Page 28 - Calderstone AR 2015

28 Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Yearbook 2014 - 2015
Quality Account
We have a continued commitment to deliver high quality person centred services to people with learning disabilities, who have complex and challenging needs. For those that require care in a secure environment the level of security is based on the least restrictive option, commensurate with the degree of risk to the service user, staff and public.
The purpose of our Quality Account
is twofold. Firstly to demonstrate accountability to our service users, carers, commissioners, staff and the public for the quality of services we deliver. Secondly, to ensure the Trust Board assesses and reports on quality across all of the healthcare services we provide. It demonstrates that the leaders, Clinicians, Governors and staff are committed to continuous, evidence-based quality improvement.
The principle aims of this publication are to demonstrate:
• That we continuously review the quality of our services
• That we are transparent in our reporting of this information, reporting both where we are doing well, and where improvement is needed.
• The improvements plans we have for the forthcoming year
• How we provide information on the quality of services to service users and other stakeholders, inclusive of our governors
• Our organisational accountability to the Service Users, Commissioners, Staff, Governors and other relevant stakeholders.
Our Quality Account provides the detail on how we have improved the quality of services as outlined within last year’s Quality Account, together with the forthcoming year’s quality improvement priorities.
• How we enable Service Users, Commissioners, Staff, Governors and other relevant stakeholders to review your services, comment on performance and identify priorities for improvement.
It is a year since we introduced our Clinical Quality Strategy which underpins the Trust’s Quality Account. This provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the past year to both highlight the key achievements
and forthcoming challenges for
2015 - 2016. You can read the Quality Account in full on our website. Its purpose is to demonstrate accountability.
There has also been a significant improvement in the provision of physical healthcare with an extensive review of the annual health check and the monitoring of people taking antipsychotic medicines. There has been an emphasis on embedding organisational learning across the Trust; we hosted our first learning event in October 2014 focusing upon the family/carer experience. Whilst this was challenging for our staff there has been an increased momentum to
build and develop our engagement with families and carers.
The organisational learning event
and the Triangle of Care have been
a platform on which to improve our partnership working with families and carers. At an event in March 2015, a large number of family members attended to hear about future strategy and to discuss all aspects of care with directors, senior staff and experts. Carers voiced their views and agreed to move forward with their involvement in our services and learning disability
provision. We also announced that
the Carers' Trust have awarded Calderstones their Gold Star; a powerful recognition of our partnership with family members. We were
proud to share that with carers and recognise the work we do together.
We are particularly proud as an organisation of the achievements of the service user activist group
‘The Avenue’. The Avenue, a Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender group was set up following a direct request from service users with these backgrounds for a support group,
to tackle stigma and as a forum for service users to talk about things to do with their sexuality in a non- judgemental and safe setting. In a recent research study related to the group the outcome was that service users reported improved self-esteem and self-confidence: these factors are thought to influence some forms of offending, so it is important to tackle them. The Avenue was shortlisted for a major national award in the ‘Tackling Stigma’ category National Service User Awards 2015.
Another of our service user led groups is the ‘Media Crew’, which is made up of service users from across the Trust. They design and create their own information, including pamphlets and videos about Calderstones. The Media Crew are systematically producing a range of accessible information including the “Welcome to Calderstones pack”. They have developed in film and song a description from a service user perspective of the importance of working in partnership with staff to move along their care pathway.