Page 7 - Calderstones Connect Newsletter Winter 14/15

A brief history
of Calderstones
As the new Lancashire asylum was being made ready for completion in May 1914, the authorities offered the completed premises to the War Office for use as a military hospital. The building was eventually named Queen Mary's Military Hospital when it opened in 1915.
The first patients were admitted after opening on 14th May 1915. They came along the branch railway line which had been built to bring construction materials to the site. There was a long platform with shelters to protect the wounded from the weather and enable covered access all the way to the wards.
58,800 British and Allied Servicemen from around 250 regiments came to the hospital between 1915 and 1920. At its peak there were over 2000 beds on the site. Most patients moved on - some back to the trenches - but of the 300 or so who passed away on site, there are today 33 with graves in the nearby cemetery along Mitton Road.
Today, a section of Calderstones cemetery still belongs to the War Office. A cross records the names of those buried there and each November representatives of the Trust and the Royal British Legion gather at the cemetery to remember them and all those who died as a result of conflict.
Vision and Values
Calderstones has been going through many changes - and this dynamic will continue.
When Mark Hindle joined as chief executive in the autumn of 2013, he was keen to ensure everyone knew what we stood for and how our work and behaviours best support service users.
Over a few weeks, Mark spoke to groups of staff about the Trust, staffing issues, finance and many other topics. The sessions were called The Big Conversation and everyone who came was given a little business card which described the Trust’s vision and values. He saw well over 600 people as part of the hour-long sessions.
Now each month, staff whose birthday fell in the previous four or five weeks are invited to Herbstones restaurant on site for a ‘Birthday Breakfast’ with Mark. There’s croissants and bacon barms, but mainly it’s a chance to talk directly to the chief executive and for him learn what’s on people’s minds.
Staff say that this kind of engagement is really useful and helps them to get to know the hows and whys of decision-making in the Trust.
CONNECT - WINTER 2014/15 : 07
Check out OUR PLACE
We’re looking for people to look at the environment in which we support service users.
PLACE (Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment) sees teams of critical friends and staff visit NHS sites to look at factors such as privacy, dignity, food quality, cleanliness and the condition of the buildings where care is delivered.
It’s a fairly new initiative and in past years assessors have highlighted many areas where we do well and noted issues that we need to deal with. We score above the national average for privacy, dignity and wellbeing but there’s always more to do.
The Chief Executive has said that ensuring a clean, safe environment for all service users and staff is his top priority.
If you are interested in supporting this process, we’d be delighted to help you to become a PLACE assessor. Training will be taking place in February with the inspections taking a few days over the summer months. Speak to our customer care lead Rachel Taylor for details on 01254 821153 or email her at customercare@calderstones.nhs.uk.