I sit here preparing to take one of the biggest leaps forward I have ever made since I began my career within mental health services but the question I would like to ask is how often we stand back and take notice of what we have been creating along our way to providing care with compassion that reaches beyond the needs of those we support.
Over the past three years I have seen my confidence grow in a number of ways, from first embarking on my exploration of the world that Twitter opens up, meeting those who have supported me on those first tentative steps into the social media world. I find myself blogging following a little nudge from our Trust Communications Team, more and more I find invites to different events and people looking to me for input or to provide the odd presentation and believe you me they can be a little bit odd.
#FabChangeDay falls on Wednesday October 19th 2016 and this year the grassroots movement that has grown from the original #NHSChangeDay, which in 2013 was the biggest day of collective day of action for improvement in the history of the NHS, and this creative force have formed a partnership with The Academy for Fab NHS Stuff; the academy if you dare to browse a little will provide you with a wealth of examples of excellent practice across all sectors and this year #FabChangeDay is aiming to make this bond of cross sector working stronger with a wide number of projects already taking shape for launch on the day itself.
I first joined the #NHSChangeDay campaign when I launched the #PhysicalYou program which has morphed into something different but those original ideas have grown into changes within the service that we offer and recognition of good practice from the CQC for the work that has been completed by our hospital team working in partnership with the local Community Dental Specialist Team.
It’s time to begin the celebrations of all things that are good within mental health and now is our opportunity to do this. During the day we will be sharing our plans for the trust Care Maker team whilst sharing development opportunities that are part of these plans and also open to those of the wider trust. We will be exploring the benefits of engaging with those we support in how we develop the service we offer and looking at how co-production and co-creation can make a real difference.
36 days and counting until the dawn of my first ever health event and to be brutally honest I feel a certain amount of anxiety about stepping so far out of my comfort zone but the one thing I have learnt is that this is where learning will really begin.
Places are limited and filling rapidly, I look forward to bringing together those that are passionate about health with those with the drive to create positive change and see what happens when powerful forces of this kind collaborate on all things mental health. The future is ours and I feel we have exciting times ahead so please feel free to jump on board and enjoy the ride.
Creating connections is one of the things that has supported me in growing my knowledge in mental health and the wider health service, an understanding that I will share at every opportunity with the hope of seeing those I walk alongside feel that same confidence that I feel when stood in front of an audience of my peers or when entering a potentially volatile situation to see it through to a peaceful conclusion. Connections are there for a reason, to be utilised for all things positive and available to support when the time is right; when we feel connected we feel able to celebrate and the more we feel connected the louder those celebrations become. There is a big world out there if you dare to explore, a world that will connect you with others in ways that you could never have imagined.
Come let us begin that journey, connect with the world around us to develop something that is important to us all and celebrate our achievements in whichever way feels right to you.
Caremaker Progress 