We regularly ask questions on behalf of the public to the people in charge of local health and social care services.
Here you can search what questions have previously been asked and read the answers provided by the local services.
Browse Questions and Answers
What background checks to Nurses have before being offered a job?
We can confirm that nurses do have DBS checks.
Evidence of right to work in UK and we ask for three forms of different identity documents one of which must be photo evidence and at least one proof of current address.
Based on the evidence provided we request the barring lists to be checked depending on where they are being appointed to. The remaining information needed is obtained during the electronic application process e.g. previous addresses, name. The application form asks about any convictions, cautions etc, the mandatory questions also ask the same and we make notes of the information disclosed at interview.
All preferred candidates fill in a declaration which asks about convictions and there is a section for a full explanation to be given.
If the disclosure comes back with information on it about previous history a form is sent to the candidate for details, which will be presented to a Disclosure panel.
The panel consists of a senior clinical member of staff, a HR representative, a member of senior management and a HR Lead or above.
The incident and candidates comments are discussed and the references read. A decision is then made whether the person would be suitable for the role. If there are any concerns or the candidate is to be turned down a record is made. All candidates are issued with a letter to advise the outcome of the meeting. These meetings are held once a month.
We also receive referrals from agencies who supply us with staff.
How does LPT staff raise concerns about other members of staff? Is there any support for them? Is this reflected in any policies by LPT?
Staff have a number of routes through which they can raise concerns about other staff and they are supported to do so. Full details are included in the Whistleblowing Policy and all staff also have a ‘credit card’ that lists all the various routes to raise issues as well as sources of support for staff including Amica (staff counselling), anti-bullying helpline, Trade Unions etc.
This information is also included in the staff handbook. We ask staff in our annual survey and in our quarterly FFT/Pulse surveys if they know how to raise concerns and whether they would be happy to do so. Results of the most recent FFT/Pulse Survey (Sept 2015) indicate that 95% of staff know how to raise concerns and 85% would feel secure to do so.
This is significantly higher than the national average (and the LPT average) reported in the 2014 National Staff Survey. As part of the Sir Robert Francis ‘Freedom to Speak Up report, we have developed an e-learning package to raise awareness amongst staff of how to raise concerns and we will be appointing a ‘Guardian’ who will be another source of support for staff who have concerns about patient care.
What are LPT doing to safeguard and support patients when they raise a complaint about LPT staff?
How does LPT encourage patients to put a complaint through if they feel are being treated badly?
The importance of supporting people to make complaints is first addressed during staff corporate induction. Each service encourages their patients/carers to complain by displaying posters and leaflets advising how they can make a complaint. Our LPT website also contains advice on how to put forward a complaint.
Following the last CQC visit the complaint process has been completely redesigned with help and advice from representatives from Healthwatch. The complaints leaflet has been redesigned and we have also launched a complainant satisfaction survey so that we can gain an understanding of patients’ experience of making complaints to learn and further improve.
We endeavour to comply with NHSLA guidance that complaints do not go into case records, which should help to alleviate patients anxiety around feeling discriminated against. We also give the complainant a choice of where the response is sent to e.g. if the complainant is a current inpatient they can choose whether the response is sent to home or the ward.
Our PALS service offers patients/carers help and support independent of the service they may have a concern with and patient/carer leaflets with PALS contact details on are widely available.
When we acknowledge complaints we make patients/carers aware of the POhWER NHS complaints advocacy service which is independent of LPT – the following line is taken from the acknowledgement letter sent to the complainant:
The Trust would like to assure you that your care will not be compromised as a result of you making a complaint. If you are concerned, at any point in the process, that your care has been adversely affected as a result of you raising your concerns please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). You will find enclosed a copy of our Complaints and PALS leaflets and an NHS Complaints Advocacy leaflet for your information.
Verbal complaint forms are available on the intranet and internet that allow anyone to make a complaint, supported by staff if required.
What is being done about the shortage of Mental Health Nurses and shortage of beds? What is the future for the CAMHS unit at Coalville hospital?
On 24 March 2015, the CAMHS In-patient unit known as Oakham House formally closed. The closure was the final part of the LPT Towers Site land sale agreement that had been made with Redrow Housing, who were the purchasers and developers of the site.
On 24 March, young people who had been patients at Oakham House, were transferred to a newly refurbished in-patient facility at Ward 3, Coalville Community Hospital.
The move from Oakham House to Ward 3 Coalville, was a like to like move for a temporary period, with existing provision for 10 patients in dormitory style accommodation continuing to be provided.
To facilitate the transfer of services from Oakham House to Ward 3 Coalville, the project team worked closely with LPT Communications team to ensure all stakeholders were informed regularly of the move. This included updates on the trust website, local radio and written communication to key stakeholders. Young people and families who were patients at Oakham House were kept informed of the room regularly through ward rounds, and through printed documents such as floor plans and mock up designs of rooms being hung up in the communal areas in Oakham House. An open day was held on Friday 20th March 2015, where families, carers, partners from Local Authority, Police,0 40EMAS, Healthwatch and Coalville Hospital Patients Forum were in attendance.
We are sorry if the family concerned did not feel they were adequately informed of the move. We recognised the importance of keeping open Oakham House for admissions prior to the move to limit the number of young people being placed out of area, and we are sorry if that during the initial stay at Oakham House, the move was not clearly shared with the young person and their family.
We recognise that Ward 3 at Coalville is limited in certain aspects of provision, namely that the refurbishment was unable to provide single ensuite bedrooms, which we know, is something young people and their families feel is important. The clinical team, work hard to ensure that the privacy of the young person is respected within the confines of their treatment, and young people have reported they welcome the support they get from their peers on the ward.
In November 2014 the All Party Parliamentary Review on CAMHS In-patient beds published a health enquiry following a review of the provision of CAMHS in-patient beds across England and Wales. This enquiry noted that there were insufficient beds for the demand. NHS England who are responsible for the commissioning of CAMHS beds having been reviewing provision, and are planning to commence procurement process in 2016 to ensure sufficient bed provision is available. We work hard with other clinical CAMHS in-providers within the East Midlands to ensure we regularly share our occupancy levels, and with the national bed management tool this aids us within identifying beds that are closer to home if we are unable to accommodate at Ward 3.
If a patient is suffering from agoraphobia (extreme or irrational fear of open or public places) how can they access medication if their GP refuses to write them a prescription? Can they be referred to a community team? What are the processes?
It is difficult to give a full response without further information to understand why the GP might feel it inappropriate to prescribe further medication or to make a home visit, and no knowledge of whether the GP and patient have communicated via telephone.
We can say that if the patient is already open to our services they can request a home visit from a member of our team by contacting their mental healthcare professional or via their GP. They could then be assessed for possible referral for CBT to support them with their agoraphobia. A referral to the specialist service can be made by their LPT healthcare professional or their GP.
If they are not already open to our services they could make a request that the GP refer them to community mental health services for assessment.
What services are available for younger people (under 65 years old) with Dementia/ Alzheimer’s within Leicestershire and how would they access them?
The Young Onset Dementia Assessment Service (YODAS) which replaces Younger Person’s Memory Service (YPMS) within the Mental Health Service for Older People (MHSOP), commenced in March 2015. YODAS offers a specialised, hospital-based assessment service for people under the age of 65 years with cognitive impairment and/or memory problems, suspected to be due to a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The service is aimed to provide a specialist diagnostic assessment service, clinic-based, for people between the ages of 40 and 65, presenting with cognitive problems, suspected to be due to a dementia. Following assessment and diagnosis, the care of the patients will be transferred to the locality MHSOP memory services or CMHT for cholinesterase inhibitors or other pharmacological intervention and further clinical inputs, if they have progressive dementia. Those with mild cognitive impairment and non-progressive conditions will be discharged back to primary care. People with any underlying medical or psychiatric disorders other than dementia will be referred back to respective services for further treatment.
What types of treatment does the Crisis Resolution Home Treatments team provide?
The Crisis Service will provide assessment and treatment to adults (16 and over) who are experiencing a severe mental health problem with an acute crisis of such severity that, without the involvement of a Crisis Service, automatic hospitalisation would be necessary. There would be a breakdown of normal coping strategies, which may affect social, physical and emotional function.
We provide a home treatment service to people using a range of therapeutic and treatment options as appropriate based on individual need.
These can include:
- Anxiety management
- Aspects of problem solving
- Sleep hygiene
- Challenging negative thoughts
- Development of recovery plans
- Medication review and monitoring,
- Medication education
- Occupational therapy (provided by trained OT staff working in the crisis team)
- Social care (provided by trained social workers working in the crisis team)
The interventions provided by the service will be intensive, short-term and focus on the safety, well-being and empowerment of the person and their carer/family during the period of crisis.
If a person contacts the Crisis Resolution Team and is informed by them to present at the Emergency Department, what sort of support should they expect?
If a person presents themselves at the emergency department they will be guided to the urgent care centre, which is a safe location where the person will be triaged by a health professional. Should they need to see a mental health professional, then they will see a registered professional for a mental health triage assessment. A further assessment may be undertaken if the patient presents as particularly unwell. The mental health practitioner will then arrange the most appropriate course of action for this patient which maybe GP support, home treatment from the crisis team or admission to an inpatient unit.
How do you demonstrate due regard with specific emphasis on trans-gender and gender variant clients and provide for any physical attributes that may cause determination in their mental health.
Through the Equality impact assessments and equality analysis are you able to demonstrate a robust approach to equality
The Trust has a dedicated resource for undertaking Due Regard process (equality impact assessments).
Due Regard (equality analysis) is the mechanism by which the Trust seeks to ensure that its functions, policies, processes and practices do not have an adverse impact on any person described in the Equality Act 2010; age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation, as well as those not listed.
The Public Sector Equality Duty seeks to simplify the process. The aim is to reduce bureaucracy whilst seeking to ensure that organisations consider the three aims of the Equality Duty as an integral part of decision making in respect of service and employment policy, practice and process changes.
These three aims are to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act
- Advance equality of opportunity between people of the same group and people from different groups; and
- Foster good relations between people of the same group and people from different groups.
Due Regard will be used as a tool to help the Trust make fair, sound and transparent decisions that are based on a robust understanding of the needs and rights of the groups and individuals who access our services or are in employment with the Trust. LPT has developed a rigorous due regard process.
There are two stages to the due regard process, which are:
- Part A Initial screening template (complete this to identify whether a full Equality Analysis is required)
- Part B Full analysis must be undertaken if identified following the initial screening process.
The Equality team will provide support, guidance and advice to managers on the Due Regard process. We also have resources available to support staff such as the:
- Flow chart
- Fact sheet
- Templates
- Policy and guidance
- Training
- One to one support
Why are there so few CAMHS in-patient beds at Coalville hospital? What plans are in place for an appropriate provision to be established?
Leicestershire Partnership Trust was funded to provide ten CAMHS inpatient beds at Oakham House. The service moved to Ward 3 Coalville Hospital in March 2015 and the same level of funding continued. With respect to future plans, LPT is currently exploring the long-term future for CAMHS inpatient service and discussing these with Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland stakeholders.
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