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Annual Reports
CHAIR'S REPORT BERIS DREW Once again, a very busy year. As mentioned at last year's AGM, we have been through the process of the National Mind Quality Review. This has been an onerous task for our management staff and has taken many hours of resource throughout the year. The report has now been submitted to National Mind and we are awaiting the results in the New Year. My heartfelt thanks to all who participated in this exercise. We recognise that the coming year will be difficult with the tightening of budgets in the light of the current financial crisis and local authorities having their budgets cut. However, we are confident that we are in a good position to deal with this and will make every effort to continue to provide the excellent service which we offer our clients. We will be working more closely with other charitable organisations in Swindon, with the aim of being more effective when working together. Swindon Mind continues to provide Benefit to the Public in many ways and we achieve this by various means. Examples of these are:
In conclusion, I have to tell you that Kathleen Aitken, Swindon Mind Manager, has decided it is time for her to retire and will be leaving us in the early part of 2012. Kathleen has been a tower of strength to the organisation for 20 years. She has always done her utmost to ensure that the people get the best possible service and has worked tirelessly and well beyond her contracted hours. Service users and staff can rest assured that the Committee is dedicated to finding a replacement for Kathleen who will carry on the good work and, with this in Mind, we are working with a management consultant to guide us through this process. I have found that working with Kathleen has been an inspiration and feel privileged to have done so over the time I have been involved with Swindon Mind. I know that many of you will be sad to see her go, as will I, but I know that she will depart with our good wishes for a very well deserved happy retirement. A very happy Christmas and New Year to everyone! Beris Drew Chair December 2011 Manager’s Report 2010-2011 Kathleen Aitken Manager The last year has been exceptionally challenging, mainly because of issues over our funding. All our contracts were due to end in March 2011 so we expected consultation to take place in 2010 to inform the funders of the way forward. Instead, no meaningful consultation took place so we joined with other Third Sector organisations to campaign against the Council putting our contracts out to tender until this was rectified. The service users were fully involved in the campaign and even appointed a solicitor to inform the Council that Judicial Review would follow if a proper process was not followed. Fortunately, earlier this year, new Adult Care Commissioners were appointed and since then common sense has prevailed. Our contracts have been extended until March 2012 with the strong possibility of a further extension until March 2013. Along with another Third Sector Manager, I am now supporting the Mental Health Commissioner to develop a process for consulting stakeholders. This Consultation will begin shortly and the outcome will enable the Commissioners to decide which services should be funded in future. The time spent on the funding campaign has been extremely stressful and exhausting, especially for service users. However, the Commissioners now seem committed to carrying out structured consultation and they also seem keen to build good relationships with the Third Sector. This is to be welcomed. The issue over the funding highlighted the need for our organisation to explore more diverse funding streams. In order to address this, Mind has become a member of a Group called Swindon Charities Working Together (SCWT). The aim of the group is to apply jointly for appropriate tenders. We hope this will allow us to apply for a broader range of contracts. As well as working with the SCWT group, we work in partnership with other organisations. For example, our Finance worker and I are closely involved with a new project called Horizons Wellbeing Centre. The project aims to use the skills and strengths of workers and volunteers in the community to deliver its services. In addition, I work in partnership with the Chair of Bristol Mind to deliver training courses called Mental Health First Aid. Our staff also work with AWP Mental Health Trust staff to run the Crisis House. Our services have continued to grow and develop over the last year despite the difficulties. We deliver the IMHA* service and the IMCA** staff are now responsible for the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding service in addition to their original duties. Some of our project workers have been providing an Outreach service and one of our workers who is now a qualified CAB adviser is making good use of her skills. In order to maintain high standards, we provide monthly training for all staff on a wide range of issues. For example, all our project workers are trained in using a solution-focussed approach with people and are now using the Recovery Star as well. The latter works well for some people but not everyone so it is important that our staff develop a range of skills and techniques and this is what we aim to do. The result is that staff skills are transferable, enabling them to work flexibly across the organisation. *Independent Mental Health Advocate **Independent Mental Capacity Advocate We also arrange appropriate external training. Over the last year, four of our staff have gained professional qualifications. Anne and Denise were awarded a Diploma for IMCA, DOLS, *** IMHA and Advocacy. Stephanie and Suzanne were awarded a Certificate for IMHA and Advocacy. I would like to congratulate all of them on their success. Another two workers, Donna and Elaine, will shortly be attending training in preparation for gaining similar qualifications. I would like to thank the staff because despite the pay freeze and the uncertainty over funding they have continued to deliver the same standard of services. I would also like to thank the volunteers, who bring added value to the projects, for their continued support. This will be my last AGM as I am retiring from Mind in the New Year. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work for the organisation for the past twenty years and I hope that my successor continues to develop the services and enjoys the Management position as much as I have. *** Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding 
Stephanie Holt Deputy Manager Facing the Challenge The past year has been a very difficult year for all the workers because of the uncertainty of funding and tendering issues (see Manager’s report). However, despite this, they have shown a huge commitment to the organisation and have continued to provide a very high standard of service for our members, and I’d like to acknowledge their continued support and hard work. Advocacy/One-to-One Support It has also been a very challenging time for many of our service users. The reorganisation of the CMHTs resulted in many of them being discharged back to their GPs, leaving some with little or no support. Also, many of them have been put under extreme pressure because of stringent changes to the benefits system and the Government's push to get people on benefits back to work. The combination of these two factors has had a huge impact on our advocacy services. In the past year our CAB qualified worker and another advocate have provided over 90 sessions on benefits and financial advice, including support at benefit appeals, employment reviews and medical tribunals. In addition we have provided over 120 outreach sessions for service users who were unable to access support from elsewhere. Overall we have provided over 850 advocacy sessions for a range of issues, including CPAs, housing, medical appointments and at statutory meetings etc. IMHA/Ward Advocacy During 2010/11 our IMHA service provided 302 advocacy sessions, 135 to patients who were detained under the Mental Health Act, and 167 sessions of ward advocacy to informal patients. Most of the sessions were at Sandalwood Court, the local in-patient unit, but our advocates also supported patients at Marlborough House (CAMHS) and Windswept, the local in-patient rehab facility in the community. Mostly they supported patients at ward rounds and CPAs, and have helped raise a variety of issues including accessing section 17 leave, reduction of medication, requesting discharge from MH section, and offering support at MH Tribunals and Managers Meetings. And finally - four of our advocates completed their training and were all awarded an NVQ in Advocacy (we have yet to celebrate but there are plans to do so)! We also have two more workers doing the training and they should complete the course and be qualified by spring 2012. What's On Programme Our bi-monthly programme activities continues to be extremely popular, particularly activities like poker, life skills and the weekend daytime and evening trips. Over the last twelve months we have received 97 new referrals to the What’s On and our Membership database now holds over 300 current members. Crisis House In October we celebrated 5 years at Oak Lodge with former guests and AWP staff. Our staff work split shifts, evening shifts, weekend shifts, even working Christmas and Boxing Days! This dedication and commitment plus a high level and wide range of skills has helped to make Oak Lodge really successful. This year we had 129 referrals, the highest number since Oak Lodge opened, and about 40% were guests that were new to the service. We continue to work in partnership with AWP, and there has been a marked increase in the number of referrals from Applewood, who are regularly using Oak Lodge as step-down facility, and from the Crisis Team. However most of our referrals come from the CMHTs, and guests are referred for a number of different reasons including anxiety, recent trauma, low mood and to give their family a break. Oak Lodge is a very unique service, and we get visits from other areas and organisations wanting to see how we operate. However, despite the very obvious benefit to guests, their families and the statutory services we are constantly under pressure for funding, and despite running a 365 day service for a very small amount of money we have no idea how much longer we will be able to keep the service open. However we will endeavour to provide this very necessary facility for as long as we can. 
And finally - a message to Kathleen Kathleen – I’ll miss you. Thank you for your support, encouragement and guidance over the last 18 years. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me. Thank you for the laughter. Enjoy your retirement. IMCA Denise Jackson The Independent Mental Capacity Advocate service (IMCA) provides independent safeguards for people who lack capacity to make certain decisions and who, at the time such decisions need to be made, have no-one else other than paid staff to support or represent them or to be consulted. We have had a very busy time since the last AGM, dealing with an ever increasing number of referrals. Overall in the last year we have received 109 referrals, which is double that received the previous year, and we have a current caseload of 24 cases. An example of an IMCA case is:- Our client was an elderly woman who had lived a very independent life before her admission to hospital. She had one daughter she was no longer in contact with and did not want her to be consulted. The client was in hospital after having had part of her lower leg amputated and the wound had become infected. She was refusing to let the nurses treat the wound, refusing medication, occupational therapy and most food. The ward doctor was extremely concerned that if they could not treat the wound then the patient would die. The patient was assessed as not having capacity to make the decision as to whether or not they could treat her wound. The IMCAs visited the woman several times to build up a rapport with her, spending time talking about her life and interests in an effort to help understand her present and past thoughts, feelings and wishes. By using our time getting to know the client we were able to learn that she had been an athlete and enjoyed sports. She shared with us the facts that she cared greatly about her personal appearance, choosing to put her 'lippy' on in the mornings, she loved chocolate and Arsenal FC. She also told us she loved Peter André and had with her a signed photograph of him. It became clear to us that our client was still coming to terms with her altered mobility and body image. She found it difficult to accept let alone talk about her amputation and she didn't even like to use the word 'amputation'. We found that the reason she was refusing hospital food was that previously she had always eaten cold food such as sandwiches, fruit and chocolate. Once this was communicated to the ward team they were able to provide a more suitable personal diet. We also learnt that the client did want the hospital to provide treatment as she didn't want to die, but she had a phobia about needles and didn't know how to get around this. We discussed the problem with nursing staff and found our client could be given an oral medication so that her fears could be dampened and she could then have her wound treated. Through IMCA involvement in this case the staff at the hospital were enabled to understand the patient and in return the patient was able to benefit from receiving the care she needed. In fact the relationship developed so well she became quite a little star! Sadly, we have had to say goodbye to Anne Easter, who retired at the beginning of this month. Anne has been a great asset to the IMCA service, with her years of nursing experience, extensive knowledge base and her natural ability to connect with everyone she meets. Anne will be greatly missed, but she will be providing regular supervision and support to the IMCAs. We also have to welcome a new IMCA, Donna Lovell. Donna has worked for Swindon Mind as bank staff for the last five years while she studied for a doctorate in psychology. Donna is looking forward to continuing the good work that Anne has been doing. IMHA - Advocacy on the Ward Suzanne Baxter I am a qualified IMHA (Independent Mental Health Advocate) and attend ward rounds on Applewood at Sandalwood Court, our local Mental Health in-patient unit. As an IMHA I support patients who are sectioned under the Mental Health Act and I also offer general mental health advocacy to informal patients. When I arrive on the ward I collect the list of patients who are going to see the doctor at ward round that morning and introduce myself, asking each patient if they would like any support at their ward round. I also introduce myself to any new patients. Patients who are very unwell may find it very difficult to trust new people so I may introduce myself several times before they are comfortable to talk to me about their issues, or ask to be supported in ward round. Others are more relaxed and trusting and are comfortable to talk the first time I meet them, and a few never talk or want any support. The main issues that patients usually want support with are asking for some time out of hospital on their own, increasing the amount of time out on their own, their concerns about medication - they may want more or less or they don’t feel it's working, and wanting to be discharged. 
When people leave hospital, over time they forget what has helped them to recover, for example things like certain medication, therapy, or maybe physical activities. They may forget that they worried about who would feed the cat or who would cancel the milk. At Mind we can help complete a ‘forward statement ‘, a form that people fill in when they are well so that they have a written plan of what needs to be organised if they ever become unwell, for example who’s going to walk the dog or feed the hamster, or maybe a certain medication that they were given that did not help, so if they became very unwell again they can request not to be given that medication. The document is then signed and a copy will be sent to the GP, their worker and their next of kin and can be used to ensure their wishes are considered if they became unwell again. Social Inclusion Worker Elaine Woulfe Well what can I say….I celebrated 10 years at Mind on the 2nd December and how time has flown and the organisation has changed, going from strength to strength and giving service users more one-to-one and practical help as well as the popular activities and drop-ins. Breakfast Club This is a very busy and successful group led by some brilliant volunteers - Sue Sanders, Cherry Masi and Tricia Kelk they all work really hard and the members enjoy the session so much – one member said to me that "It motivates me to get out of bed on a Monday morning". Obviously it's the irresistible lure of the lovely bacon & sausage sandwiches!! They also make alternatives for vegetarians e.g. eggs and beans on toast etc. This session can be very hectic but the volunteers cope with it well being assisted by Julian our Housekeeper/Admin support. Art Group These sessions run at Mind on Tuesdays from 1pm – 3pm. I have been truly astonished with the quality of work produced from this group and all who attend have varied abilities. It is so nice to see a group of people help and advise each other as well as being expertly taught by Carole Wakefield who sets new and challenging projects for the group. Special thanks go to Wilf Fiddes who ran the group when Carol was in Australia. Volunteering 
We currently have 16 volunteers – 4 are members of the public and 2 are Learning Ambassadors making it possible to work in partnership with Swindon Borough Council. Some volunteers have successfully achieved outside learning qualifications and volunteering opportunities. I would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers for all their hard work and commitment that they have shown to the organisation!! Fundraising Group (led by Kevin Burt) We have had another successful year of fundraising with our main event being held at Asda on the 10th September. Thanks to volunteers and members we were able to keep all three entrances manned all day. We managed to raise an incredible £367.95. In May we also held a table top sale outside the Mind building and raised £236.00 in celebration of Mind week and also used this opportunity to raise awareness of our services with the general public. Music Group "Understanding and enjoying music" I was thrilled when Jon Jo Higgins came to me about setting up a music group which is based on a basic level and is for people of all abilities. He has managed to secure £1000 funding from Swindon Borough Council to set up groups in the community. This group has been well supported and we hope to hear their progress at the AGM. Thank you Jon Jo for giving us this opportunity. Creative Writing I have had the pleasure of meeting a talented writer and poet called Michael Scott who has won the Battered Moons 2011 Swindon of Literature Poetry Competition and was interested in starting a group at Mind. This group is still in its early days and we hope to recruit many more members. From the people who have attended there has been very positive feedback that they are really enjoying the group. ESA Benefit and Appeals People who are currently on Incapacity benefit are being transferred to the new government benefit called Employment Support Allowance. This entails completing an ESA50 form and then being called for a medical assessment. This is done by ATOS an independent medical examining board who ask a variety of questions and dependant on what you have completed on your form and the answers you give depends on how many points you are awarded. You must qualify for 15 points to be awarded ESA. If you don’t get awarded 15 points you can take your case to appeal but you only have a month to do this. This appeal has to be supported by as much medical evidence as possible. This has been difficult for people who just see a GP (and sometimes not the same one) to obtain their medication meaning that the GP doesn't always know the patient personally. I have been to 6 appeals to date which all have been awarded ESA. But there are two groups to this benefit – the Work Related Activity Group which means that you will be expected to attend interviews at the Jobcentre to try and get you back to work. The Support Group element is for people who due to a severe physical or mental condition are not expected to return to work. I have also been helping people with housing benefit and DLA claim forms. 
This is a very anxious and worrying time for mental health service users, as the descriptors for people with mental health problems are hard to be met as people's functions can change from day to day. I hope I have supported people as much as possible to try and help them feel less anxious and worried about this new crazy benefits system!! I have been helped by very useful fact sheets issued by National Mind and the extensive reading of the Benefits and Work website. It has also been a worrying time for members because of the funding issues that have faced us and I would like to thank them for their continued support of the organisation and may we exist for many more years to come and continue to support people on their road to recovery!! Recovery Star Bridget Mwanakhu During 2011 staff at Swindon Mind were trained in using the Mental Health Recovery Star programme, which is designed to help members identify why they are in their present situation and what they can do about it. There are 10 'points' to the Recovery Star and the client is able to choose which particular points they feel are most relevant to them. The first session is usually really long as we spend time finding out more about the client and let them explore more about themselves such as their physical and mental health status, their social skills etc. The client is invited to score themselves from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) and then we work together to plan out what steps and actions they can take in order to look at developing ways to overcome weaknesses, build on inner strengths, increase their score and move up the ladder by accepting help and suggestions from staff, believing in themselves and taking small steps forward, with the long-term goal being to achieve self reliance in coping with their day-to-day state of mental health. Some people find the Recovery Star works really well for them and quickly reach a higher score but not everyone is able to reach their goals in the timescale set, and we are happy to work with these people at their pace until they are happy with the improvement they have made. Feedback from mental health workers about the work we are doing using the Recovery Star has been very positive and some of our clients have achieved positive results that far exceeded their initial expectations. Finance Report 2011 Hazel Cutts IT and Finance Worker We have had a difficult year with regards to our funding. In February we heard that our contracts would be extended from March until September this year. Unfortunately, the Crisis House budget was short by £5,000. We pursued this immediately without success. We then received another six month's extension until March 2012. Again the Crisis House budget was £5,000 short. We are still in discussions about the missing £10,000. The Commissioner has told us that the money will be found but the budget is so tight that we will shortly go into the red if the issue is not resolved very soon. Our accounts were submitted for audit and since they were in good order they were returned without any concerns being raised. Details and an attached copy have now been sent to the Charities commission to complete our Annual Return. Details of some of the budgets are listed below:
Admin Worker Julie Smith At the end of November we had a new telephone system installed as the old phones were worn out after around 5 years of use. This was just the last in a long line of essential equipment replacements that were made in the last year. 
I maintain an extensive database of statistical and feedback information, including attendance statistics, and from this we are
able to identify attendance trends. Our drop-in and activity sessions are still proving very popular and on average we get
16 people attending each day, although this ranges from up to 30 people coming in during a drop-in to a smaller but regular group
of people at the art session. All the comments from members and volunteers that are written on the feedback sheets (a
sample of which appear in this annual report) plus suggestions raised in the regular members' meeting are taken into account when
developing our services and planning future activities.
We would like to extend our thanks to:
Our thanks also go to Swindon Mind members Andrea Phillips and Michelle Bauldry who have kindly taken the time to proof-read this Annual Report. 
Aims and Objectives Swindon Mind aims to:
You can support Swindon Mind by:
1 Regent Circus Swindon SN1 1PN Tel: 01793 432031 Fax: 01793 436889 e-mail: swindonmind@btconnect.com www.swindonmind.org Registered Charity Number: 1002085 |
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| This page was last updated on 1st February 2012. |
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