Chief Executive Prof Joe Rafferty CBE has written his first blog of 2023 reflecting on how our mental and community health services are the unsung heroes of the recent headlines on NHS services this winter. You can read the full blog here.
Trust wide news
Mersey Care awarded Freedom of the Borough of Sefton
Mersey Care has been awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Sefton for the hard work and dedication of its workforce in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
We were awarded the honour at a special ceremony at Bootle Town Hall on 26 January alongside three other trusts – Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust and Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust – which is the highest ceremonial honour Sefton Council can bestow. More details can be found on our website.
Fulfil your potential and SPREAD YOUR WINGS with Mersey Care
Do you know anyone who wants to join one of the most innovative trusts in the North West? We’ve a host of different vacancies needing a wide variety of different skills, so why not have a look at our current vacancies?
We’ve also launched a new film featuring several staff who talk about what they like about working at Mersey Care. You can watch the film below:
Our recruitment events:
- 3 February - Mental Health/Learning Disability Nurses event , Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT
- 13 March - Nursing Assistant and Healthcare Assistant event,Quaker Meeting House
Physical Health
New information campaign for walk in centres
Mersey Care has launched a new campaign to help better inform residents about when they should attend one of their walk in centres located across Liverpool, Knowsley and Sefton. More information can be found on our website.
Lower My Drinking App
A new App, supported by Mersey Care’s addictions services, gives expert advice and scientifically proven tools to reduce your drinking to the recommended limit of 14 units per week or fewer. It will guide you to set your drinking goal, then help you achieve it by:
- Tracking your progress towards your drinking goal
- Recognising all the gains you will make by cutting down
- Focussing on what is really motivating you to reduce your drinking
- Seeing how your drinking compares to the rest of the population.
More information can be found on their Lower My Drinking website.
Breaking the Cycle
Dr Lisa Marsland from our BABS service has given an interview to The Doctor Magazine about how the BABS service can help patients to build bonds and break cycles. You can read the full feature on pages 15 to 17 here.
Southport resident praises Long COVID service
Former Sefton PE teacher and head teacher, Eric Morris, has praised the work of our Long COVID Service after struggling to cope after contracting the virus. See the video below.
Access Guides launch
We’re holding an official launch of the Access Guides project, an accessibility guide designed to ensure all information on the Trust’s website is open and accessible to all.
The launch event will take place in indigo at Maghull Health Park on 31 March at 1pm. Working with Accessible, information detailing the accessibility of our public facing sites from a pan-disability perspective has been developed and are available on the AccessAble website. Further details about the event will be available soon.
Contact number updates
Our Knowsley Immunisation Team has changed its contact number to 0151 351 8805.
Our Knowsley Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service has changed its contact number to 0151 351 8800.
Our St Helens Think Wellbeing team has changed its number to 01744 615 650 from 30 January 2023.
And our Neurodevelopment Pathway team, also based in St Helens, has changed its number to 01744 415 608. Please update your contact details for all these number changes.
The Life Rooms partner events
The Life Rooms will host a range of partners and events to support our communities over a range of issues, from practical advice in coping with the cost-of-living crisis, to support with wellbeing.
You can find more information on The Life Rooms website.
Households into Work at The Life Rooms
Households into Work (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. Come and speak to an HiW advisor at Walton Life Rooms to see how they can improve your future.
Find out more information on The Life Rooms website.
Liverpool Landlord Licensing Scheme and private sector housing at Walton Life Rooms on 31 January 2023, 11am to 1pm
This is for residents to find out more about the Liverpool Landlord Licensing Scheme, which is based on poor property conditions, giving the council additional powers to drive up standards and keep vulnerable tenants safe, such as tackling fire and electrical safety hazards, excess cold and damp.
More information is available on The Life Rooms website.
If you are or know of an organisation who would like to have a presence at The Life Rooms to support our communities, then please contact: LiferoomsPartners
MC Magazine out now!
Our winter MC magazine is out. Read about:
- Children’s Eating Disorders services
- Life Rooms energy crisis support
- Music and mental wellbeing
- How childbirth can affect men
- Suicide awareness for veterans
Why not give it a read via our website?
Mental Health News
Think Wellbeing at St Helens College
Students are set to benefit from new funding received by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and St Helens College to improve mental health services in the area.
The Trust aims to help 18 to 25-year-old students with staff from our Think Wellbeing NHS Talking Therapy service in St Helens. They’ve already provided training to St Helens College staff on mental health and resilience, anxiety and depression.
During the pandemic, we provided anxiety, depression and resilience training for students via recorded videos. Online groups will launch this month followed by one-to-one online clinics for students who are experiencing anxiety and/or depression. More information can be found on our website.
Amparo community drop-in sessions at The Life Rooms
If you, or someone you know, has been affected or impacted by suicide, come to Amparo drop-in sessions based across The Life Rooms sites in Liverpool and Sefton.
Amparo offers confidential, practical and emotional support to anyone affected by suicide. Their experienced Liaison Workers can listen to your needs and assist you in accessing the support you need.
Find out more on The Life Rooms website.
Major build updates
The Trust is progressing two major new building projects this year with the
former Mossley Hill Hospital now seeing the first parts of the successor building being installed. It will create a state of the art 80 bed service that will see the end of dormitory wards in the city.
Aspen Wood, Mersey Care’s low secure hospital being built at Maghull Health Park, has also made progress. It will feature 40 beds when opened this autumn and the names of the two wards have been confirmed as Hodder and Mitton following service user consultation.
You can keep updated on the new builds by looking at our Aspen Wood and Mossley Hill pages on our website.