This week’s leadership message comes from Sasha Bhat

Posted on: 10 November 2023

This week’s leadership message comes from Sasha Bhat, priority director for healthy minds for Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership and deputy director of integration at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust. We also have a blog about Community pharmacy in Calderdale.

Mental health matters

Hello my name is Sasha Bhat and I am the priority director for healthy minds for the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership and deputy director of integration of Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Dear me, I know we’ve had disagreements,

and that we don’t always see eye to eye.

But the last thing I want for you,

is to feel like you have to say goodbye.

The above is part of a short poem that will introduce our new healthy minds strategy for Bradford District and Craven, which we’ll formally launch at the end of January. It has been composed eloquently by Nicky J Rae and developed through the Mind in Bradford Creative Writing Group. The poem in full captures the experiences of people who are at various points of their journey through mental ill-health and is just one example of how we are led by the experiences of people.

Our work is informed by the experiences of people looking to access help for their mental health as well as those who are already accessing support. We’ve also listened carefully to our colleagues and wider partners to understand more about the challenges they may face in delivering the best possible care for people. In addition, we have ensured that there are independent reviews carried out to help us get unbiased and impartial recommendations.

All of this leads us to a point where we can demonstrate that mental health matters to us. It matters that we get this right for the people we’re here for, and the people who are working hard to support people with whatever their need might be at that point in their life.

While we have been working on our strategy we have also worked together with people and staff to refresh our healthy minds design style and website. Our redeveloped website will become our one stop portal for all information relating to mental health in Bradford District and Craven.

Our vision for the healthy mind’s priority is ‘Better Lives, Brighter Futures: promoting, respecting and improving the mental health and wellbeing of everyone to live happy, healthy at home’. Put simply, we want everyone to have the opportunity to lead a life of hope and meaning, to be respected in their rights to be happy, have choice and be loved; and when we are needed, our services deliver personalised care. We are ambitious in what we want to achieve and unwavering in our commitment to ensure that mental health is seen as important as any other health conditions and needs, leading to a parity of esteem with physical health.

To bring care closer to home, where it is practical and appropriate to do so, we’re on a journey through our community mental health transformation programme so that people experiencing severe mental illness can access support near where they live. To make this vision a reality we need to change the way we think about how we currently deliver care, listen to those currently receiving care and go on this journey with those in our services.

What really matters to people - our communities and our colleagues - is how do we deliver a seamless experience when accessing support. Again, the theme of my piece, this can only be done by truly understanding the experiences people who have either used mental health services or who care for someone who has.

While these big transformation projects will take time to implement, there are practical examples of how we’re considering the needs of people with serious mental illness. Recently this has seen us establish a unique partnership with the British Islamic Medical Association to plan a four-part webinar series. The focus is on helping healthcare professionals understand how they can help people with serious mental illness prepare for Ramadan.

At our very recent Celebrate as One Awards for our Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership, we saw a number of our projects make the shortlist and indeed go on to take home an award. Safe Spaces - a partnership led by Mind in Bradford and The Cellar Trust - has supported over 2,300 people of all ages to avoid hospital admission between July 2022 and July 2023, reviewing all factors contributing to mental health - emotional, financial, and social wellbeing. Anyone receiving same-day support is referred to further provision, so they are better equipped to handle distress in future.

Youth in Mind provides robust, early, non-clinical support for five to 25 year olds. Led by Mind in Bradford, social, emotional, and mental wellbeing support is delivered through subcontracted providers from education, communities and health. Last year, over 14,000 sessions were delivered for over 2,900 children and young people, including support for complex issues, suicidal ideation, self-harm, eating disorders and voice hearing. Significant improvements have been recorded in emotional wellbeing, confidence, self-esteem and relationships, ability to manage risk and stay safe, and in understanding and accept self-identity.

Our Culturally Adapted Therapies service, a partnership between Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, the voluntary and community sector (VCS) and University of Leeds has adapted traditional therapies to take a faith based contextual approach to delivering therapeutic care. We have seen an increase in our uptake of support, reduced the number of missed or incomplete sessions and improved recovery for people.

I’ve highlighted these three partnership initiatives to keep this blog as short as possible but please do look at the Celebrate as One Awards brochure to find out about other shortlisted projects that show how we make sure mental health matters and what we can achieve by working together.

The day after our awards, we handed out a special trophy to our Healthy Minds Apprentices at their celebration event. Our Healthy Minds Apprentices, with the fourth cohort starting this month, have been involved in so many critical projects providing a young people’s lived experience lens. This includes from those who have experience of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). See our Healthy Minds website to see just some of the work they’ve been involved in and we were delighted to have six members of the team presenting at the Celebrate as One Awards.

Dear me, I feel so proud of you,

you’ve made it out alive.

You’re happy now with all you’ve gained,

you’ve reached all things for which you strived.

Mental health matters, this final part of the poem that I started with shows how we can make a difference by listening, learning, and responding to what people tell us and why everyone’s experience counts. Together, we can build brighter futures for everyone.

Sasha

Community Pharmacy: in the heart of your community

Pharmacy teams are an essential part of our health care system, providing vital and convenient health care and advice in the heart of the community.

But many people may be unaware of the help and support that is available from their local community pharmacy team.

“I think the first thing that comes to mind for most people when they think of pharmacy services is collecting their prescribed medication” says Amanda Smith, Manager of Heath Pharmacy in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

“We offer more than that. Pharmacy teams provide health advice quickly and can suggest over the counter treatments that can help. And our trained experts can tell you if you need to see a GP, nurse, optician, or other healthcare professional.

“Pharmacists are qualified clinical professionals who can help with lots of non-urgent health conditions and minor illnesses such as coughs, colds, sore throats, itchy eye, earache, and tummy trouble. It’s always worth speaking to your pharmacy team as soon as you notice an issue before it could get worse.

“Our pharmacy, like many others, has a private consultation room where we can discuss issues with people away from the hustle and bustle of the shop floor. We work closely with GP practices, and they often refer patients to our pharmacist for an NHS consultation. We can access a patients’ National Care Record, which helps keep people safe and well.

“I’ve been part of the pharmacy team here for 28 years. We have pharmacists, accredited checking technicians, dispensing assistants, medicine counter assistants and delivery drivers. We provide a wide range of health and care advice and services, and it’s fair to say that no two days are the same.”

As well as dispensing and delivering prescription medication, equipment and general health advice and treatments, community pharmacies can also support your health and wellbeing in the long-term.

“We aren’t here just when you’re already feeling under the weather; we can help you to stay healthy too” Amanda continues. “Community pharmacies like ours provide weight loss support, we can help you to stop smoking, and provide free blood pressure checks with advice and tips on lifestyle changes that can help to keep your blood pressure down if needed.”

“We also protect vulnerable people in our community by delivering seasonal Covid-19 and flu vaccinations. Eligible people can be immunised on-site by a trained vaccinator just by walking into the pharmacy, or by booking online at www.nhs.uk.”

Community pharmacies play an important role in their local areas and the nature of the services they offer mean they often become a significant part of peoples’ lives.

Denise Briscoe, dispensing assistant at Heath Pharmacy said. “We see people with long term conditions regularly when they collect their prescription medication, we get to know them and their family over the years. And because of our connection in the local community, we can often tell them about things that would benefit them that perhaps they’d not considered before. It’s a really nice feeling to be able to help people stay well. I like to think people trust us partly because of our place at the heart of the community, as well as our medical knowledge and skills.

“I think we all feel we play a big part in the local community. Particularly when we hold seasonal vaccination clinics as we get so busy – it almost feels like a community centre because we see so many people! But however busy we get, we always try to make sure we’re approachable and have time to speak to people about their issues confidentially, we can help them get the treatment they need.”

“Being in the heart of our community, we know that times are hard for lots of people at the moment, between the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis,” Amanda continues. “Because of that, I’d like people to remember that community pharmacies aren’t just there for prescriptions and over the counter treatments.

“We are health care professionals who can offer confidential advice and support. If you need medical help or treatment, please ask your pharmacy team and we’ll help however we can.”

There are 46 community pharmacies in Calderdale, most of which are open on evenings and weekends. Find details of a community pharmacy near you at www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy

What else is happening this week?

‘Together We Can’ winter campaign launch

Together we can fight winter viruses This week the Partnership launched its ‘Together We Can’ winter campaign to help people access health and care services at the right time and place. The campaign also encourages people to choose well and to opt for convenient self-care, where safe to do so during the winter months.

As health services will be extremely busy this winter, it’s important that everyone plays their part and be better prepared during the cold and flu season. You can protect yourself and each other by having a flu jab, a COVID-19 vaccine if eligible and seeking advice for minor health concerns from your community pharmacy if needed. Trained healthcare staff can help you choose over counter medicines and offer a range of clinical services too. The campaign has an easy to navigate website [togetherwe-can.com].

Here you will find help and advice and tips for keeping well this winter, as well as other useful information on how to stay healthy. During winter and times of significant pressure on local services, the public are still encouraged to come forward and not to delay if they need help or are concerned about their health, but it’s important that people use the right services and they know when to go to a pharmacy, use NHS 111 or their GP practice.

You can save time by ordering prescriptions and seeking medical advice online by downloading the NHS App. Find out all you need to know this winter by visiting togetherwe-can.com

Community-based COVID treatments: changes to lateral flow test supply

The NHS offers treatment to people who are at the highest risk of becoming seriously ill when they get COVID-19. Starting from 6 November, if they’re eligible for free rapid lateral flow tests, they can now collect them from a local pharmacy. This is replacing the online and telephone ordering services for free rapid lateral flow tests provided by GOV.UK and NHS 119.

If they then test positive, they should contact NHS 111 or their specialist to be referred to the COVID Medicines Distribution Unit in case they need anti-virals. Full details are on the Partnership website as well as on the NHS website.

Vaccination marketing campaign

Smash flu and covid - be winter strong A national COVID-19 and flu vaccination marketing campaign is running between 6 and 19 November in prominent outdoor locations in West Yorkshire. Locally, communications colleagues are working together to increase take up by those most at risk of serious illness.

Episode one of the new series of ‘Can You Hear Me?’ - now titled 'Can You See Me?' and available on YouTube

The new podcast is now available to listen and features West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin, West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and Fatima Khan Shah, West Yorkshire Inclusion Champion, where they talk about lived experience and the work they do to support women and the important role of male allies and the men in their life.

Supporting health innovation to power up the North

Richard Stubbs, CEO of Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, Leeds Academic Health Partnership board member and now chair of the national Health Innovation Network, has written a blog about how we can grow and sustain well-connected support networks to help innovators and nurture their growth. Read more about supporting health innovation to power up the North on the Leeds Academic Health Partnership website.

Islamophobia Awareness Month

During Islamophobia Awareness Month that takes place during November, you can read a series of blogs from our Muslim colleagues who wrote them in 2020 from across the Partnership.

Embracing a tobacco-free future

Sruthi Nair A new tobacco dependency service, which went live for acute inpatients at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in September, is helping patients on their journey to quit smoking and chewing tobacco.

In our case study, Tobacco Dependency Adviser, Sruthi Nair, describes her role and how she supports patients to overcome their tobacco dependency.

Suicide prevention training for social prescribing link workers

The pilot session of new suicide prevention training sessions for social prescribers and social prescribing link workers in West Yorkshire took place last week. The free training course – run by the Suicide Prevention Programme - tackled warning signs, risk factors, how to support people struggling with suicidal feelings and ways to help tackle stigma. The training sessions will now be rolled out across the five places for social prescribers.

More information including training dates to follow soon.

Film – stop people dying too young

Funded by NHS England, Inclusion North’s Stop People Dying Too Young Group have developed a training resource for professionals, about supporting people with a learning disability to be involved in decisions at the end of their life. Watch the film on YouTube.

Medicines Safety Week

The eighth annual MHRA #MedSafetyWeek campaign launched on 6 November and runs until 12 November. It aims to encourage reporting of suspected side effects associated with medicines and adverse incidents involving medical devices.

Health Inequalities Academy two year on - what we can do together and what we can learn from each other

Health Inequalities Academy event collage This week our Health Inequalities Academy ‘two years on’ event brought over 250 colleagues together to explore progress, share learning and highlight the work taking place to improve the lives of people and communities most impacted by health inequalities. Day one explored how we’re building capacity in our system to address health inequalities.

Opening the event with a specially recorded message, Rob Webster CEO said he was proud of the Health Inequalities Academy and how it’s being adapted elsewhere. We looked at how the £1m winter warmth funding has been used to support people in Bradford District and Craven; Calderdale; Kirklees; Leeds and Wakefield District. Colleagues can now register for our new Health Inequalities webpage, launched at the event, bringing together resources such as guidance, training modules, case studies, video, podcasts and more.

Workshops provoked interesting discussion around the Core20PLUS5 work happening across the region and four of our Improving Population Health Fellowship fellows showcased their projects. We were introduced to CARA and the findings of a pilot study looking at the challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers and a panel of non-executive directors (NEDS) shared their experiences around #WYTacklingInequality and bringing about positive change.

For the first time since we launched the academy event the second day was held face-to-face at Kala Sangam Arts Centre, Bradford. The focus turned to inclusion health, the journey to become a Partnership of Sanctuary and featured workshops from third sector partners supporting groups at risk of health inequalities. More in next week’s weekly update.

West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Digital Programme newsletter

The latest edition of the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Digital Programme newsletter is now available to read via the NHS Futures platform.

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