Hello again,
Although I think the ideas and rationale may be obvious to many here on the
list, it is far from obvious to me how different people find ways of making
it happen in the NHS. Although we are starting off some small projects here
in Great Yarmouth (mainly with funding from outside the NHS), I am always
keen to hear about what works in other places and to learn from colleagues
with more experience.
Best wishes,
Wendy
-----Original Message-----
From: Harris Carl (R3) BCH [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 24 May 2006 13:48
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] working in the NHS
Mike S
Thanks for your encouragement. I am now going to continue.
I agree with you (Mike S), "knowledges" and "practices" are developed
among particular groups and communities to help people achieve their
particular ends. We often don't know how different our worlds are.
There are legitimate opportunities available to NHS psychologists to
make themselves and their resources available to groups who don't always
get their fair share.
For example, Children's Centres (although they may have one function of
getting those most likely to seek work back into a job, and although
they have fewer resources than Sure Starts, and although they can fulfil
their "core offer" without providing access to the hardest to reach)
provide child psychologists with opportunities to take their wares out
to different groups and to learn more about the psychology of survival
in harsh environments.
I would like to know what people on the list think about this material.
Is it really obvious to everybody already, or is it helpful for us to
signpost opportunities for those working in the NHS?
Responses welcome.
Cheers
Carl
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael
Swindlehurst
Sent: 22 May 2006 18:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] working in the NHS
Carl,
A delight to read your e-m below. As a Service User and Carer well below
the
middle class line, my wife and I have found you (as a science) 'cannot
help
us down her while you are up there'. Successful individual therapy often
appears to have one common root approach - 'stepping into our shoes'.
Mike S
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harris Carl (R3) BCH" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 3:12 PM
Subject: Re: working in the NHS
Dear All
Before I get going I should say that this is going to be about service
delivery in the NHS. I believe that many NHS clinical psychology
practices are potentially useful to many people. Unfortunately the
practices have been developed through interaction between the
profession, academia and the middle-classes. Consequently, whatever we
all think of individualistic approaches, we have significant problems in
terms of equity of provision (those most likely to need support never
get a look-in) and accessibility of services for non-middle class folk
(have you managed to fit your fortnightly thought-diary session in with
caring for your disabled son/mother?).
I work in the NHS in a child psychology department. There are the usual
range of therapies available. We also have a tradition of "giving away
psychology" ("Was it ever ours in the first place?" I hear you ask) by
doing consultations and training with school nurses and health visitors.
About 15 years ago (note the length of time involved), other clinical
psychology services in South Birmingham started doing open-access
drop-in sessions for children and families. We have also started doing
these over the last few years, in partnership with education. Sometimes
we do them in schools and sometimes we do them in community centres.
Sometimes we do the drop-ins as clinical psychology and at other times
colleagues from the Behaviour Support Service do them.
Once you start doing drop-ins in places like primary schools, you become
part of a different network. This network is often far better integrated
with the lives of local people than a health service framework.
Opportunities to link and collaborate with these networks are likely to
come up even more if we get involved with children's centres or extended
schools. If we are supported in doing so, we can come up with ways of
being useful to people in these settings.
Two years ago our trust commissioned a needs-analysis of the city (based
on indices of multiple deprivation). For the south it showed that "need"
(mental health need being related to deprivation) is concentrated in
areas around the outskirts of the city, while centres of specialist
child and adolescent mental health provision are based several miles
away.
The local PCT has begun to put together a strategy for mental health
provision, which sees community development as the first line of support
from services aimed at promoting mental health.
We are now beginning to look at how to move services out to the areas of
greatest need. Once we are there (in about another two years maybe), we
can become involved in networks which force us to start to think about
how to deliver clinical psychology in a way which is designed to meet
local requirements.
All of this is supported by the information contained in Every Child
Matters, notably the information on numbers of children in need (75% of
kids who display signs of emotional and behavioural difficulties are
never seen by a mental health professional, not necessarily a bad thing)
and the information and graphs showing the impact of socio-economic
status on the development of children. This is another government
document which consolidates the message "poverty is bad for you", which
I believe was first stated "officially" in "Our Healthier Nation".
I'm saying all this, not to imply that its easy to get out there and do
something different but, to add to the ways in which we can demonstrate
to others that its important that we attend conferences like ours.
Cheers
Carl
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
[log in to unmask]
Sent: 22 May 2006 12:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] working in the NHS
I think the trust moving from a solid and yearlong stable break-even
situation
to one of 7 mio overspend in the next financial year through the changes
in the
accounting procedures creates a black-and-white mentality
organisationally.
However, your e-mail, Wendy, has made me feel more comfortable in this
group
which I only recently joined because of a career shift back into
community
child and adolescent mental health. All you say about the expectations
re.
clinical psychologists of course applies to me in my psychiatric role as
well,
allowing for slight variations.
Thank you for picking this up.
Michael.
Quoting "Franks, Wendy - Clinical Psychologist"
<[log in to unmask]>:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm following on from my recent post about the conference planning:
>
> I was concerned that the following message shouldn't escape my/our
attention
> amidst all the goodwill about the conference:
>
> I am being so tightly NHS-managed that I simply could not entertain
> contributing
> or going to this conference at present. I would really like to.
> Michael.
>
> I wondered if the list could offer some ideas or at least thinking
space
> about this issue.
>
> Clearly there are lots of fears and restrictions for those of us
working in
> the NHS in the current financial climate. It sometimes seems to me
that
> there's an expectation from some quarters that Clinical Psychologists
in
> particular can/should be some kind of super-human-therapy-machines,
seeing
> people for individual therapy with no thinking space and no room for
> alternative approaches such as health promotion and community
psychology
> activities. I certainly get some raised eye-brows about some of my
> activities, which I suspect some fellow health professionals do not
consider
> to be fully legitimate. But I am in the fortunate position of having a
> supportive, forward-thinking manager who is able (for now) to enable
me to
> prioritise alternative activities. Working within the NHS, I
experience an
> ongoing pressure for psychologists to provide reactive services that
respond
> to referrals for individual therapy, and this looks once again to be
> becoming increasingly embedded in the funding structure - payment by
results
> on the basis of a national tarriff (ie standard price for # of
patients seen
> & fixed - however that is to be measured!) - with other activities
such as
> research and development and health promotion activities apparently
becoming
> categorised as 'overheads' to be costed into the price of each dose of
> therapy/hip replacement, etc. (Of course, I'm sure I'm massively
> over-simplifying the situation).
>
> I wonder if this is relevant to your situation Michael, or if there
are
> other issues that would be helpful to think about together here?
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Wendy
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [ mailto:[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ]
> Sent: 17 May 2006 19:26
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] On the subject of conferences...
>
>
> I am being so tightly NHS-managed that I simply could not entertain
> contributing
> or going to this conference at present. I would really like to.
> Michael.
>
> Quoting "Franks, Wendy - Clinical Psychologist"
<[log in to unmask]>:
>
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I am sending out a quick request for comments and suggestions about
the
> > conference.
> >
> > We have only had a small number of submissions so far, and although
the
> ones
> > we've had look great, the organising group and I are getting a
little
> > anxious...
> >
> > So we have put the deadline back to the end of June (the latest we
thought
> > we could possibly manage!), and are planning to make some renewed
efforts
> to
> > encourage people to offer up their ideas.
> >
> > We are also thinking about asking for volunteers for a particular
session
> on
> > the first morning:
> > We were thinking about the suggestion at the end of the Newcastle
> conference
> > that there was room for discussion about 'what is Community
Psychology'
> and
> > also the possibility that some conference delegates won't be as
familiar
> > with the various traditions & perspectives within community
psychology (or
> > even may think there is a single definition?) --- here's where YOU
come
> in!
> > We thought we could open up the conference off with a session where
maybe
> 5
> > or 6 volunteers from the list could have a discussion of their
> perspectives
> > on Community Psychology, and hopefully set the tone for a conference
full
> of
> > interesting ideas and open discussion?
> > So - we'd be very grateful if list members were prepared to offer
their
> > perspectives. Please do get in touch if you would help with this, or
if
> you
> > have particular suggestions about whether and if so how to structure
the
> > session (5 mins each, followed by discussion, or straight into the
> > discussion, or a few pertinent questions to start the discussion
off,
> etc),
> > or even if you think it's a terrible idea, and would like us to
consider
> > some alternatives!
> >
> > We really would like to keep this as a collaborative process!
> >
> > We have other ideas too, but maybe better to feed these in
gradually, as
> the
> > most important thing at the moment seems to be to get some
presentations
> > organised. We are looking further afield than the list, amongst our
own
> > contacts, and have some promising suggestions. We'd like to
encourage you
> > all to do so as well. After all, the conference is for us all, and
we'd
> like
> > you to have some involvement in shaping it.
> >
> > I'm attaching an updated 'Invitation to contribute' with new
deadline for
> > you to consider and distribute.
> > Gillian and I (the organising group's financial sub-committee) are
meeting
> > next week to hopefully finalise the costs and sliding scale, so I
hope to
> > send out information about that very soon.
> >
> > Best wishes, and please bring on the ideas!
> >
> > Wendy
> >
> >
> >
> >
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Wendy Franks
> > Clinical Psychologist
> > Primary Care & Psychological Services
> > Norfolk & Waveney Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
> > Northgate Resource Centre
> > Northgate Hospital
> > Great Yarmouth
> > NR30 1BU
> >
> > Tel: (01493) 337715
> >
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > The contents of this email are not necessarily the policy or,
opinion or
> > representative of any policy or opinion of Norfolk and Waveney
Mental
> Health
> > Partnership NHS Trust or any person employed by it. This
transmission is
> > intended only for the named recipient(s) and is confidential in
nature. If
> > received in error, please return it to the sender and destroy any
copies
> > immediately.
> >
> > Please note that all email traffic is monitored by the Trust in
accordance
> > with NHS regulations.
> >
> >
> > ___________________________________
> >
> > COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in
the UK.
> > To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
> > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
> <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML>
> > For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
> > [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
> >
>
> ___________________________________
>
> COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the
UK.
> To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
> <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML>
> For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
> [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> ___________________________________
> COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the
UK.
> To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
> For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
> [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
>
___________________________________
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the
UK.
To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
___________________________________
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the
UK.
To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 268.6.0/342 - Release Date:
17/05/2006
___________________________________
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the
UK.
To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
___________________________________
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK.
To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
___________________________________
COMMUNITYPSYCHUK - The discussion list for community psychology in the UK.
To unsubscribe or to change your details visit the website:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COMMUNITYPSYCHUK.HTML
For any problems or queries, contact the list moderator at [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
