In a recent assessment, three of the in-patient units at the learning disability and mental health organisation received a score of excellent for privacy and dignity and one unit was rated as good. The Criteria focused on the quality of sleeping accommodation such as the segregation of men and women in sleeping areas.

The assessment, lead by the Patient Environment Action Team – a national body set up to improve patient care – inspects standards across a range of patient services.

This includes privacy and dignity, food, cleanliness, infection control, and patient environment (bathroom areas, décor, lighting, floors and patient access) to give the hospital an overall rating.

Following the assessment each in-patient unit inspected is provided with a score out of excellent, good, acceptable, poor or unacceptable.

Ward 24 at Airedale General Hospital, Daisy Bank, Daisy Hill House and Lynfield Mount Hospital all achieved positive ratings across the different standards.

The Care Trust’s in-patient units were rated both excellent and good for environment – the general state of repair of buildings/wards and their cleanliness, and good for quality of food and nutritional value.

Andrew Morris, Deputy Director of Estates & Facilities, said: “We work hard to provide the best possible experience for the people who receive care within our facilities.

“We are very proud of the individuals and teams who consistently deliver those high standards. We undertake regular audits of our services and actively seek feedback from service users so that we not only gain their views on current standards of food, cleanliness, the environment, and privacy and dignity, but also on how we can make further improvements.”

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For further information please contact Sam Hirst, 01274 228174

Notes to editor:

1) The Patient Environment Action Teams programme assesses all hospitals and in-patient units with 10 or more beds.

2) Patient Environment Action Teams consist of nurses, matrons, doctors, catering, domestic service managers as well as groups of patients, their representatives and members of the public.

The project, Leading to Quality, is set to examine whether the leadership and culture of NHS staff teams affects quality of care.

The research project could bring benefits to people not only in Bradford, Airedale and Craven but across the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber as it involves NHS and social care staff, service users and carers across the whole region.

The research is being carried out by a team from the School of Management at the University of Bradford. They will try to find out if there is a link between the quality of care provided and the leadership and culture of the teams who provide the care.

This research project will only be successful if it can gather the honest views and opinions of people who use mental health services and their carers. By getting involved in the project service users and carers will be given an opportunity to describe their experiences, and to help shape better mental healthcare.

Penny Petrie, Allied Health Professions Lead at the Care Trust, said: “It’s important we hear people’s opinions and perceptions of the care received. We want to speak to people in our local community who are aged between 18 and 65 and receive NHS mental health care. We would also like to speak to carers.”

Individual’s views will be gathered through a short interview. Interviews will be carried out by Dr. Priyanka Bichala and Sharon Marston, Matron from Bradford District Care Trust who have both received training in the specific interview technique to be used.

No member of the team involved in an individual’s healthcare provision will be present when they are asked to talk about their experiences of care. All responses are completed anonymously and it will be impossible to identify individuals.

It is hoped that the project will develop methods to help teams work effectively and so provide consistent and high quality care for local people. The research will also help develop methods of good team working that could apply to the whole NHS, so it could improve services across the whole country.

Chief executive, Simon Large at Bradford District Care Trust, said, “We are delighted to be taking part in this exciting new research project.

“One of its aims is to translate the research findings into practical tools and resources that will benefit teams and, ultimately, local people who use our Trust’s services.

“I very much hope that service users and carers will get involved and give us their views so that we can work together to further improve services.”

Anybody wishing to get involved or find out more can get in touch with the Care Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) office on 01274 408600 or alison.harrison@bdct.nhs.uk

Full information about the project can be found at www.southwestyorkshire.nhs.uk/LTQ

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Notes to editor:

• Leading to Quality is being led by the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and was commissioned by Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority. Bradford District Care Trust is actively involved in the project and is looking to speak to local people who use mental health services about their experiences.

Bradford District Care Trust has yet again been ranked as one of the best healthcare organisations to work for in the UK.

The Trust ranked  47^th in the NHS category of the Healthcare 100 list, compiled by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Health Service Journal and Nursing Times.  Also supported by NHS Employers and the Department of Health, the list is based on results of employee polls at participating NHS and independent healthcare organisations.

Sandra Knight, Director of Human Resources said: “We have a dedicated workforce and I am delighted with our score, as it reflects our commitment to being an excellent employer.  Our further education possibilities, good staff benefits and commitment to equality and diversity were cited as strengths and this is something we will continue to build upon.”

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The mental health and learning disability service provider is calling out to the public to nominate its staff that have made a significant difference or shown a real commitment to involve others in its work across Bradford.

Nicola Lees, Executive Director of Operations and Nursing at the Care Trust, said: “Having committed and dedicated staff is essential to delivering high quality care. These awards are one opportunity to recognise the fantastic and innovative staff across the whole organisation from in-patient wards and community teams to transport and food services.”

Service users and carers can nominate their healthcare stars in the Working Together and Making a Difference categories. They are for any team or individual across BDCT that has shown outstanding commitment to involve others and for staff that have gone that extra mile to make a significant difference to the quality of services.

Community organisations also get a chance to nominate teams and individuals at the Care Trust in the Working Together category recognising the dedication people have made to involve partners and stakeholders in projects, tasks or joint initiatives.

One of theTrust’s day services, Skipton Road, based in Keighley, won the Working Together award last year for developing a volunteer training programme that supports and encourages service users to undertake voluntary work.

Lynne Ash,Unit Manager at Skipton Road, said: “Being nominated for the award last year meant so much to the team, service users and the service we provide. When we found out we had clinched the top spot it was a great morale-boost and fantastic for all involved.”

Nominations open Tuesday 6 July. The closing date is Friday 10 September, 5pm after which a panel of staff, service users, partner organisations and carers will shortlist winners for a celebratory event on Monday 6 December at the National Media Museum.

To make a nomination visit http://www.bdct.nhs.uk/communications/events/events.php or call 01274 228174 to request a postal nomination.

The Trust is also looking for sponsors if you are interested in sponsoring the awards please contact Sam.Hirst@bdct.nhs.uk or call 01274 228174.

Nominate your star at Bradford District Care Trust today!

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The support service, hosted by Bradford District Care Trust, claimed the top prize for the ‘Most effective benefits strategy for working parents and carers’ at the prestigious Employee Benefits Award ceremony in London.

The effective benefits strategy includes schemes such as ‘Keep in touch’, which consist of maternity workshops where women can meet colleagues who are also pregnant and attend free weekly pregnancy exercise classes and baby massage sessions once the baby is born.

Anne Whitaker, Childcare Lead, said: “We are all very proud of our benefits strategy that helps working parents and are pleased it has been recognised on the national stage; it is testament to the joint partnership working between all four trusts.”

The trusts, which also include NHS Bradford and Airedale, Bradford Teaching Hospitals and Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, communicate with parents regularly to let them know what support is available. This is done through bi-monthly newsletters, drop-in sessions, road shows, and internet and intranet sites.

As a result of the award winning strategy, the proportion of parents returning to work after maternity leave has increased from 75% in 2002 to more than 90% in 2009, a statistic the award judges found to be particularly compelling.

A local NHS trust is celebrating after winning a prestigious health and safety award for the second year running.

Bradford District Care Trust was honoured with the ‘Silver Medal Award’ by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) at a national awards ceremony for its dedication to improving performance in health and safety across the workplace.

Paul Challenger, Health and Safety Officer, said: “I’m delighted that the Trust has won another RoSPA Award. It is testament to the hard work of all staff who continue to ensure that health and safety is a high priority and that robust health and safety systems are in place throughout the organisation.”

David Rawlins, RoSPA’s Awards Manager, said: “Bradford District Care Trust has shown a commitment to protecting the health and well-being of its employees and others and deserves to have such dedication recognised.”

The local mental health and learning disability service provider was crowned the ultimate winner for excellence in organisational development and coveted overall winner at the Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA) Excellence in HRM Awards 2010.

Simon Large, Chief Executive at Bradford District Care Trust, said: “I am delighted and proud that we have won such prestigious national awards. It’s inspiring to be part of a team that’s really driving forward innovative staff development which links directly to service improvement and high quality care.”

The Trust “hugely impressed” the judges with its cutting edge leadership programme, Exciting Futures, which aims to develop staff based on its seven competencies including meeting the needs of service users, business thinking and managing performance.

The programme sees 40 staff working together with service users on challenging community projects they wouldn’t usually be part of. It provides a unique and powerful learning experience which develops the individual along side the Trust competencies and also benefits service users and the local community.

The judges were blown away by how service users, staff and the local community worked together to set up projects for people with learning disabilities.

Steve Keyes, Leadership and Organisational Development Manager at the Care Trust, said: “It was a great achievement just to be shortlisted but winning not one but two awards was fantastic. We were all in utter shock when we were announced the ultimate overall winner.

“To develop the programme was a team effort and without the support of the Board, coaches, facilitators, service users and staff it would have been impossible to deliver. We will build on our success and strengthen the project for the new cohort in September.”

The panel really liked the future vision, and how the work will continue to embed to deliver cost and quality benefits.
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Kelvin Cheatle, HPMA President, said: “This year the entries stunned us with their range and calibre. But what is remarkable is that so many of the entries in all the categories showed real leadership skills in doing things differently to the benefit of patient care.”

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Picture Caption: Team of staff from Bradford District Care Trust proudly collecting their National awards. (L-R Back Row) Sandra Knight, Annette Tindall, Louise Middleton, Vanessa McPhail, Ruth Warden, Michael Smith, Sharron Burkey, Simon Large (L-R Front row) Steve Keyes, Abdul Khalifa

Notes to editor:
• The awards ceremony was held at The Royal Garden Hotel in London, Thursday 17 June 2010
• The excellence in organisational development award is for an organisational development initiative or project that has significantly benefited the organisation through improved effectiveness or viability
• Further details of the Exciting Futures Programme will be showcased at the Trust’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday 30 September at Victoria Hall Saltaire

For more information please contact Sam Hirst on 01274 228174.

The Care Trust is unveiling its flagship Learning Disability Nursing service during Learning Disability Week (Monday 21 June to Sunday 27 June). An innovative service made up of health facilitation nurses and community matrons.

Debra Gilderdale, General Manager of Learning Disability Services at the Care Trust, said: “People with a learning disability generally have poorer health and complex needs. Many are at a higher risk of developing physical illnesses.

“Our dedicated health facilitation nurses work alongside other healthcare providers such as GP’s and dentists to ensure the health needs of people with a learning disability are met. Their role aims to promote high standards of nursing practice in all aspects of health care for people with learning disabilities.”

Acting in a co-ordinating role the unique team of nurses ensure all the different elements of healthcare a person may need at any one time are met. Such as making and keeping appointments, understanding referrals and attending health checks.

Ruth Foster, Health Facilitation Nurse, has been supporting Gloria Binns, aged 22 and her family to ensure her complex health care needs are always met.

During a routine assessment at the Care Trust when Gloria was transferred from child to adult services, she was diagnosed with Juvenile Huntington’s Disease. The disease, which is hereditary in nature, means that Gloria has difficulty speaking and has stiff and rigid movements.

Ruth said: “A learning disability alone may present challenges to accessing the right health care support, combined with Juvenile Huntington’s Disease provides an even bigger challenge.

“It’s so important that Gloria receives well co-ordinated care from a wide range of health and social care providers and that Gloria and her family are listened to and understood. My role is to make this happen and ensure people are aware of Gloria’s specific needs.”

Due to Gloria’s learning disability and Juvenile Huntington’s Disease she sees a number of health professionals including  GP, dentist, dietician, speech and language therapist, optician, neurologist, physiotherapist, psychiatrist, clinical liaison teams, early intervention team and is referred to acute hospital teams. The role of a health facilitation nurse is vital in coordinating this care.

Ruth added: “I offer my support in a number of ways. Gloria can sometimes find it difficult to communicate verbally so I request extra time at appointments so that she has sufficient time to communicate her specific needs.”

Jenny Staynon, Gloria’s Mum, said: “It’s sometimes hard to keep track of everything; all the appointments Gloria has with different people and all the information we are told.

“I know if Gloria has an appointment, Ruth will make sure she gets there. Sometimes we go to appointments together and I really value Ruth being around, she makes information easier to understand. Ruth really goes the extra mile to make sure Gloria gets the care she needs.”

To help Gloria communicate to professionals about her health care needs, Ruth and Gloria are currently developing a Health Action Plan that is unique to her.

Ruth said: “We go along to appointments now and take pictures so Gloria can put them in her Health Action Plan. She can then point to pictures when she is at appointments to communicate her medication, health conditions and who she has previously seen. It’s how Gloria likes to communicate. This is a valuable tool that she can start to use to get the support she needs.”

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Picture Caption: Gloria Binns and Ruth Foster

Bradford District Care Trust has been named ‘Regional Employer of the Year’ at the General Physics Awards in recognition of its high level of commitment to training and development and consistent learning opportunities for staff.

General Physics (UK), a specialised training and development organisation, praised the mental health and learning disabilities service provider for its approach to learning by making sure staff have protected learning time and the correct support to develop new skills.

Nathan Legg is one employee who has benefitted from the training offered. He said: “Being able to learn while working is a great combination. I am gaining new skills all the time and getting plenty of support from work which is helping me move my career forward; it’s a fantastic scheme.”

The Care Trust was also commended for its apprenticeship scheme which has seen nearly 50 learners achieve level 2 and level 3 Train to Gain qualifications this year.

Sandra Knight, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win such a highly regarded award. We fully understand the benefits of a developed workforce and work hard to provide learning opportunities to staff across the organisation.”

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For more information please contact Linzi Clark on 01274 228351.

An extraordinary team of cheerleaders has triumphantly performed in their first ever international cheer and dance championship.

As part of an innovative project run in partnership between Bradford District Care Trust and Hot Ice Cheer & Dance Academy a twenty-strong squad of people with learning disabilities travelled to Bournemouth to showcase their talents to the nation.

The Jewels cheerleading troupe for people with a range of learning, sensory and physical disabilities executed an almost flawless performance at the Future Cheer International Cheerleading Championships.

The squad had two-and-a-half minutes to impress the judges with their dancing, partner stunts, tumbling, jumps and a grand finale pyramid.

Andy Waller, Project Manager at Bradford District Care Trust, said: “The squad were full of smiles and enthusiasm. The team performed some incredible athletic stunts and dance routines. They put in a great effort and received excellent feedback not only from the judges but spectators and other coaches too. We are all so proud of them.”

The judges’ comments included that they loved the Jewels great energy and excitement. There was lots of big smiles, great tumbling and an awesome use of the full squad.

Tessa Crow, Director at Future Cheer, said: “Each squad’s performance was outstanding. Unlike other competitions, there was no outright winner in this category, each squad receives comments from the judges and are not scored and placed. Every performer in this category receives a trophy, rewarding them for their performance.”

The Jewels are now eagerly awaiting to hear from Future Cheer to see if they have qualified to go the USASF World Cheerleading Championships held in Disney World, Florida in April 2011.

Andy Waller added: “Working closely with the Jewels coach and support staff from the Care Trust we have been able to introduce a programme suitable to people’s individual needs.

“Having staff that are qualified to teach these skills and understand people’s needs and individual abilities has been crucial in delivering this project.”

The cheerleading programme focused on the abilities of each individual and a routine was developed which was safe and focused on each participant’s abilities.

Debra Gilderdale, General Manager of Learning Disability Services at Bradford District Care Trust, said: “The competition provided the team with a chance to demonstrate the full extent of their talents and abilities. Through the programme the team have created new friendships, improved their social opportunities, increased their self esteem, undertaken physical exercise in a fun way and learnt new skills.

“We are always on the look out for new innovative programmes and the Jewels is an excellent example of a learning disability project which is really pushing boundaries.”

The troupe has been practicing their cheer and dance routine since September 2010 and would like to thank all their sponsors which helped to get them reach the championships.

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For more information please contact Sam Hirst on 01274 228174.

Picture Caption: The Jewels squad performance at the championships – Photo by www.event-photos.co.uk