The Blog - Prof Joe Rafferty CBE
In his latest blog, Chief Executive Prof Joe Rafferty CBE has written about the Trust’s state of the art new buildings, restorative just culture and supporting staff from protected groups.
“I was surprised to see repeated items about the ‘wasteful NHS’ in the news. Like many of you, it’s not a narrative I recognise from my time at Mersey Care and is not one I believe is a fair reflection on the many NHS staff that go the extra mile to care for their patients and service users.
Here at Mersey Care we dedicate time to ensuring the public pound stretches ever further and it is that responsible fiscal management that has allowed us to improve our estate with new hospitals at Clock View, Hartley Hospital and Rowan View in recent years and the new South Liverpool hospital pending.
Read Joe’s blog in full today.
Trustwide news
NHS Confederation #HealthOnTheLine
In the latest episode of #HealthOnTheLine, NHS Confederation talked to our Chief Executive Prof Joe Rafferty about how population health management can be a driving device for health equality and how we can recognise, share and mitigate risk at system level. Listen to it today.
Rosie Cooper MP approved as Mersey Care's new chairman
We are delighted Rosie Cooper MP has agreed to become our new chairman in succession to Beatrice Fraenkel, whose term ends on 31 October 2022. The Trust’s Council of Governors approved her appointment at its meeting on 6 September 2022 after the MP for West Lancashire emerged as the preferred candidate from a robust recruitment process, which involved her presenting to service users and carers, staff and other stakeholders. Read more on our website.
World Mental Health Day
We are supporting this year’s World Mental Health Day (10 October) by hosting a one stop shop to help support mental health and wellbeing on our website.
This theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day will focus on ‘Making Mental Health and Well-Being for All a Global Priority’. Read more on our website.
Talk Liverpool World Mental Health Day
For World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, Talk Liverpool are hosting an event within Liverpool Central Library from 10am to 4pm. They have a wide range of services that will be in attendance, for further details, check out their poster.
Affected by BBC Panorama?
Do you know anyone who may have been affected by the issues raised in the latest BBC Panorama programme on mental health care? If anybody is in need urgent mental health support, please direct them our 24/7 free helpline. More information is available on our Urgent Help page.
For any feedback about our services, please contact our PALS and Complaints team.
Mersey Care Annual General Meeting 2022
We recently held our Annual General Meeting. The event provided an opportunity to find out more about the Trust whilst we reviewed some of our highlights from the last 12 months.
We heard from our Executive team, and the recordings of their presentations can be found below:
We are recruiting
Are you or someone you know of looking for a change in career? Take a look at our vacancies page which is updated daily.
Upcoming recruitment events:
- Nursing Times Careers Live
- RCNi - Virtual student and newly registered nurse careers and jobs fair
- Liverpool Jobs Fair
- Recruitment event for our nursing, Health Care Assistants and support workers roles
- Recruitment event for our adult physical health nursing roles
- Recruitment event for our mental health and learning disability nursing roles.
Residents of Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley suffering from the long term effects of Coronavirus can seek assistance from our Long COVID Service
Mersey Care’s Tier 3 Long COVID Assessment and Treatment Service is open in all four areas to help people who have had COVID. At clinics, people can be seen by different members of the team. Each patient will have different issues and the aim is for them to see the right people to help meet their needs.
Members of each team include: GP, community matron (a very experienced nurse), care coordinator, social prescriber and pulmonary rehab physiotherapist.
We want your feedback on our website
It’s been more than 12 months since we launched our new website and we aim to continue to make it more user friendly, accessible, and easier to find information.
As part of our commitment to improve the experience of visitors to our website, we are asking for your feedback via this short two minute questionnaire. Thanks for your support.
Latest news at The Life Rooms
Energy Crisis support with National Energy Action
One to one advice and support is available to help people cope with the energy crisis alongside fuel poverty charity, National Energy Action. Find out about:
- Energy tariffs and payment options
- A £140 discount on energy bills (eligibility criteria apply)
- Understanding your fuel bills and ways to reduce them
- Insulation and heating schemes
- Dealing with condensation damp
- Help to deal with fuel debt
- Extra help from your fuel suppliers and local authority
This is part of The Life Rooms 'Head, Hearth and Home' programme designed to inform, advise, and support you around issues such as money, fuel and housing. For more information, call 0151 330 6461 or email liferooms
Households into Work (HiW) drop in sessions at The Life Rooms Walton
A HiW advisor will be at The Life Rooms Walton every Thursday afternoon 12 noon to 3pm. Visit The Life Rooms online calendar for more information.
HiW is not just a programme to help people find work, it’s about supporting people to get to a point where they start to think about work as a realistic option. Find out more.
The RED Caravan Tour
The RED Archive, an archive of LFC fans’ photos and stories, presents The RED Caravan Tour which is coming to The Life Rooms in Lee Valley, Walton and Bootle from 6 October to 14 October. The RED Caravan was created by Emma Case, the daughter of LFC legend Jimmy Case, and is a mini mobile museum of LFC memorabilia and images, visiting local community spaces for fans of all ages to enjoy. Visit the RED Caravan website for more information.
Public Health VCSE micro commission
Public Health Liverpool and The Life Rooms at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust have developed a pilot for a community based mental health prevention offer which will support individuals and communities post the COVID-19 pandemic. To find out more the Commissioned projects visit The Life Rooms website.
Mental Health News
Help us name our new mental health facility
We are creating a modern, state of the art, 80-bed mental health facility on the site where Mossley Hill Hospital stood in Liverpool, which the Trust owns.
The new building is expected to open in 2024 and we need help from our stakeholders to give it a new name:
- The name may have historical, geographical or cultural significance
- It needs to be short and accessible and be in line with Mersey Care’s vision and values
- It should help to identify the premises (such as ‘unit’ or ‘clinic’) and contribute to the sense of community
- The name should be future proofed in case of later transformation or change of services there
- Ideally, the name shouldn’t be in use anywhere else to avoid confusion, especially for health providers, and not be that of a living person or something in copyright.
Please get involved by adding your naming suggestions here. Once we have collected them all, our Estates team will make a final decision based on Trust protocols and we hope to announce the new name in the autumn.
Approval for the new site has been granted by the Treasury and Department of Health and Social Care, paving the way for the end of dormitory wards in the city.
We will deliver four 20 bed wards with the new facility, which will consolidate services from across Liverpool on the site of the old Mossley Hill Hospital. Plans for the new building on Park Avenue have been subject to extensive public engagement going back to 2016. Read more on our website.
Need help in a mental health crisis?
For anyone struggling with stress, anxiety or feeling they can’t cope with day to day life, including thoughts of suicide, contact us on one of the freephone numbers below or visit our urgent help section.
If you live in Liverpool or Sefton, call 0800 145 6570 and aged 16 or over.
If you live in Halton, St Helens, Warrington or Knowsley, call 0800 015 1508.
Text messaging support service
If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or stressed you can contact text messaging support which is a free, confidential, 24/7 text message support service.
For people who live in Liverpool or Sefton, Text HEAL to 85258 for immediate support, available 24/7.
For people who live in Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Warrington text REACH to 85258 for immediate support, available 24/7.
You can visit the Give Us A Shout website for more information about the text service.
Welcome to all new students
September saw a large influx of new students arriving in our local area for the start of their academic studies. We have welcomed them by making it easier than ever before to access services for their mental and physical health needs. Find out more on our website.
Mental Health Support Teams in schools
Our Mental Health Support Teams in schools provide mental health support to primary and secondary schools in Knowsley, Halton, St Helens and Warrington. As schools returned in September, the teams have provided them with an update about their ongoing support which you can find on our website.
Physical Health News
Telehealth speaks to HealthTech podcast
Our Deputy Medical Director, Dr Rosie Kaur, appeared on the latest episode of the Women in HealthTech podcast to share her personal journey of becoming a GP. Rosie also talks about the challenges of operating a health technology service during a pandemic, how Telehealth has grown since 2011 and the limitless benefits Telehealth can bring.
You can listen to the whole episode here.
Falls Prevention Week
Our Falls and Fracture Prevention service in Knowsley concentrated their education and engagement events at some of the Extra Care Housing facilities across the borough. Colleagues spoke to residents and staff about falls and fracture prevention and twelve new referrals to our service were received from the residents.
Staff and residents joined educational Q&A sessions which highlighted some of the key areas of the new service while looking at the hidden risk of future fractures and osteoporosis. Information leaflets were given out which included guidance on how and when to refer to the service.