GMW triumphs with award win at national Positive Practice Awards
The Early Intervention Service at Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating after becoming an award winner at the national Positive Practice Awards. The awards celebrate positive practice in mental health and are supported by NHS England.
The Early Intervention Service was announced as the winner of the Early Intervention in Psychosis Award at the annual awards ceremony for their approach to improving the life chances of people with psychosis.
The Positive Practice awards are the only national awards which seek to recognise and highlight good work in mental health and mental health services. Judged by a user led multi agency collaborative, including NHS Trusts, CCG’s, Police Forces, third sector providers, front line charities and service user groups, the awards received a record number of nominations this year.
Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Early Intervention Service, based in Bolton, Salford and Trafford, triumphed in the national awards beating Tower Hamlets Early Intervention and Detection Services at East London NHS Foundation Trust, Supporting Health and Promoting Exercise (SHAPE) Programme for Young People with Psychosis and Worcestershire Early Intervention Service to the prize.
Seven members of the team were presented with their award at a prestigious ceremony held at HG Wells conference centre in Woking, Surrey on 13 October 2016.
The service was commended for their work where staff use a variety of initiatives to engage with people with emerging psychosis to ensure timely assessment and support their recovery
Gill Green, Director of Nursing and Operations at Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMW), said: “The Trust is incredibly proud of the work being done to ensure early detection of young people with psychosis is at the heart of youth mental health care.
“This award is recognition of the hard work performed by our Early Intervention Service to detect and manage the critical early phase of psychosis, so that young people can receive the right treatment as early as possible and the right support can be put in place to help their recovery.”
The Trust’s Psychosis Research Unit (PRU) developed a training package to enhance the skills of Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) professionals across the North region to develop their expertise in detecting, assessing and engaging with people experiencing psychosis. Once staff complete the training, and have reached the required level, they are encouraged to facilitate sessions to train other mental health professionals.
They have also developed a new resource to help young people experiencing psychosis for the first time look after their physical health and maintain a healthy routine.
The Trust’s Early Intervention in Psychosis teams and the PRU work with local partners, like local non-profit organisation Ziggy’s Wish and The University of Manchester, to carry out mental health research projects and provide service users with access to innovative clinical research trails.
Professor Paul French, Associate Director of Early Intervention for the Trust and Honorary Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Liverpool, said: “It is excellent to see the Trust at the forefront of Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) care and I’m delighted that the wide range of initiatives and research collaborations undertaken by the EIP teams in GMW was recognised at this important awards ceremony.”
Photo left to right of Rory Allott, clinical psychologist, Trafford EI, Harriet Burgess, Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN), Trafford EI, Jo-Anne Padgett, Bolton community services manager, Kate Vogl, team Manager, Bolton EI, Ashleigh Evans, social worker, Salford EI, and Tracy Costigan, CPN, Salford EI from GMW with Mike Farrar.
