Recovery Star Training for Staffordshire Mind

A very succseful Recovery Star training programme was delivered to the staff and volunteers of Mid Staffordshire Mind on the 12th May 2011.

The group were really engaging and apprecited the style and content oif the course. The key learning appeared to be developing their confidence in working with clients and their Star, whilst understanding the pressures on themselves and their organisation to collect data required by theiur commissioners and funding agencies. Keeping the Star with the client is vital and this was a key point to the group undertadning and working with the Star.

As with all organisations working with and promoting the Recovery Star they are caught in the middle. How do we keep the Star client centred but also enable the date created to help us and our funders?
The key is education and confidence. If a client moves back down their 'Ladder of Change' this could appear a negative to the organisation or their funders. It could be the opposite! The client has recognised the reality of their situation and is now able to make strong proactive changes to move forwards effectively and generate long term changes.

Many thanks to Staffordshire Mind for making me so welcome, and being so appreciative of the training.

Recovering Jane - Accredited

 HUBB’s ‘Recovering Jane’ training programme has been registered as an Accredited Programme by Advantage Accreditation. It has been designed specifically to help those who care for people with mental ill health what Recovery is and where the responsibility lies.

Lynn Burling with the Certificate of Accreditation from Advantage Accreditation

‘Recovering Jane’ has been designed and developed by Lynn Burling, who is an acknowledged expert on the Recovery Approach.

‘Carer’ can cover many aspects where someone is looking after someone else. This can be by relation, a professional carer or someone who has the care for another for short to medium periods of time to cover for others.

If you would like to know more about the programme contact our training department.

Youth Mental Health First Aid - Havering Success!

 Back:  Christine Jackson, , Susan Kite,, Laura Conquest, Donna Dorrell, David Parry, James Balcombe, Samantha King

Front: Lynn Burling, Poppy Jaman, Nancy Gilfillan, Jacqueline Eades, Margo Lindsay, Susan Francis, Lee Clegg

7^th April saw 12 delegates complete the Youth Mental Health First Aid programme. A true collaboration between Jenny Gray and Rob Thomas of HUBB, Sam King and David Parry of The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School, Lee Clegg of 14-19 Commissioning for Havering Local Authority and Mental Health First Aid England.

Poppy Jaman, CEO MHFA England presnting YMHFA Certificates to

Sam King and David Parry of Coopers Coborn School and Lee Clegg of 14-19 Commissioning for Havering.

Jenny Gray, Director of HUBB and Jacey Graham Director of Brook Graham Diversity & Inclusion Consultants and Coopers Coborn School Governor

HUBB YMHFA Instructors, Lynn Burling & Rob Thomas provided the training. This was delivered in 8 sessions over 6 weeks to fit in with the school half term. Coopers Coborn provided the venue and six members of staff to take part. They are also part of a pilot programme to achieve Mental Health First Aid England’s Quality Mark, demonstrating they are working towards the continuous improvement of the wellbeing of young people, not just in the school but also in the wider community. The six members of staff chosen to take part were selected partly on their interest and enthusiasm but also because of their strategic contact with as many pupils at the school as possible to ensure the breadth of coverage.

The other six delegates came from Havering College of Further and Higher Education, In School Counselling at Bower Park School, Havering Connexions, ARC (Pupil Referral Unit), 14-19 Commissioning (Havering) and the Havering Business Education Partnership.

To celebrate the participant’s success and their achievement a cheese and wine event was held after the final session. Jenny Gray, Director of HUBB, Jacey Graham, Governor at Coopers Coborn and Poppy Jaman, CEO of MHFA England also attended and presented the certificates.

As well as having 12 new Youth Mental Health First Aid instructors in Havering another major benefit of this programme is the drive and enthusiasm of all involved, delegates, facilitators and all the organisations involved is expanding the network and good practise in all areas of young people’s mental wellbeing and development.

We are already in the process of developing the skills within this group to look at how we expand YMHFA throughout the borough.

       Christine Jackson ARC (Pupil Referral Unit)

  Donna Dorrell - Coopers Coborn School

 James Balcombe - Coopers Coborn School

 Jacqueline Eades - Coopers Coborn School

 Laura Conquest - In School Counsellor, Bower Park School

 Margo Lindsay - Havering College of Further & Higher Education

 Nancy Gilfillan - Havering Connexions

 Susan Francis - Havering Business Education Partnership

 Sue Kite - Coopers Coborn

HUBB - Changes to Advocacy Provision

At the March meeting Jenny explained the changes to our advocacy service from April 1 2011.

Everyone is aware that the NHS and local authorities are having to review their budgets and inevitably this means some services being reduced.

NHS Havering (formerly known as PCT), along with NHS Barking & Dagenham have, for the past 20 years, paid for anyone who accesses metal health services to self refer to HUBB for advocacy support.

Unfortunately NHS Havering are no longer able to fund the same level of advocacy and have asked us to review our criteria.

Our IMHA’s (Independent Mental Health Advocacy), Kay, Ian and Suzana will see every patient in Sunflowers Court (Goodmayes Hospital) who is detained under the mental health act (Sectioned). This is a statutory requirement which means patients have a legal right to IMHA.

Clients living in the community under CTO (Community Treatment Orders) will also take priority, as they too have a legal right to IMHA advocacy

IMHAs will then advocate for voluntary inpatients and those under the Home Treatment Team.

If a client lives in Havering and does not meet any of the above criteria, they will be ‘signposted’ to other organisations who may be able to help, such as CAB (Citizens Advice Bureaux) and Family Mosaic.

Family Mosaic is based in Romford and residents of Havering can self-refer for support with debt, housing, and benefits. They have a team of support workers, including three with mental health expertise, who can offer short term intervention.  Family Mosaic will be our guest speakers at the HUBB meeting on April 7^th.

In Barking and Dagenham our commissioners have not made any changes to advocacy provision, but they have elected not to pay for development work in Barking and Dagenham. Some of you may recall this being the Self-Advocacy Development Worker.

The Recovery Group at Porters Avenue in Barking will cease, but all clients are welcome to attend the Petersfield Centre group in Harold Hill. 10am -12pm first Friday of every month.

Along with changes to IMCA (Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy) so we find ourselves saying ‘Au revoir’ to Lynn and Alistair.

Lynn has been with HUBB 13 years and at the meeting she said “I have grown so much during my time with HUBB. As a person I am more confident and

capable than ever. I have developed skills and experience that I will take with me as my career moves forward. I have always embraced the idea of recovery and would like you to see my move as endorsing the fact that it can happen. I will miss you all, clients and colleagues, but the time is right for me to go”

Alistair will also be moving on, and he too said that he is leaving HUBB with regret, but excited for the new challenges ahead.

Both Lynn and Alistair are staying with mental health and will continue to raise the standards of care through other routes, such as training of mental health nurses and CPN’s at South bank University.

HUBB - More Training!

February has proved a busy and succesful month for HUBB's training.

Rob Thomas & Lynn Burling spent a day in Coventry training members of the 'Social Care - Communitiy and Children's Services' in the Recovery Star. The group was made up of a great range of people - from CDW's to Admin Support to Managers. The programme was received well and it was fantastic to have such a variety of levels represented. This demonstrated that the organisation was looking carefully at how the Recovery Star could be used and engaged with from all persectives - the Client, the workers and the organisation.

Lynn Burling of HUBB (far left) with members of Coventry's

Social Care Communities and Children's Services

From HUBB's perspective it was great to receive such a warm response. IT was also very pleasing to see such creativity present within the group and evedence from the accross the organisation. The artwork and environment was exceptional! The background artwork in the photograph above is their version of a 'Recovery Star'.

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Youth Mental HEalth First Aid is gaining in popularity. Coopers Coborn School, Upminster, is to be one of the first schools in the country to working towards MHFA England's 'Kite Mark'. This pilot programme will be delivering the YMHFA programme in 8 sessions over 6 weeks. This programme is the result of a partneship collaboration between HUBB, Coopers Coborn and MHFA England and the local Employment Eligibility Forum.

Coopers Coborn are providing the venue for a YMHFA programme which will include 6 members of their staff, carefuly selected as people who are likely to have the most contact with most pupils, together with 6 members of other organisations within the borough. Other delegates include representatives from the Pupil Referral Unit, Bower Park School, the Employment Eligibility Forum, Connexions, Havering College of Further & Higher Education and the Havering Business & Education Partnership.

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Rob Thomas spent 11 days in late January and early February delivering a 7 Day Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor programme and a 4 Day Extention YMHFA (for those who are already MHFA instructors) for MHFA England.

2011 - A great start!

2011 looks to be a challenging year for everyone. The social and economic changes that are in progress will affect us all. What Britain will look like in a years time is difficult to predict...let alone trying to imagine five years ahead.

HUBB, although facing challenges like many individuals and organisations, has experienced a positive start to the year. Jenny Gray, our Director, has been recognised by Mental Health First Aid England as a 'Champion' for her support of Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid. An article was published in the Romford Recorder and other Archant Group newspapers.

Jenny Gray in the Romford Recorder 14th Jan 2011

We are in negotiation with a prominant local secondary school to be a 'Kite Mark' pilot for Youth Mental Health First Aid. HUBB is supporting the programme by providing free YMHFA Instruction. MHFA England are providing the course materials and certificates. The school will provide the venue. Whilst not fianlised at this moment in time, the prospects are looking very good for this programme to run over eight sessions in the half term before Easter. This will be one of the first schools in the country to be involved in YMHFA under the MHFA England Kite Mark Scheme - promoting health and wellbeing in schools and the wider community.

The pilot that HUBB is involved with is particularly exciting as it is hoped that 6 places will be taken by the school and six places provided to other schools and youth organisations in the local area. This will mean that 12 YMH First Aiders will be operational in a wide number of organisations to help identify young people cthat may be showing signs and symptoms of mental ill health and guiding them to the appropriate support. This early intervention will make a big difference in the lives of many young people..

Our mission to help MHFA England reach it's target of a 'Mental Health First Aider in every workplace' is moving forwards. We are meeting business leaders at every opportunity. It is our firm belief that the wellbeing of the nation can be improved by having MH First Aiders in similar proportion to physical Frist Aiders. Our Corporate Social Responsibility approach connects wellbeing to individual and business performance. More information can be found on our specific CSR website pages.

Our colleagues at Stredia are able to produce important diagnostic analysis of where companies may experience potential issues with stress and anxiety. The information  is generated via an anonymous online data collection system and presented in clean and effective reports. Combining this information with training key employees in Mental Health First Aid and developing specific training programmes in the areas recognised as generating higher levels of risk of stress and anxiety will not only create an improved working environment but can make big differences to the business balance sheet. Prevention of stress and anxiety is far more cost effective than dealing with the impact!

© Stredia 2011

HUBB is keen to link with any organisations that is interested in making a difference to their employee wellbeing.

2010 - That was the year, that was...

HUBB has had a very successful year in respect the services we provide. On top of that our staff have worked hard on their own development and received personal recognition for their hard work in a number of ways.

All our advocates (IMCA & IMHA) have successfully completed the specialist module stage of the National Advocacy Qualification Certificate. They are currently preparing their core modules and completion of the certificate is confidently expected in February 2011. A number of advocates are also keen to carry their development by working toward the Diploma. Well done to Ian, Alistair, Dinah, Eve, Suzana, Kay for their success so far, and we wish them well on their journey to further success!

Lynn Burling, from our Training & Development Department, successfully completed a   Foundation Degree (Patient Educator in Health & Social Care) London South Bank University. Well done, Lynn!

Pam Macklin, HUBB’s Advocacy Manager, was also successful in completing the Certificate in Managing for Excellence in Advocacy Services from the Institute of Leadership and Management. Well done, Pam!

Jenny received the accolade of Mental Health First Aid Champion from Mental Health First Aid England for her promotion and support of the Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid programmes.

It has been a very busy year for the organisation.

January marked a great start for 2010 as Investors in People reviewed our organisation. The assessor reported ‘This is a very inclusive workplace, where staff are empowered to make decisions as appropriate, and to feel involved in what HUBB is aiming to do in the future. Staff also confirmed that their ideas and feedback was sought and that HUBB worked very much as a team.’

March saw HUBB awarded the ‘Quality Performance Mark in Advocacy’. The assessor wrote ‘I came away with the impression that HUBB are so well known in the area that they can tackle any issue with confidence and I would imagine they are a force to be reckoned with….HUBB is a high quality service with one of the longest records of service delivery in the country.’ Martin Coyle, Head of Quality and Development for ‘Action 4 Advocacy’ added ‘Service Users speak in glowing terms of the way they lead their own advocacy process, the skills and commitment of the advocates and the trust they have that the service they provide is independent and on their side.’

HUBB was awarded the status of an Approved Centre by Advantage Accreditation. We were also successfully receiving accreditation for our programme ‘Mental Health Act and the role of the IMCA’. Just before Christmas our ‘Recovering Jane’ programme was submitted for accreditation approval and we should hear news on its success early in 2011.

Our Independent Mental Capacity Advocates, Independent Mental Health Advocates and Generic Advocates all continue to provide sterling service to the London Boroughs of Havering and Barking & Dagenham. This quote from a decision maker typifies the response to our service. ‘The IMCA service was very easy and very helpful. I was quite nervous as this was my first referral to HUBB, but the staff were very helpful and knowledgeable and after speaking with them I had gained with them I had gained a better understanding in this case.’ A Senior Practitioner in a Learning Disabilities Team stated ‘HUBB IMCA provided an independent voice and useful (indeed vital!) professional judgement in what was a sensitive and complex case.’ More importantly one service user commented ‘I would like to thank HUBB from the bottom of my heart. If it wasn’t for them on the end of the phone I wouldn’t be here now.’ It is comments like these, and especially the service user perspective that make us proud of what we do.

Our Training & Development Department goes from strength to strength. We have delivered training to nearly four hundred people in the last twelve months. Of particular interest is how we are being asked to provide training programmes further afield. We continue to provide training in Havering, Barking in Dagenham, but 2010 saw us spread our wings on a regular basis. Sevenoaks and Sittingbourne in Kent, Islington, Croydon, Harmondsworth (near Heathrow) and even as far as Burton-upon-Trent!

We are gaining a strong reputation for our ‘Recovery Star’ programmes. This has been delivered to a wide range of organisations in public, private and voluntary sectors. We have been commissioned to provide Recovery Star training to the health services in Coventry in 2011, as well as many more programmes in Barking and Dagenham across multiple services following a successful pilot in December.

HUBB continues to promote and deliver Mental Health First Aid programmes. We were particularly proud to deliver an MHFA to the Gypsy & Traveller Community in Kent. Rob also co-delivered an MHFA course to the staff of the Immigration Centre in Harmondsworth.

Rob was selected as a member of the National Training Team for Youth MHFA and MHFA England in May. Youth Mental Health continues to gather interest and momentum. It was officially launched in November by an august team that included Esther Rantzen. A number of potential pilots in Havering and Barking & Dagenham are in the pipeline. Like many areas of life at the moment this will be dependent on funding, but the signs are looking good.

Poppy Jaman, Director MHFA England, with Esther Rantzen

Well, that is a quick review of HUBB in 2010. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients, supporters, friends and colleagues, in fact anyone that has had contact with us in any form over the last 12 months!

2011 is set to be an interesting year. Financially it will prove challenging for many individuals and organisations. Many will see the negative. However, out of such times there will be the seeds of creativity and positivity. HUBB not only promotes the recovery ethos to individuals working with mental ill health issues but also promotes this approach to any one and any organisation. The bedrock of recovery is hope. From this hope appears optimism. Through these two prisms new light is cast giving a new perspective on possibilities.

We wish everyone a happy and successful 2011.