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Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust Trust Talk issue twenty March 2008 Spotlight on Deaf Services interpreters support the service each day, with specialist knowledge, experience and training in mental health. “Over the years, Deaf Services has rescued people from utter misery. Our goal at BSMHT is to enable deaf people to have the same access to treatment as hearing people.” In fact, Deaf Services are doing such a great job that they were the fi rst unit at BSMHT to be featured in the national Star Ward newsletter. An initiative within the mental health arena, Star Wards is a project based on working with mental health trusts to enhance inpatients’ daily experiences and treatment. “We are one of only three centres in England that offers specialist care for deaf people with mental health needs” says Michael Galvin, the Clinical Ward Manager at Denmark House. “We have 12 beds for in- patient treatment, and we offer an abundance of out-patient care including counselling, psychotherapy, and community psychiatric nurses. We offer patients an activities programme that includes a gardening group, Staff at Denmark House, Deaf Services a video club and community outings amongst others.” During 2008, Trust Talk will be covering all barrier that we are trying to breakdown.” In “We do everything we can to drive directorates across the Trust with a spotlight fact, Denmark House and Denis Shilston House recovery forward for deaf people, and the on one or more services. First up is Deaf day service, are kitted out with minicoms (also Star Ward initiative recognises that,” smiles Services, part of the Specialties directorate. known as text phones) – made exactly for that Michael. Our Specialty Services provide specialised purpose. The team at Denmark House is led by care for people with specifi c mental health By dialling the prefi x 18002, a hearing Christine McPherson, Acting Clinical Manager. problems – in Birmingham and Solihull and person can use a normal phone to contact Christine, herself deaf, said: “We are a small beyond. Services also include eating disorders, a deaf person who has a minicom, and the service with a large area to cover. Although mother and baby services, neuropsychiatry, call is charged at a local rate. “A hearing based in Birmingham, we cover the NHS West personality disorders, psychotherapy and person’s perception of the deaf world is full of Midlands area (which includes Warwickshire women’s counselling. misconceptions. When you use a minicom, you and Staffordshire) also Nottingham, Derby, Anyone suffering from depression or are connected to an operator and converse Leicester, Oxford, Bristol, Gloucester and South another mental illness would fi nd it diffi cult using a third person. Often this can put people Wales.” enough to discuss their symptoms with their off, but type talking this way is 100 percent Commenting on the aspirations of the GP. So imagine how much harder it is for a confi dential – the operators even sign the Service, Sally Austen takes an enthusiastic deaf person in the same situation. Offi cial Secrets Act!” states Adrian. approach. “We have been extremely successful In reality, if you are deaf, you are more in the assessment and treatment of many likely to suffer from a mental illness than deaf patients over the years. But for some of if you are a hearing person. Depression is our clients their problems were avoidable. particularly common, often as a result of With the right support, we can reach out isolation. The stark fact is that 40 percent of into the deaf community and look at more deaf people are likely to experience mental preventative measures.” health problems at some point in their life Similar sentiments are uttered by Adrian, compared to 25 percent of the hearing Joe and Michael. Speaking on behalf of the population. team, Christine sums it up. Joe Taylor, Systems Administrator for Deaf Services at BSMHT understands the challenges continued on page 3 that face deaf service users. “Until about seven years ago, I was a hearing person. When you lose your hearing, the most simple things become time consuming and complicated.” The staff at Denmark House consist of BSL interpreter Alban Welch with Website hearing and deaf people, and according to Joe Taylor Joe, this is a very important factor for the recovery of patients. “Deaf culture is so Communicating affects deaf people’s important to all of us here. It is not a shame access to mental and physical health services that a person is deaf, but it is a shame if at every level: from receiving preventative Survey hearing people don’t understand how to health information via television or leafl ets, to We’re rethinking our website and communicate with us. We do our best to making an appointment and communicating change that.” with the GP, to clinicians in generic (hearing) we’d like your opinion. Access is a key concern. Profoundly deaf services being able to make an accurate mental Do you like our website? How does it look? people can not use an ordinary telephone, and health assessment of deaf clients; to knowing Can you fi nd what you’re looking for easily? often people who wear hearing aids struggle where to refer on that the patient may be If you can spare a few moments, please fi ll in to overcome the background noise. But asking understood. “Our client group has a unique our online survey at - a hearing person to help with the telephone problem in that they are over represented www.bsmht.nhs.uk/survey.htm process often proves diffi cult as most shy away. in having mental health problems but under It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. Adrian Harper, a deaf Communication represented in receiving treatment,” said Sally Please tell us what you think – and help us to Offi cer at Denmark House explains why. “So Austen, Consultant Clinical Psychologist. plan our website for the future. many hearing people won’t even contemplate The service caters largely for 18-65 year picking up the phone to speak to a deaf olds, clients may also be blind, have another Thank you. person. It can be so frustrating for patients physical disability, or learning diffi culties. who are lonely and isolated and this is a Freelance British Sign Language (BSL) Healthy Body Healthy Mind reduce hallucinations. The distraction is useful in alleviating the impact of hallucinations and many service users in our experience have also reported this to be the case” said Sue Coffee, Physiotherapy Service Manager. The Trust also provides free classes for service users, such as aerobics, The early part of the year has seen us continue in circuit training, team our quest to become a Foundation Trust with the games and exercise groups Trust Board of Directors meeting with the Monitor th for the elderly. But if you Board on Tuesday 5 February for the Board to don’t like doing anything Board Challenge which is part of the assessment too strenuous or fancy process. some R and R, why not This part of the assessment process is aimed try yoga or one of the at assuring Monitor that the Trust is capable of relaxation classes on offer. operating as a Foundation Trust and that there are There are also acupuncture no signifi cant clinical or fi nancial issues facing the Sharmadene Hepburn - Senior OT and Indian head message Trust with which we are not able to deal. and Antony Green - Physio TI, both at QEPH. sessions on offer to staff. The Board to Board covered a wide range of In the future there will issues ranging from fi nance through governance It’s that time of year again when most of us will be an open clinic for advice on safe exercise, to clinical issues. I am pleased to report Monitor have made New Year’s resolutions and broken available to staff members. For more information indicated that they were assured that we had them already. What is it you tell yourself? Lose on our classes contact our Physical Therapies successfully addressed the issues they raised with the weight; feel great - well you will be happy Service on 0121 685 7430. us last year. However, as part of the assessment to know there is some truth to this. In this article process, Monitor also considers the results of we are looking at the links between physical Top tips to get moving! external reviews and advance notice of reviews health and mental wellbeing. about to be released. Although we have recently Not only does exercise help you lose ● Keep an exercise diary to follow your progress. had some very good external reviews, for example weight and improve your physical fi tness but ‘Good’ in respect to the quality of our clinical ● Make simple changes e.g. take the stairs, research has shown that light exercise (walking) services, it emerged, during the fi nal stages of get off the bus a stop or two earlier than you and strenuous exercise (jogging) are equally our assessment, that the results of a shortly to be normally would. benefi cial to our mental wellbeing. Physical released Healthcare Commission (HCC) Inpatient Review conducted last summer are disappointing. activity causes the body to release endorphins, ● Pick activities that appeal to you personally: opoids, and dopamine, which all help to improve This Healthcare Commission service review is are you more suited to a competitive sport designed to assess the quality of care given by NHS brain functions and modulate stress hormones. or more serene Tai Chi? This is otherwise known to us as the “feel good providers of acute inpatient mental health wards (sometimes called acute admission wards) and factor”, which can help to combat depression ● Set a mixture of realistic short-term and psychiatric intensive care units in England.

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