Trustwide News
New Mental Health Research Centre set for Maghull Health Park
A new mental health research centre is set to be built at Maghull Health Park as part of Liverpool City Region’s (LCR) Investment Zone plans to supercharge health and life sciences in the region and create 8,000 jobs.
The 42 hectare research centre is one of 21 projects which LCR hope will create new hi-tech facilities, provide business and innovation support and train the next generation of talent.
Based on the former HMP Kennet site, the new centre will create the environment for innovators to develop new treatments to support improved mental health care and is expected to create 1,270 new jobs.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “I want to use our status as a force for good, to connect our residents to secure, well paid jobs and training opportunities, and attract transformational investment into our communities.
“Becoming an innovation superpower is a lofty ambition – but I firmly believe that if anywhere has the potential to achieve it, it’s Liverpool City Region.”
More information about LCR’s Investment Zone projects can be found on their website.
Mersey Care hosts digital health innovation event
Prof Joe Rafferty CBE, Chief Executive Officer at Mersey Care, hosted top names in digital health care to discuss innovation at an event staged in Maghull Health Park.
They spoke about opportunities for partnership working, with Prof Rafferty highlighting opportunities for research to boost, both our communities and the economy, by using our Trust’s scale and eagerness to embrace innovation.
“Our scale and presence in the city allows us to talk about the interrelationship of mental, physical and social health to look at the whole person and how they live their lives,” he said. “We have a test bed of real world evidence where we can look at opportunities to connect innovation across our organisation and beyond.”
Nearly 70 delegates attended the event, including representatives from Microsoft, Holmusk, Informatics Merseyside and Apple, alongside stakeholders such as the City Region and Local Council.
Mersey Care joins strategic digital partnership
Mersey Care has entered a strategic partnership with the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Hartree Centre which aims to advance Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care across the Trust to optimise patient outcomes.
The Hartree Centre, which helps UK businesses and organisations to explore and adopt supercomputing, data science and AI technologies for enhanced productivity, smarter innovation and economic growth, will work with Mersey Care to realise the potential of advanced digital technologies within the NHS. More information can be on our website.
Mersey Cares charity reaches donation milestone
Mersey Cares, the Trust’s official charity, has broken through the £10,000 barrier in donations – all money raised will be used toward facilities, activities and developments that can support better care for patients outside of the NHS's scope.
The milestone was reached by Mersey Care staff and people in the community taking part in challenges such as Liverpool Cathedral abseil, and to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, the ZSA train-a-thon which saw 1,300 people attend sessions that provided information surrounding suicide awareness and prevention.
Mersey Cares has also added several new challenges to its events portfolio including the Liverpool Women’s 10k and Wirral 10k. For those who prefer a walking fundraiser, the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is proving popular, with registrations climbing to 18 in the last month, getting closer to the 30+ sign-ups that is the charity’s target.
For those looking to tick off a bucket list challenge, Mersey Cares’ sky dive takes place during Mental Health Awareness Week, which could be a great opportunity to achieve a personal goal whilst supporting the charity. A full list of fundraising events can be found on the charity’s website.
The support of our community will enable us to help incredible local and national initiatives that tackle health inequalities, challenge stigma and enhance patient experience. These include supporting mental health and community services as well as national initiative, the Zero Suicide Alliance, to provide and develop potentially life saving suicide awareness training videos for FREE to people across the UK.
M-RIC hosts mood disorders consultation event
The Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC), a partnership between Mersey Care and the University of Liverpool, has held the first of a series of consultation events to help shape the design of a new, dedicated mood disorders service.
Around 15 service users and carers attended the event at The Life Rooms Bootle which was hosted by Prof Dan Joyce who is the Lead Investigator for M-RIC’s research on Innovative Therapies for Mood Disorders. Topics for discussion focused on people’s previous experiences of accessing help for mood problems and how the process could be improved. Find out more.
Bronze award for partnership approach
Many congratulations to our PROSPECT Commissioning Team, the Cheshire and Merseyside Lead Provider Collaborative for Adult Secure Care, who have been awarded Bronze Lived Experience Charter status.
Physical Health News
Telehealth’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) pathway helps address national medical supply issue
Mersey Care's Telehealth Team has seen impressive results after setting up an ADHD pathway within two weeks to address a national ADHD medication supply issue.
During a national problem with supply shortages of ADHD related medication in October 2023, the ADHD service was concerned they had no understanding of how much medication patients in their care had remaining, nor did they have any visibility of how this was affecting them.
It prompted the Telehealth Team to rapidly implement remote monitoring to provide support for ADHD patients. Working with Docobo, who supply the technology for Telehealth, the team co-designed a bespoke set of questions for patients and sent a text message encouraging them to download an app so they can establish care plans. More information can be found on our website.
Change of number – Knowsley Children’s Community Nursing Team
Knowsley Children’s Community Nursing Team, based at Manor Farm Primary Care Resource Centre, Liverpool, L36 0UB, has changed its phone number to 0151 351 8810.
They provide expert nursing care, support and advice to children and young people with disabilities or complex medical needs in all settings within Knowsley. More information about the service can be found on their dedicated webpage.
Chief Superintendant’s Commendation for Mersey Care staff member
Lisa Marshall, Mersey Care’s Operational Manager for Children and Young People (0 to 5 year olds) has been awarded a Chief Superintendent’s Commendation from Merseyside Police in recognition of the Trust’s support for a Safer Sleep initiative across Liverpool and Sefton.
More information about Lisa’s award and our aim to reduce sudden, unexpected deaths of infants can be found on their dedicated webpage.
Focus on orthotics – how we help give people mobility
Orthotics is an important but sometimes under publicised specialist medical discipline which helps correct or prevent a physical deformity, stabilises joint or joints, reduces pain and improves mobility and performance.
It’s sometimes forgotten in our long list of services so we’ve produced a number of case studies, including how they improved the life of a young footballer with Sever’s Disease, how they’ve helped to support inpatients and provided pain relief.
Just look at the impact our Orthotics team had last year in Knowsley and St Helens.
Orthoses are used to treat many common medical conditions. They come in many shapes and sizes and may be mass produced items or made specifically for an individual.
The orthotist is responsible for the assessment and fitting of the braces and these include collars, spinal braces, knee braces, insoles and footwear.
Intensive Support Team launch
We’ve got a new team working across Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Warrington supporting autistic people who are reaching crisis and may otherwise require an admission to hospital, or are at risk of experiencing a placement breakdown.
The team provides effective, community based support for autistic people (who don’t have a learning disability) when they are at risk of, or in crisis (and are actively open to secondary care mental health services).
They also support people who are at risk of offending and getting in trouble with the police, working with other care professionals and other services including housing providers or families and carers.
You can contact the team via email: AutismIntensive
Mental Health News
Research suite opens at Neuromodulation Service
A new research suite has opened at Mersey Care’s Neuromodulation Service, based at the Knowsley Resource and Recovery Centre, which is one of only a few NHS neuromodulation services in the country and the only service with a purpose built suite in the north of England.
The new research suite is co-located on the same site with its own facilities making it easier for patients using the service to participate in research.
- Watch a video of Mersey Care Chief Executive Joe Rafferty giving a tour of the Neuromodulation Service
- Watch a video of Prof Dan Joyce discussing the new research suite
- Find out more about the service on the Mersey Care website
Arts based therapies mental health project for children and young people
Mersey Care is a partner in a new Edge Hill University led mental health project that will give children and young people better access to arts based therapies and arts activities for wellbeing. Find out more here or watch the video featuring Mersey Care Research and Innovation Director, Prof Nusrat Husain.
Self referral available for our drug and alcohol services
lf you have concerns about the amount of drugs or alcohol that you or someone you know is using, you can self refer into Brook Place (for help with drug use) or Liverpool Community Alcohol Service, or discuss your concerns with your GP. The service helps people, who live in Liverpool, with drug and alcohol problems, both in their local community and as an inpatient.
If you’re in urgent need of help we recommend you contact your GP, call 111 or visit your nearest A&E department. They will be able to help you stay safe and link you into a relevant treatment service so that you can begin your journey to recovery.
For more information, including how to access the teams, visit our dedicated webpage or phone Brook Place on 0151 330 8260 or Liverpool Community Alcohol Service on 0151 471 7784.
Crisis response home treatment offer
Mersey Care has extended its 24 hour Children and Young People Mental Health (CAMHS) Response Team service for young people up to the age of 18 to include a new offer to support children, young people and their families in their homes.
The team offers support to children, young people and their families in their homes, avoiding the need for admission to acute hospitals or mental health inpatient services. Available to children and young people who are registered with a GP in Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Warrington, up to their 18th birthday presenting in crisis and needing an emergency response.
You can contact the team on 01744 415 640 – 24 hours a day seven days a week – and you can listen to Lisa Simpson, the team’s Clinical Manager, recently talk about the new service on BBC Radio Merseyside.
Community mental health transformation - the role of the key worker
Mersey Care’s Mental Health Care Division hosted a successful event that focussed on the role of the key worker as organisations’ move away from Care Programme Approach to Community Mental Health Framework.
Attendees were pivotal to discussions, providing many skills and expertise and included NHS England, local NHS trusts, national experts, service users, carers, integrated care boards, voluntary, community, social enterprise, faith and local authorities.
Andy Williams, Mersey Care’s Deputy Divisional Director, Community Mental Health Services described the main external and internal drivers, including: the NHS Long Term Plan, Community Mental Health Framework (2019), NHSE Community Transformation Roadmap, Trust’s Clinical Strategy, Operational Plan etc and outlined the challenges with the framework. More information can be found on the website.
New wellbeing hub opens in Warrington
A pioneering multi million pound facility designed to help people with their health and wellbeing needs, reduce inequalities and support town centre regeneration has opened its doors for the first time.
The new Living Well Hub is a welcoming and fully accessible ‘one stop shop’ aimed at empowering residents to live as happily, healthily and independently as possible. It’s based on Horsemarket Street, Warrington.
It’s one of the first of its kind in the country and a true collaboration, with 25 organisations and more than 350 staff set to provide a wide range of NHS and non-clinical services under one roof. More information can be found about the Hub on the website.
MC Magazine - out now
The Spring edition of our MC Magazine is out now! Packed with stories about addictions, protecting your family against measles, becoming a volunteer, building bonds with your baby and much more.
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