Whitlingham Ward Rights and Responsibilities leaflet

Introduction

Welcome to Whitlingham Ward, we fully understand that moving to a new place can be a daunting experience, and that many people have problems with big changes.

The following information has been put together by people who have used our service, and people who provide it, and is designed to help you find your feet and feel comfortable as soon as you can. We don’t expect that it will be sufficient on its own, so please feel free to ask any questions which occur to you during your stay with us.

Whitlingham Ward has 16 beds and offers a service to women who are at a point in their lives where they need continuing support in a secure setting.

Everyone who joins us here for treatment has been detained under the Mental Health Act, and the team can assist you if need information or have any questions about your detention and your rights under the Act, so please feel free to ask. Your Key Worker will also arrange to review your rights with you on a regular basis.

Whitlingham Ward is part of a teaching hospital, so we regularly host students from several disciplines, they are easily identifiable from their ID, and you will always have the choice of whether you work with them or not.

This document sets out your rights and responsibilities as a service user on Whitlingham Ward. There are some restrictions which are governed by The Mental Health Act, our commissioners (the people who fund our service) and the Ministry of Justice which we don’t control, and these are clearly identified on page 14 and 15. Everything else has been agreed by our service users and staff and approved in our Service Users Forum. Our aim in all of this is to ensure the safety of all on Whitlingham.

On arrival on Whitlingham Ward you will be aligned with a team who will work with you during your stay, this will include a Key Worker who will be responsible for co-ordinating your care and an Assistant Practitioner who will support them in this. As well as these two named individuals, the whole team of doctors, nurses, and OTs etc. will be working with you.

You will also be introduced to a service user who has volunteered to be your “buddy”. They will be able to explain how Whitlingham works from a service user’s perspective and support you while you settle in.

Whitlingham Ward aims to support women within a blended secure setting where people will receive specialist assessment, treatment and intensive rehabilitation in a safe environment. Our service will support people to learn to understand and manage their mental health and risk behaviour and to develop independent living skills collaboratively by identifying shared goals.

Your room

You have the right to privacy, so each bedroom on Whitlingham has a unique swipe card which only works for that room. You will be issued with one when you arrive. Even though staff can access all rooms, you will need to keep your card secure, as it can take time to replace it. If you would like one, we have lanyards for keeping your card safe, just ask our ward administrator.

Your room is your space, and we know how important it is to have somewhere where you can relax and feel safe.

However, there will be times when staff will need to clean your room and other times when they may need to search your room; so it is important that you don’t over fill it or allow it to become to untidy or cluttered. For this reason, each bedroom has a secure storage box in our store cupboard where you can keep personal belongings. Please note that once this is full, you will need to arrange storage privately for any belongings you can’t fit in your room or storage box, and that the hospital cannot fund this. When your belongings have been stored, please make sure you are given an accurate record of your property signed by the staff and you.

We have limited space for the storage of your personal food items, so please speak to your Key Worker about this.

Clean bed linen and towels are always available. We ask that you change your bed at least once a week. Please ask a member of the housekeeping / ward staff when you need fresh linen and towels.

 

Your community

Whitlingham Ward is a community and everyone who is connected to it deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.

You have the right to be consulted about your care and treatment options and to access our services without fear of abuse, threats or violence.

You have the responsibility to help ensure that everyone else is able to do the same. For this reason, the service users here ask everyone to remember that no one is here to be abused; verbal, emotional or physical abuse of anyone on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, or pregnancy and maternity is a crime and has no place here. If you feel you have been on the receiving end of such abuse, please speak to one of the team (whoever you feel most comfortable with) and we will help. If you feel that you need some support addressing your own behaviour or responses in this area, we can help, so let us know.

You have the right to feel safe while you are here, for this reason we have agreed that your room is for your use alone and that, therefore, no one should go in anyone else’s room. We have also agreed that due to the risks posed to vulnerable people that lending money and giving gifts will not happen; the only exception to this is Christmas.

You have the right to be offered effective care which is personal to you, for this to work you need to exercise your responsibility to engage with your recovery programme. We have a meeting every morning at 9am where we discuss our timetable, availability of escorts and any other business which we as a community need to be aware of. Although access to leave is not dependent on attending, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to facilitate it if you don’t. Staff are responsible for ensuring that it is safe for you to go on leave; your engagement with us makes this easier.

We have a community meeting every Thursday from 4pm to 5pm which has a formal agenda and minutes. You can see these in the Community Meeting folder in the sitting room, along with the agenda and minutes of our Service User Forum (SUF) which takes place monthly. This is chaired by a service user and is attended by service management, our consultant, our matron or deputy and either our ward manager or deputy.

With the exception of the items on page 6, the service users on Whitlingham have reviewed and agreed all our rights and responsibilities, and they all remain open for review via the SUF.

 

Your property

On arrival, your belongings will be stored until they are securely checked and logged in. This will be done with you within the first 24 hours of your arrival.

We encourage you to keep the following in your room:

• Toiletries (aerosols, glass perfume / aftershave bottles) need to be kept in your locker and can be accessed by the Ward Security Coordinator (SC)

• Personal items such as papers, letters / cards, books and magazines

On arrival, you will get your own locker in the communal area, in which you can keep toiletries. The SC will open your locker, as required. As some items are not allowed on the ward, you will also be allocated a locker in reception.

Items that are not allowed in your room:

• All aerosols (including aerosol deodorants)

• Glass

• Razors and blades, scissors, nail clippers and tweezers (these are kept locked in a sharps box which can be accessed by the SC)

• Steel toe-capped footwear

• Pornography (unless care-planned)

• Nail varnish / hair removal creams and hair dye

• High-heeled footwear

Items that are not allowed on the ward:

• Alcohol / Illegal drugs

• Any food stuffs that are not in their original manufacturers sealed packaging

• Blu Tack

• Camcorders / Cameras

• Chewing gum

• Flammable liquid

• Knives or weapons (of any description)

• Lighters / lighter fluid / matches

• Mobile phones / tape recorders / dictaphones

• Personal or laptop computers

• Steel toe-capped footwear or stilettoes

You may have personal jewellery like wedding rings and small chains; however, because everyone has the right to safety, some jewellery, such as large rings or hanging / hooped earrings, are not allowed on the ward.

 

Therapeutic programme

You have the right to be able to access treatment and care which meets your individual needs. In support of this, Whitlingham Ward has an extensive programme of therapeutic activities, which has been developed by the service users and staff.

Artwork is displayed around the ward and you will also be asked to agree your own timetable, which will outline those sessions you need to attend as part of your recovery programme.

You may also have sessions with someone from the psychology team, they will arrange these with you on an individual basis, and they will ask you to make sure that you don’t arrange other sessions or leave at the same time.

 

Your care

The Ward is staffed by a multidisciplinary team:

• Consultant Psychiatrist

• Senior Trainee Doctor

• Core Trainee Doctor (Whitlingham is one of many placement options for core trainees and we may not always host one)

• Psychologist

• Clinical Team Leader

• Charge Nurses

• Occupational Therapist

• Registered Nurses

• Physical Health Nurse

• Assistant Psychologist

• Occupational Therapist TI

• Fitness TI

• Assistant Practitioners

• Clinical Support Workers

• Social Worker

You have the right to be central to your care, and you will meet with the multi-disciplinary team once a fortnight at Clinical Review to discuss how things are going and make plans. This takes place on Tuesdays and your Key Worker can tell you when your first one will be. Before each clinical review, you should get the opportunity to meet with your Key Worker and prepare your Clinical Review report.

Your treatment is planned using the Care Programme Approach (CPA). We use the 20 CPA standards which are included at the end of this document. As part of our commitment, you will be invited to review your care every three months with all those involved. Your Key Worker can explain how this works.

Your medication

Medication is administered four times per day at: • 8am • 5:30pm • 12.30pm • 9.30pm

Some medications are prescribed for use as required (PRN). There are restrictions on how this can be used, but staff can explain this to you. Nursing staff are not able to administer PRN medication if it falls outside the restrictions on your prescription chart. We encourage you to take responsibility for engaging with this aspect of your recovery and to attend at the times above.

As part of our commitment to supporting your independence, you can work towards self-medication. Our self-medication plan enables you to keep your medication in a secure locker in your room and manage it yourself. 

 

One-to-ones

You have the right to be offered one-to-one time with a member of staff every shift. Sometimes this will be with your Key Worker and may be an extensive session of care-planning or reviewing a risk assessment; however, even if they are on duty, your Key Worker may not be able to do your one-to-one. These sessions are primarily an opportunity for you to catch up with staff as opposed to a formal therapeutic session and may include support with activities, playing games or tidying your room etc.

Leave

Your right to access leave is defined by the Mental Health Act and will be agreed between you and the multi-disciplinary team. It is the responsibility of the person in charge of each shift to satisfy themselves that it safe for you to access leave. The process for this should be in your care plan.

Smokefree

Hellesdon Hospital and its grounds are a Smokefree area; however, e-burn disposable e-cigarettes are permitted in the Whitlingham courtyard garden which is open at the following times during the day:

• Monday to Thursday: 6am - 11pm,

• Friday to Saturday: 6am - midnight,

• Bank Holidays: 6am to midnight.

If you think you may want to give up smoking there are specially trained staff available to give you advice and support with this.

Television

There is a large television in the day area and one smaller television in the quiet room, but many service users have their own TV in their bedroom; please feel free to speak to us about arranging to buy one.

Television is available between 6am and 11pm Monday to Thursday and Sunday and midnight on Friday and Saturday. If you have started to watch a film / programme that finishes outside of these times you may be able to continue to watch it, this is negotiated with the person in charge of the shift.

There are DVD players and a Wii Console for your use. All films and games are permitted, including 18 certificates, although these can only be watched in your own room and must be approved by staff before watching.

Films and games will need to be approved by staff prior to use and pirate DVDs are not permitted at any time.

Money

You can keep up to £50 on the ward at any one time and up to £10 on your person. The remaining £40 will be kept in the ward safe.

Visitors

You have the right to receive visitors, but we have limited facilities for this, so you are responsible for arranging your visits in advance. We generally need at least 24 hours’ notice of any visits so that we can book the family room which is shared with Rollesby Ward. There are exceptional circumstances where we may need to cancel a visit, these are: an emergency on the ward that requires all staff to attend or the member of staff who is with you becoming concerned that visit is having a detrimental effect.

The length of any visit needs to be agreed in advance so that we can plan staff to support you during it. It is also important to remember that we can’t facilitate visits during session times which are between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. If you have visitors who need to travel long distances, we can facilitate longer visits and visits in session times, but we do need advance notice.

We can’t have visitors on the ward, but where you have the required leave, you and your visitors can go into the grounds, village or city; however, visitors are expected to follow the Trust Smokefree policy as described above.

Child visits are only permitted in the designated family visiting room; there is an NHS policy on child visits which can place restrictions on children visiting the ward, and your Key Worker or associate will go through it with you when arranging for any child visits. All gifts from visitors need to be checked by the SC before entering the ward.

Carers

We appreciate that this can be a stressful and upsetting time for relatives and carers and we hope that the information in this pack will be of some help to anyone close to you and, for this reason, your carers will be offered a copy of this booklet.

Our carer’s lead, can be contacted on the main ward telephone number, and when she is not available, a message can be left for her on the same number, but any member of the team will be happy to do whatever they can to help with any queries you may have.

If you have any clinical questions, each service user on Whitlingham Ward has a Key Worker who is responsible for co-ordinating their care while they are with us, they will be able to answer most questions you may have, and are likely to be the person you hear from most. The Data Protection Act protects the rights of people in hospital to control who we share information with and is explained fully later on.

While you are here, your carers can access our Carer’s Support Group, details which are displayed in Reception and are available from staff on the ward.

Who can help me?

The Named Nurse is: ..............................

Payphone: 01603 421355

Telephone Number: 01603 421936

Visiting Times

Visiting times are between 6pm and 7pm each evening. This restriction is necessary so that we can plan staffing and ensure that our therapeutic programme is not disrupted. We can offer flexibility with times, so please speak to the team if you need to make other arrangements for a visit.

Clinical Review:

Consultant / Doctor .......................

Ward Manager .......................

Service Manager .......................

Room Searches

As part of our responsibility to manage risk and maintain everyone’s safety, we are required to carry out random room searches. These are done on a weekly basis or when the multi-disciplinary team or person in charge feel that it is necessary.

You will be informed of this prior to any search starting and you will also be informed of your rights in relation to searches and consent. We encourage you to be present during the search. Any items which are not permitted will be removed and stored appropriately.

On occasion, if we believe that contraband items have been brought onto the ward, we may need to search the whole ward; staff on duty will explain why this is required and how it will be done. This means that no-one can go out on leave, see visitors or leave their bedrooms until the whole ward has been thoroughly searched. As you can understand, a search of the ward can take considerable time to complete, sometimes a whole day.

Meals

You have the right to receive a balanced and nutritious diet. Meals are served in the dining room: • Breakfast: 8.15am • Tea: 5pm • Lunch: 12 midday • Supper: 9pm

Bedtimes • Monday to Thursday: 11 pm • Sunday: 11 pm • Friday to Saturday: 12 pm

Hot Drinks

There is a hot water dispenser in the dining room. This is a lockable device and you may need to ask staff to unlock it if you need hot water, all staff have a key.

We provide a limited quantity of tea and coffee but you have your own as well. We also provide Horlicks in the evening.

Laundry Room

There is a laundry room with washing machine, tumble dryer and sinks for hand washing. You will need to provide your own washing powder etc., but there is secure storage for it. If you do not have washing powder when you first arrive on the ward, we do have some in stock, which you can use until you are able to get some. If you need help to use the washing machine or tumble dryer, please do not hesitate to ask.

Your laundry is your responsibility, please don’t leave it in the machines when they have finished their cycle as other people may be waiting to use them.

CPA standards

The following service user defined CPA (Care Programme Approach) standards were developed by the i4i Network, in conjunction with the Yorkshire and Humber SCT, by service users and staff from secure services across the Yorkshire and Humber region. The standards were developed because service users wanted a more ‘person-centred approach’ to CPA and to be more involved in the process.

As a result of these standards, as a service user, you can expect the following:

1. You should be included in all parts of your CPA meeting. In exceptional circumstances, where there is third party information to be discussed, you may not be involved. Where possible, you should be informed this is happening.

2. As far as possible your service will try to meet your needs when selecting the venue for your meeting. Prior to the meeting you will have the opportunity to discuss and agree the choice of venue. This will include:

• Choosing the room and its size

• Visiting the room before to discuss the layout

• Choosing where people will sit

3. You will discuss, negotiate and agree with your care co-ordinator / primary nurse who should be invited to your CPA meeting and ensure that plenty of notice is given to everyone. The primary nurse has an important role in making this happen. Together you will make a joint decision on how to move forwards if people are unable to attend. You will also be given the opportunity to send out invites to the meeting in your name. This includes letters to your carers (with admin assistance).

4. Any cancellation of the CPA meeting should be done with yourself and your carers, wherever possible. If it is not possible for the CPA meeting to take place, another date will be made with you as soon as possible.

5. You and your care co-ordinator will talk through and agree a plan for the meeting – your primary nurse will help with this. Extra items can be added by either party.

6. You should be made aware of the advocacy service and have the choice for advocacy support within the CPA process and meeting.

7. All reports will be written with your involvement, including future planning / discharge planning, at least one week before the meeting.

8. You will have the opportunity to attend ward round / MDT meeting nearest to your CPA meeting to discuss any issues which may arise at the CPA meeting.

9. You will have the chance to present your own views in your chosen format (written, verbal, etc.). This will be done in time to go in to the CPA pack.

10. The chair of the CPA meeting is currently the care coordinator or your nominated individual, however this may change in the future to include your wishes, for example; you may want to chair the meeting or continue to nominate a member of your clinical team.

11. You should have the chance to discuss how you would like to meet everybody before the meeting. You should have the opportunity to meet everyone invited informally over coffee immediately prior to the meeting.

12. You can choose how the meeting will be arranged. This might include:

• How and when people enter the room

• Where different people are invited to sit

• Decide on which way reports are presented and in which order

• A joint decision will be made when you want to respond to reports and issues arising from them - you and the service you are in will develop a checklist to help with this

13. The people who write the reports should do everything in their power to be at the meeting.

14. At the end of the meeting there should be an agreement on what everyone feels is the action plan and there should be clearly identified people for each goal or action point, with clear timescales. The date for the next CPA meeting should be agreed at this point and important people who are necessary to attend should be identified (see point 2). A five minute break for you to gather your thoughts and ideas before devising your future plans / goals should be included in the meeting at your chosen point.

15. After the CPA meeting you should be shown a copy of the final draft report. At this point you have the opportunity to add your views about anything you disagree with to the report. You will be told if the report is to be done by a certain date.

16. People who are reading or summarising the reports should talk to you directly, and not over you, making sure you feel included.

17. All reports should be written in straight forward language avoiding jargon.

18. Paper and pens will be available at the meeting for everybody.

19. All people present at your CPA meeting will be respectful of each other and their roles – and will behave in a respectful manner within the meeting.

20. You and your carers will be given a questionnaire after the CPA meeting to be sure that these standards are being met.

 

Whitlingham Ward, Hellesdon Hospital, Drayton High Road, Norwich NR6 5BE

Tel: 01603 421936

Customer Services

Our Customer Services team provide confidential advice, information and support, helping you to answer any questions you have about our services or about any health matters.

If you would like this leaflet in large print, audio, Braille, alternative format or a different language, please contact Customer Services and we will do our best to help. Email: customer.service@nsft.nhs.uk or call Freephone: 0800 279 7257

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust values and celebrates the diversity of all the communities we serve. We are fully committed to ensuring that all people have equality of opportunity to access our service, irrespective of their age, gender, ethnicity, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership or social and economic status.

Trust Headquarters: Hellesdon Hospital Drayton High Road Norwich NR6 5BE

Telephone: 01603 421421

Website: nsft.nhs.uk

Twitter: @NSFTtweets

Facebook: NSFTrust

The booklet has been co-produced by service users and staff on Whitlingham ward. © April 2018. NSFT. Leaflet code: 18/081 Review date: March 2021. GFX: 6036