mary and Banjo, our newest members of the Inpatient Drug and Alcohol Team. Banjo is our new Delta Dogs therapy dog and Mary is his fabulous owner and our volunteer. Mary brings Banjo onto the unit once a week for a nurturing and playful session with all of our consumers and staff. Banjo is a three year old, black Groodle that loves a cuddle, a pat, games with a tennis ball and chasing his own tail. They have been visiting us for 12 weeks and we could not be happier about his time with us and the positive affect that his presence brings to our consumers. We would like to formally welcome both Mary and Banjo to our ward, with much gratitude for their time and their commitment. We look forward to many more years with them. Right: Banjo the therapy dog


MHDA Disaster Response Team Evacuation Exercise

It is early morning, the smoke and heat continues over the Northern Beaches and the Terrey Hills Community Centre is now an ‘evacuation centre’. But in the car park and streets surrounding the Terrey Hills Community Centre, a gathering of disaster responders is starting to gather… On Friday 6th December, disaster response workers from six different government agencies, welfare partners, and non-government organisations gathered to prepare for a simulated disaster response evacuation centre exercise. The aim of the day was to test the preparedness and response capabilities of community partners and agencies involved in responding to an emergency and to focus specifically on what it would be like to set up, establish and work in an evacuation centre during an emergency and to evaluate if the community centre was a suitable venue. Members of the MHDA Disaster Response Team trained alongside community partners and agencies including AngliCare, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Family and Community Services, and NSW Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network. The Salvation Army kindly provided refreshments, food, cold drinks and a coffee van on the day, which was greatly appreciated. The central idea of these simulation exercises is to break down old silos and traditional barriers, creating new pathways and relationships wherever we can to increase connectedness and collaboration between agencies and all participants. Disaster preparedness is a human endeavour and to be effective we need to not only train, practice and plan how we

will respond together, but get to know each other and how best to work with each other. Some valuable lessons emerged from the day for the combined MHDA, Northern Beaches Hospital and Primary and Community Health (PACH) Team from uniform greens to team briefings. MHDA Disaster Team training commences in 2020 with Psychological First Aid on 5th March 2020. For any queries contact Kerry England via email at [email protected].

Above: Owen Dodds, Peter Flemming & Tony Piras

Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Do Movember Mel Perry

In the month formerly known as November, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas across the world, grow a mo. MHICU Mos (from the Mental Health Inpatient Care Unit) are raising awareness and funds to support much needed resources for men’s health and wellbeing. Staff and consumers got on board to help support men’s health. Thanks you to our dedicated team of Movemberers—consumers and staff—for doing a fantastic job and bringing back the 80s in the process!

Kerry England

Right: Damon, Nathan & Bryce

mailto:[email protected]


Gladesville Hospital Memorial

Gladesville Hospital, first known as the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, was opened in 1838 and officially closed in 1993. People admitted to the hospital were often residents for long periods of time, with some never leaving the site. Throughout the years, 1200 people, mostly patients and a number of staff died and were buried on the hospital grounds. Only 900 of these people are known and none have burial site acknowledgements or grave stones. The main burial site was used as a driveway and car park area until the NSW Mental Health Commission had this closed two years ago. Michael Appleton, founder of the Ryde Consumer Network in 1993 and an active volunteer peer support worker with Ryde Mental Health Service who was a resident in many hospitals including Gladesville, was a member of the co-design advisory group that planned the ceremony. He presented the acknowledgement of consumers (which can be found on page 1 of this newsletter), his speech heartfelt and inspiring. We are very proud of Michael and congratulate him for how eloquently he spoke. The memorial held on Tuesday 10th December, World Human Rights Day, commemorated the lives of the people who never left Gladesville Hospital. Janet Meagher AM, a long-time advocate for mental health reform and former resident at Gladesville Hospital stated, “Today we seek recovered dignity for those in the unmarked graves. These people had a life, they walked the earth... and today we honour their life experience. I've been waiting 50 years for this day". The NSW Mental Health Commissioner, Catherine Lourey apologised for the experiences of the people who were residents at Gladesville and other psychiatric hospitals across NSW, saying "I am so sorry that when you were already in pain and distress that you weren't given a safe space to support you." We are grateful for this memorial and hope that this is repeated across NSW, Australia and around the world wherever the forgotten, most vulnerable members of communities are buried without acknowledgement that their lives existed and meant something. The Gladesville Hospital Memorial event is available for viewing through the Mental Health Commission of NSW’s

Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mhcnsw/videos/436603450364057/ .

Paula Hanlon

Northern Sydney Disability Expo

The Northern Sydney Disability Expo for people with a disability is back for 2020! Date: Thursday 21st May 2020 12-7pm Venue: The Concourse Chatswood Stall holders will include service providers for: School Leavers Employment Support (SLES) Social and Community Participation Support Coordination Plan Management Disability Employment Services (DES) Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE) Education Apprenticeships and Traineeships National Disability Insurance Sceme (NDIS) If you would like to attend or be involved as a stallholder, please contact Lisa Duffy at [email protected].

https://mentalhealthcommissionofnsw.cmail19.com/t/d-l-xkrtyyk-jduidihhtd-y/


NSLHD MHDA will be undertaking our accreditation

assessment in September 2020. In preparation for this,

we will be presenting an overview/snapshot of standards

in each newsletter, referencing the national standard

booklet.

Standard 6: Communicating for Safety

The Communicating for Safety standard aims to ensure

timely, purpose-driven and effective communication and

documentation that support continuous, coordinated and

safe care for consumers.

This recognises the importance of communication in

supporting consumers’ care and acknowledges situations

and times in consumers’ journeys in services where they

are at higher risk and hence, communication around this

is critical.

Standard 8: Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration The Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration standard aims to ensure that any acute deteriorations in health are recognised and responded to promptly and appropriately. Acute deterioration refers to changes in a person’s physiological, cognitive and/or mental state. More information on the standards is available on the Commission’s website: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards. Thank you to Ryde Consumer Services Manager Paula Hanlon for developing the posters that follow, which can be used as a team resource.

Accreditation Bulletin Kath Walkley

https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards




Accreditation Bulletin Kath Walkley

HR Hot Spot Amanda Graham

In the lead up to the festive period, there is an easy way that employees (except those covered by the Skilled Trades Award) who work regular Sundays and Public Holidays can get access to some extra cash. Did you know that if you have an ‘additional’ balance (that is, leave you have accrued through working Sundays or public holidays) that you can cash this leave out? It’s easy to do through Stafflink Employee Self Service. Simply: 1. Log into Stafflink using your Employee Number and Password. 2. Click on Employee Self Service. 3. Click on Leave Election. 4. Click on Cash Out Request. 5. Elect to cash out your total additional leave, or amount of hours you wish to cash out (it needs to be a minimum

of one week’s leave. Pro rata leave cannot be cashed out). The money will then be paid to you in your next normal pay day. If you would like to learn more, call Employee Services on 8877 5333. From the MHDA Human Resources Team, we wish you all a safe and happy festive period, and look forward to seeing you in 2020.


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