December 2014 - The Retreat York

Retreat News

December 2014

Contents 02

Poem of the Month

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News Hound

Merry Christmas Everyone, It’s been a long year and if you’re anything like me you can’t wait to get home and have a rest.

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Christmas Quiz

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Staff Consultative Committee

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Policy in Focus

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Blogs

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Top Tweets

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Meet... ???

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HR News

• • • • • • •

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The Retreat Super Star

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In The Kitchen

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What’s On

New website The Retreat video New look quality account Facebook and Twitter New noticeboards Internal and external events and who can forget the many iterations of the staff newsletter.

It sure has flown by, so big thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. And a merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone.

“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store.”

Not only is it the end of the calendar year but it’s also the end of my first year at The Retreat. It’s at milestones like this that I like to look back and have a think about the things I’ve done over the last year:

Pete :)

- Dr Seuss

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Poem of the Month January 2015

Hope By Emily Dickinson Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.

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George Jepson Decorations

N

ews

Hound

Tommy on Tour On 24 November The Retreat played host to Tommy Whitelaw and his national campaign “You Can Make A Difference” aimed at encouraging individuals to make a difference in caring for people with Dementia. As part of the visit Tommy gave a talk on his experiences of being a carer and the stories he has heard from other carers across the country. It was a very moving evening and something we hope to do again in the future.

George Jepson are very proud of their new dementia friendly environment. We have had lots of new easy chairs and a settee delivered to George Jepson recently because the old ones were no longer fit for purpose having been on the unit for several years. The large main corridor has been given an added identity with colourful, well-defined doorways, extra seating areas and more choice of living spaces, which has created a more homely and safer dementia friendly environment. The updated alarm system has had unexpected benefits for a patient who now has increased independence and autonomy

The Retreat Cricket The Retreat Garforth Stillingfleet MOD Ledsham Posh Acomb

Games Played 9 8 9 7 7 8

Points 60 55 49 42 29 13

Prize Winning Poster Kate Barker won a prize for research on ‘CFT as a team approach on a specialist in-patient unit’ at ‘The Compassionate Mind Foundation’s’ 3rd International Conference’

‘It felt like we had hit the nail on the head’ Experiences of an in-patient CFT group Dr Kate Barker and Hannah Buckland Abstract

Hannah Mills supports men and women with complex mental health difficulties. Individuals struggle with a range of difficulties including self-harm, dissociation, suicide attempts, drug and alcohol use, relationship problems, eating related difficulties and psychosis. One of the main therapeutic approaches used on the unit is CFT. Participants were asked, via the process of semi-structured interviews, about their experiences of CFT within the group.

Findings

The interviews highlighted several themes that are described below:

New learning

An Increased understanding of self

Using CFT to make changes

Relationship with Compassion

• ‘I’ve leant that I have an amygdala! I know that I’ve got different parts of my brain, like the old brain and new brain and can use them at different times’ • ‘I’ve learnt about the new brain and old brain, the different feelings they have and how they affect me today and the links this has to today’s society’ • ‘I’ve learnt about the fight, flight, freeze system and how you do one of these when threat happens. I’ve learnt about the old brain/new brain too, as the old brain is how you respond to threat’.

• ‘The model helped me to realise that my threat system is always quite high and it’s driving the drive system. It felt like we had hit the nail on the head when I learnt this’ • ‘It has helped me understand myself as I know more about how my brain work’ • ‘It has been helpful. It showed us in slow motion how the brain works. This means I can process my thinking..and makes it easier to understand what is going on when threat happens’

• ‘[CFT] has helped me with my selfharm as I turned these thoughts into more compassionate ones that didn’t involve harming myself’ • ‘It’s helped me in the way I see my relationship with my daughter and with anxiety. It’s helped me turn around negative images I had about myself.’ • ‘If I’m stressed or angry...I can employ the new brain to find out if those emotions are warranted in the here and now, I can then work out if the emotional response is valid or if it’s an old emotion from the past and so I can let it go’

• ‘It has taught me to be more compassionate towards others. I think compassion is good for other people but not for myself ...I still don’t think I deserve compassion myself‘ • ‘Before attending the group I hadn’t thought about being compassionate towards myself, only towards others’ • ‘It was easier to think of ways to be compassionate towards other people. It got a bit easier towards the end as I had more tools to facilitate selfcompassion’

Discussion

CFT has proved to be a popular model with the participants of the CFT group. The findings indicate that the psycho-educational element of the CFT model helped participants to increase their understanding of themselves and this increased knowledge has led to changes in behaviour and an increase of self-compassion. References:

Beaumont, E.; Galpin, A. & Jenkins, P. (2012). ‘Being kindre to myself’: A prospective comparative study, exploring post-trauma therapy outcome measures, for two groups of clients, receiving either CBT or CBT and Compassionate Mind Training. Counselling Psychology Review, Vol.27, No.1, pg.31-42. Gilbert, P & Procter, S. (2006). Compassionate Mind Training for people with High Shame and Self-Criticism Overview and Pilot Study of a Group Therapy Approach. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 13, pg.353-379. Veale, D; Gilbert, P; Wheatley, J & Naismith, I. (2014). A New Therapeutic Community: Development of a Compassion-Focussed and Contextual Behavioural Environment. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. DOI:10.1002/cpp.1897

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Film and TV Round

Christmas Quiz

As a bit of festive fun we’ve put together a little quiz for you all to take part in. Answers will be in the next green newsletter in the new year. Best of luck and have a merry Christmas.

General Knowledge Round 1. The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is an annual gift from which nation? 2. According to the Christmas carol, “Good King Wencelas looked out on the Feast of Stephen”. On what date does the Feast of Stephen fall? 3. If a person was given all the gifts in the song “The Twelve days of Christmas”, how many gifts in total would they receive? 4. What Christmas item was invented by London baker Tom Smith in 1847? 5. “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents” is the opening line from which classic novel? 6. What is the name of the German/Austrian yeast cake often served at Christmas? 7. In “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” why was The Grinch so mean? 8. What were the names of the three wise man? 9. What Christmas item was first commercially designed by John Calcott Horsley in 1843? 10. What is the name of The Simpson’s pet greyhound?

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1. In the film “The Muppet Christmas Carol” which character narrated the story? 2. What brand of water do Del Boy and Rodney attempt to sell in their 1992 Christmas special? 3. Who played Fred Claus in the 2007 movie of the same name? 4. What was the name of Captain Mainwaring’s brother in the 1975 “Dad’s Army” Christmas episode? 5. In which year was the Queen’s first TV Christmas message? 6. In the 1947 film “Miracle on 34th Street”, who played Kris Kringle? 7. Which English cricketer won the 2007 “Strictly Come Dancing” Christmas special making a hat trick of wins? 8. Who plays Jack Frost in the 2006 movie “The Santa Clause 3”? 9. Which “Happy Days” actor starred in the 1979 movie “An American Christmas Carol”? 10. In “Coronation Street”, where was Rosie Webster born on Christmas Eve 1990?

Food and Drink Round 11. Often served at Christmas, what name is given to chipolatas wrapped in bacon ? 12. Meaning literally Christ’s Bread, from which European country does Christopsomo originate? 13. Where would you be if your Christmas dinner consisted of rice and peas, chicken, oxtail and goat curry? 14. Who created a Christmas pudding for Waitrose with a whole orange inside? 15. Which fish is popular as a Christmas dish in Eastern Europe? 16. What in Germany is Lebkuchen, which is traditionally served at the Christmas? 17. What should be eaten on each of the twelve days of Christmas to bring good luck? 18. Of what is a Norfolk Black a variety? 19. A favourite for Christmas dinner, by what name do we know the vegetable Brassica oleracea? 20. What in the UK was traditionally mixed into the Christmas Pudding to bring good luck to the recipient?

Staff Consultative Committee The purpose of the group is to provide a forum to discuss and action certain staff issues with the aim of improving and enhancing our working environment and developing a social community. For example organising Staff Social Functions, Staff Benefits, Co-ordinating the annual Staff Survey and overseeing the Staff Social Fund. The organisation may use the group to consult on potential changes to staff Terms and Conditions of employment although individual issues and contractual questions should not be raised at this group. These should be directed to the relevant Line Manager. The Group meets once a Quarter and consists of 15 members of staff who represent each of the units in the hospital For those staff who do not feel they are covered by a rep for their particular job role they can forward any issues or items for discussion direct to the Chair.

The Staff Consultative Committee Adam Mosley Chair Jenny McAleese SMT Lisa Yeomans HR Michael Moss Facilities Carol Wheatley Admin Kirsty Savage Tuke Centre Mandy Stirk Domestics Bronwen Gray Quaker Carly Brewer Acorn Mary Atkinson Allis Linda Davies Strensall Ann Lovely George Jepson Rachel Eastaugh Hannah Mills Sandra Blake Katherine Allen Hannah Clark Naomi

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Notes From The Last Meeting The group’s most recent meeting was on 3rd December. The minutes of the meeting are available on the Shared Drive. A summary of some of the areas discussed we’re as follows: • the recent Staff Benefits Drive and a proposal for additional Staff Benefits; • progress of the Staff Smoking Task and Finish Group and their work towards ensuring The Retreat becomes a no smoking site for staff on the 11th March 2015; • staff Christmas party at York Racecourse; • ideas for a spring staff social event; • update on the planning for the 2015 Staff Survey; • financial/service development update. Meeting dates for the group for 2015 are as follows: 4th March, 3rd June, 2nd September and 2nd December.

Our Every year The Retreat carries out an annual staff survey, last year the survey was designed and managed by a group of staff from the staff consultative committee and called Our Voice. We had a 52% response rate which is a great improvement on last year. We were all really pleased to find out that 86% of staff who completed the survey thought The Retreat was a nice place to work and 76% of staff believed that The Retreat’s top priority was Patient Care. The survey was an excellent opportunity to make suggestions and how to improve things at The Retreat and many changes have already come about as a result of last years survey. As an incentive for staff to take part in the survey, The Retreat made a £1 donation to a local charity for each survey filled in. Last year the charities chosen and the amounts donated to each one were: Alzheimer’s = £59 St Nicholas Fields = £25 York Mind = £48 This year following staff feedback, the donations will work a bit differently so that the full amount will go to the single charity with the most votes as it was felt the larger donation could make more of a difference. The 2015 Our Voice survey will be taking place in february so watch this space for more informaion about the Survey and how you can get involved.

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Policy Focus IN

Protected Pay THE POLICY The Retreat is committed to supporting successful organisational change by making provision for the protection of your basic pay following salary reduction.

KEY POINTS FOR STAFF > When might your pay be protected? Your basic pay may be protected when it is reduced as a result of:

> What does pay protection apply to? Pay protection applies to your basic salary, sick pay, holiday pay and any adoption/ maternity/paternity pay. Pay protection will not be extended to cover additional hours worked (over the minimum contractual arrangement), unsocial hour payenhancement or bank holiday working payenhancement. You will not receive any annual incremental or inflationary pay increases during the protection period.

> How long will my pay be protected? If you are eligible for pay protection, you will receive full protection of your basic pay/ salary for six months after the date of the change.

> What happens after this time? Once the six-month protected period expires, your pay will be adjusted to the top-point of the appropriate (new) grade. There is no right of appeal.

• the introduction of a revised pay/ grading structure. • organisational restructure. This is subject to a qualifying period of one year’s employment. >When might your pay not be protected? There are situations where your pay may not be protected. For example, when: • the change is a result of a change in hours worked. • the change/action has been taken as a result of poor performance or unacceptable conduct on your part. • you have requested or taken action to make a change which affects your banding.

FIND OUT MORE View the full policy (HRM 25) at www. retreatlearning.org.uk or on The Retreat’s Shared Drive.

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logs Here are excerpts from some of the Blogs appearing on the website this month. Be sure to visit the website for the full story.

Uniforms or Not? One of our specialist older adult units explores the idea of uniforms in preperation for introducing them to one of our female dementia units. Read the full Blog here: http://bit.ly/ReBlogs

Claire’s Story - Two Perspectives on Eating Disorders In this guest blog Claire takes time to think about her experiences of Eating Disorder services as a patient and NHS staff member, and asks explores some questions around the changes to the Diagnostic Criteria. Read the full Blog here: http://bit.ly/ReBlogs

Self-Harm In light of the recent increase in children’s hospital admissions for intentional self-harm Dr Liz Lawson answers some frequently asked questions about self-harm. Read the full Blog here: http://bit.ly/ReBlogs If you’d like to contribute to our Blogs please get in touch by emailing: [email protected]

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op weets The Tuke Centre @TheTukeCentre Dr Liz Lawson talks about self harm in young people on @ BBCYork bbc.co.uk/programmes/ p02… (fast forward to 1hr 11min 43 secs) 5:41pm 19 Nov 2014

Becca @becca_naylor Went to an incredible talk this evening at @TheRetreatYork. A powerful, personal and heartfelt perspective on dementia. No words #tommyNtour 9:42pm 24 Nov 2014

The Retreat @TheRetreatYork We won a prize at the Compassionate Mind Foundation’s conference for our research ‘CFT as a team approach on a specialist in-patient unit’ 10:34am 1 Dec 2014

The Retreat @TheRetreatYork Dr Liz Lawson from @TheTukeCentre wrote a column for todays @yorkpress about tackling obesity pic.twitter.com/ VzsHaqVsDH 4:41pm 4 Dec 2014

Jenny McAleese @JennyMcAleese To London today with @ Andersonretreat to give triennial report on @TheRetreatYork to Meeting for Sufferings @ BritishQuakers 8:01am 6 Dec 2014

Follow us on twitter @TheRetreatYork

HR News Meet...??? Sadly no one wanted to meet you this week. If you’d like to be featured in one of the upcoming staff interviews all you need to do is answer the 6 simple questions below and email them to: [email protected]

Role A typical day Why I work at The Retreat Most unusual thing you’ve been asked to do? Favourite film If I was CEO for the day I would... Whether you’ve worked here 5 years or 5 minutes it’s good to let people know who you are because with so many staff working at The Retreat not everyone will know you.

Welcome to... Jonathan Adams – Support Worker, Katherine Allen Natalie Clinkscales – Support Worker, Katherine Allen Chloe Hildred – Support Worker, Naomi Richard Jenkinson – Assistant Psychologist/ Support Worker, Naomi Naomi Littlewood – Support Worker, Katherine Allen Marie Robinson – Finance Assistant Jo Sanders – Staff Nurse, Acorn Ros Deo - Bank Support Worker Chloe Pitt - Bank Support Worker Nicole Acton - Bank Support Worker Isobel Naylor - Bank Support Worker Sophie Adgo - Bank Support Worker Emily Jones - Bank Support Worker Laura Lawrence - Bank Support Worker

Farewell to... Margaret Castro – Tuke Centre Chris Dawson – CTM Hannah Mills Gill Redhead – Support Worker, Naomi Mike Walker – Senior Staff Nurse, Hannah Mills

Congratulations to... Marie I’Anson – Naomi – 10 years Wendy Parker – HM – 10 years Gail Jacques – Strensall – 25 years Julie I’Anson – Allis – 10 years Marie Mosley – Strensall – 5 years

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In The Kitchen Tiffin

P E U S AR ST R

This month’s Super Star is Joan Garrett. Joan she goes beyond her role, comes in on her days off voluntarily, takes patients to new and exciting places and also takes them to their homes so families can see more of their loved ones. If you’ve got a colleague who goes above and beyond and you think they deserve to be next month’s Super Star, you can nominate them by emailing [email protected] and letting me know why they’re a super star.

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Ingedients: 11/2 packs of digestives 75g raisins 50g sugar 110g cocoa powder 225g golden syrup 225g butter 300g milk chocolate • Crush biscuits and mix with raisins. • In a bowl melt the cocoa, sugar, butter & golden syrup and pour over biscuit mix. • Pour into a lined baking tin and leave to cool. • Melt milk chocolate over a pan of hot water. • Pour the melted chocolate onto biscuit base and spread evenly. • Leave to chill.

What’s on ? Tuesdays Fornightly 7.00pm - 8.00pm Old Library

Wednesdays 10.30am Staff Block Meet the SMT

The Retreat Choir

Thursdays 7.30pm Main Hall

December 15 1.45pm Main Hall

December 16 7.00pm Units

December 17 2.00pm - 3.00pm Lecture Room

Yoga

Nativity

Jules Carol Singers

Natural Laughter Skills

December 18 6.30pm-8.30pm Recovery College


December 19 10.30am Main Hall

Photoskills

Tuesday Singers

The Bold Balladeers Christmas Show


December 25

Christmas Service

Christmas Day Merry Christmas

December 19 10.00am - 11.30am

Recovery College Medication & Mental Health Mood Stabilisers