Meeting the Farming Community Network in Powys

Mark Suthern, Chairman of the Farming Community Network

Earlier this autumn Freda Lacey (Senior Officer Health & Wellbeing team) and I joined the Farming Community Network for a Harvest Service of Thanksgiving and AGM at the Royal Welsh Showground near Builth Wells. This was the prelude to a 2-day national conference for the charity’s volunteers, staff and trustees.

Christopher Jones MBE founded FCN (then known as the Farming Crisis Network), in 1995. This followed two decades of falling farming prices in the 1980s and 90s, which led to a rise in the number of farmer suicides. Unfortunately, suicide cases in the farming community are still some of the highest recorded in the UK, and today the charity is increasingly called upon to support members of the farming community across England and Wales.

The PAVO mental health team first worked with David Williams, the FCN Regional Director for Wales, and himself a farmer in Monmouthshire, late last year. We hosted Ramble with a Big Cheese, a farming engagement activity in Powys, where we listened to people close to, or working within, the farming community to hear first-hand some of the current issues. Our aim is to make sure that people, not just farming families but support organisations, know where they can best access support and help around their mental health if they’re based in Powys.

Photo © Farming Community Network

Walking with farmers

FCN has a network of over 400 volunteers across England and Wales, many of whom are involved in farming, or have close links with agriculture, and therefore have a great understanding of the issues that farmers, farm workers and farming families regularly face. These volunteers provide free, confidential, pastoral and practical support to anyone who seeks help, regardless of whether the issue is personal or business-related. They will "walk with" anyone who seeks support and help them find a positive way through their problems - for as long as it is needed. Issues range from financial difficulties, animal disease, mental health and family disputes.

In addition to local groups of volunteers, FCN runs a confidential national helpline and an e-helpline, which is open every day of the year from 7am - 11pm (tel: 03000 111 999).

David welcomed us to the first FCN conference in Wales. He said, “We can live in our own bubble in the farming world and think that we are the only one with issues. But you will find that a lot of people are suffering and need the help that we supply.”

Dr Christianne Glossop, Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales

The FCN has its roots in Christian theology and ethics. One of the Mid Wales volunteers, the Reverend Ifor Williams (“I used to milk cows”) led the harvest service, whilst Dr Christianne Glossop, the Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales, spoke about the importance of faith to agricultural and rural communities.

FCN Chair, Mark Suthern, described a “period of history repeating itself.” First there was the agricultural revolution, when pioneers set about farming for the first time following centuries of a hunter-gathering lifestyle. During the Industrial Revolution many farmers were displaced by machines and switched to factory work in rapidly expanding urban areas. More recently there has been a Green Revolution, with new pesticides impacting on agriculture. And now we are in a digital and agri-tech led revolution – another massive period of change for the farming community.

The farmer of today has to be a finance expert, a frustrated engineer, a soil scientist, a stockman, a vet and an environmentalist all rolled into one.

Mark asked, “how do we help those frightened by a period of change? We need to harness our strengths and support people through this.” He talked us through the current challenges for FCN, gave a summary of last year’s casework, and highlighted in more detail some of the problems presenting.

David Williams, FCN Regional Director for Wales, addresses AGM guests

Planning for the future

Two of FCN’s vital tasks for the coming year are:

• To expand the helpline services.
• Training people to have confidence to engage in those important conversations with farming families.

Mark concluded by saying: “it is about transferring our values and beliefs to listen to farming families and help them through this long transition period where there are opportunities but also challenges.”

Powys FCN Volunteer Coordinator Pat Borland speaks at the Harvest Service

Farming Community Network volunteers

It was an excellent opportunity for us at PAVO to meet and find out more about some of the work that FCN volunteers are doing to support farming families. Some volunteers, with experience of farming and their own mental health issues, now give talks to local farming groups to raise awareness and reduce the stigma.

Whilst at the AGM I also met Mid Wales Volunteer Coordinator Pat Borland, who will be writing a separate blog post about the work she does supporting volunteers across Powys. Earlier this year Owen Griffkin, (Mental Health Participation Officer) went to the Farming Community Network’s Powys volunteers’ event and met with the people who deal with enquiries from farmers in crisis in Powys.

Some of the enquiries the volunteers receive can be wellbeing related and they said it would be good to have more information about specialised services in the area. Owen worked on an information pack specifically for the volunteers, with a handy info sheet with lots of local organisations featured. The idea is that the volunteers can have it ready-to-hand when on a call with somebody, so that they can quickly find the right help. We also collated leaflets from all the local groups (such as Ponthafren Association and the Mind centres across Powys) to help the volunteers find out more details about each organisation and what services they offer. 

We handed over the completed packs at the FCN’s AGM so that the volunteers can start using them straight away. David Williams, Wales’ Regional Director of FCN said, ‘I am sure this will be a very useful tool for the Powys group.’

If you want to find out more about volunteering with FCN in Powys then contact David by emailing: David@fcn.org.uk

If you need support, then ring the helpline no: 03000 111 999 (7am – 11pm daily) or email: help@fcn.org.uk

What is it???

The menopause and women's wellbeing

This week we feature a blog post by a new guest author from North Powys. The author writes about the impact of the menopause on women's daily lives.

The menopause is part of the natural ageing process for women. Commonly known as ‘the change.’

What is it? Not the physiological process, but …..what is it? Do we know? Women experience it in isolation, in silence and pretend to others around them that it is not even happening. Resulting in us all ‘going it alone’ and often thinking we are useless, incompetent, weak and always petrified someone will find out that we are not coping so well and on some days not coping at all!

So, why am I talking about this now? I am nearing the end of the process and watching other women around me going through it. All the signs are there to see - the mood swings, women being snappy, tearful or even displaying a strange vagueness when normally this is not the way they are. Then there is the loss of names of people or the names of everyday objects, general tiredness and the dreaded FLUSHES - like someone has lit a match inside you and the heat spreads and spreads until its unbearable!

And what do we do?…. we LIE!

We pretend we are OK.

We ignore it and in doing so, it becomes TABOO and not only is it hidden, we don’t support one another. Sometimes just to hear another women mentioning some silly thing that happened to them like -  “I couldn’t remember the word for hairbrush” - makes menopausal women feel better. Then they know this happens. Otherwise the silly thing becomes an enormous thing and women begin to think they have some type of dementia or a brain tumour or worse. You think I am being dramatic? I promise you I am not.

Grieving for your reproductive abilities, even if you never wanted children, or you didn’t want any more babies anyway!

And more...

• Writing endless lists because we are petrified our memory will fail us at work. 
• Dealing with all the physical things, like bleeding, sometimes for weeks, until finally your periods stop. Vaginal dryness, painful sex, hot flushes, brain fog, breast tenderness, lower sex drive, fatigue, feeling old and even urine leakage when coughing or sneezing. OH what it is to be a woman! 
• Dealing with the sadness, a depression that seems to have no cause, even when everything else in your life seems just fine. 

I have cried a lot, and still do some days. I was lucky, I had very few physical symptoms, but my memory was shot to pieces! The doctor told me it would return and you know what? It is… returning, even though I still look at someone I have known for years and think: “OH no, I can’t remember their name.”

Every woman experiences the menopause differently. Some have a terrible time, while some appear to sail through it, but what we all have in common is the "secretness". I do not even know if that is a real word but it’s how I describe society making women feel - ashamed of a natural process and trying desperately to hide it and then...  inadvertently not enabling us to help other women understand that what is happening to them is perfectly NORMAL.

The menopause needs to be regarded as a normal part of life, like pregnancy is, not a taboo subject. Little conversations about the menopause could normalise and encourage understanding of the subject and make life at work (and home) so much better.

So, celebrate your womanhood, celebrate your strength, even celebrate ‘the change’. Tell people about it. Oh, they might get embarrassed but they will have learnt something new about wonderful, amazing women and, you never know, one woman might go home thinking “Thank goodness, I am not going insane.” And one man might leave the building – thinking…

.... and here I am hiding in plain sight ANON.

“It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.” 

– Doe Zantamata

In 2017 The Wales TUC published its new report ‘The Menopause: a workplace issue’. The report, based on a survey of almost 4000 workers, found that 88% of women workers who've experienced the menopause felt it has an effect on working life, while around 6 in 10 had witnessed the issue being treated as a joke in the workplace. The survey also showed that only a very small number of workplaces have policies in place to support women who experience difficulties during the menopause.

If you need support around the menopause, check out the charity Women's Health Concern, which is the patient arm of the British Menopause Society.

Mental health & policing

Penny Price, Frank Bruno & Lisa Hale

by guest authors Penny Price & Lisa Hale 

Penny is the Service Manager for Adult Mental Health Services in South Powys. In late September 2018 she and Lisa Hale, manager of Felindre Ward, the inpatient mental health ward at Bronllys Hospital, attended the third national conference on mental health and policing in Cardiff. The annual conference is jointly organised by The National Police Chiefs' Council, The College of Policing, and The Association of Police & Crime Commissioners.

The theme this year was “demand-data-diversity” as these were felt to be the challenges that mental health services would face in the coming years.

Demand:

It is recognised that the demand for policing services is on the increase rapidly where mental health is concerned. The police have raised concerns about responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis which could leave vulnerable people stigmatised and criminalised. They are attempting to ensure that the police services are not inappropriately and over-used as part of the wider mental health systems.

Data:

It is recognised that the day-to-day challenges of the police force are spent finding beds, places of safety and matters relating to patients AWOL (absent without leave) from inpatient services. The current IT systems are not built to harvest this information – they need to find ways of understanding the various kinds of demands being faced.

Diversity:

Those of us from diverse backgrounds are more likely to live with mental health problems because of issues relating to race, sexuality or other protected characteristics. Racial inequality in the application of the Mental Health Act (1983) was one of the main reasons the Prime Minister recommended changes to the Act itself. 

Highlights, day 1

Frank Bruno MBE

In 2003 Frank was diagnosed with bipolar. His well-documented profile put Frank in the public eye, and he used the media attention to help raise the standards of care and to reduce the stigma attached to those living with a mental illness.

In this Q&A session Frank spoke of his experience being detained under the MHA on 3 occasions. He believed the number of officers called to attend was excessive, and felt embarrassed when they turned up at his house with sirens blazing and neighbours’ curtains twitching.

Frank recalls the MHA assessment and feels that he was listened to more by the police than the doctors undertaking the assessment. Once detained and moved to the inpatient unit, Frank felt that he was not listened to and felt over-medicated on medication he felt he did not need. Frank felt that there was a need to improve communication by just spending time with people and talking.

Frank has now been free from all medication for the past 3 years and says that his only medication is attending the gym daily and having a steamer.

Mair Elliot

Mair is a 21 year old inspirational young woman from West Wales. She is a mental health and autism campaigner throughout Wales. Mair described herself as a young patient activist and spoke openly about her experience and the challenges of growing up as a child living with autism and mental illness.

Mair spoke of her disappointment with access to Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and found herself spending many nights in A&E in order to receive the support she and her family needed. On one occasion the police were called due to Mair experiencing a mental health crisis and they conveyed her to the local mental health hospital. Mair asked the police officers if she could stay in the police car rather than go on to the unit. Again, this was due to poor communication between staff and service users.

Neil Laybourn & Jonny Benjamin

Jonny Benjamin was a 20 year old man suffering with suicidal thoughts and poor mental health. He was admitted to a mental health unit and whilst there decided he was going to end his life the following day. Jonny asked to go outside for cigarette, left the hospital grounds and proceeded to Waterloo Bridge, where he sat on the edge contemplating jumping into the river.

Jonny's original #findmike flyer from 2014

Neil Laybourn – a passer-by on his way to work – noticed Jonny and stopped to talk to him. Neil spent 25 minutes talking to Jonny – reassuring him that life can get better. Neil asked Jonny to go for a coffee out of the cold and away from the bridge. Jonny agreed. However, as Jonny came from the bridge – the police attended with sirens blazing and Jonny was arrested, handcuffed and put in the back of the police car.

Jonny reports that the police contacted the inpatient unit and the staff on the unit were unaware that Jonny had been off the ward. He was returned to the unit – detained under MHA, and remained in the unit for the following 3 weeks.

6 years later – Jonny campaigned alongside Rethink the mental health charity to find the stranger on the bridge using the hashtag #findmike. Jonny had no idea who Mike was – it was just a name that came to him. The story went nationwide, with over 38 people coming forward claiming to be Mike, and saying that they had stopped someone from jumping off Waterloo Bridge in January 2008.

Since Jonny and Neil were reunited in 2014, they have campaigned together around suicide prevention and adverse mental health. Their campaign looks #beyondshamebeyondstigma.

Cambridgeshire first response crisis mental health service model

In Cambridgeshire people experiencing a mental health crisis can call NHS 111 Option 2 to seek support. This innovative model is totally reliant on strong and effective partnership, involving NHS services, the Third Sector (MIND) and the police. It is proven that this system reduces demand whilst aiming to provide the right care, at the right time, from the right agency.

The First Response Service in Cambridge provides assessment and support to people in mental health crisis out-of-hours. Working with existing teams, the team focuses on responding to urgent referrals from both the emergency services and NHS 111 Option 2. The team has clinical space based with GPs’ out-of-hours services to ensure co-ordination of care.

The dedicated phone line is staffed by a system-wide coordinator who triages the calls. 

Highlights, day 2: 

The value of joint working and early intervention – mental health emergency care

Yorkshire Ambulance Service has started a journey to make a difference in developing a quality approach for mental health patients. They are doing this by evaluating and measuring front line interventions that support mental health front-facing care.

A team of mental health nurses/practitioners is based in the ambulance crew control room where they triage emergencies. They class this as a single point of access. The mental health practitioner then follows up on the call and actions appropriately.

For example – a 25 year old woman contacted 999, requesting an ambulance due to experiencing suicidal thoughts. The call was triaged to the mental health practitioners who spoke to the woman and completed an initial assessment.

It became clear that there was no requirement for a blue light service as she was not in immediate danger. The mental health practitioner was able to gather information, give advice and have access to the person’s mental health notes. A taxi was then sent to collect the woman so that she was able to attend for assessment by the team.

This approach is successful in reducing unnecessary conveyance, avoidable 136 sections, and associated transport delays.

Improving care, reducing demand

Inspector Huw Griffiths, Mental Health Lead with Hampshire Constabulary, talked about the team he leads. This consists of three police officers who are embedded in the NHS mental health teams.

“Over policing is as bad as over caring, “ is a quote carried forward from the previous year’s conference. Nationally the police service is still seen as the default mental health emergency service in many areas and the first point of call for many people in crisis. Huw’s team has spent the past 5 years trying to change that, ensuring that through partnership working the police do not attempt to carry out the highly skilled role of another agency. This has led to locally to a 45% drop in police mental health deployments along with other areas of significant demand reduction.

****** 

We both found the conference an excellent learning opportunity. We were able to see the point of view from different services of what it is like dealing with mental health crisis. We heard the opinions of the police on mental health services and the impact dealing with crisis has on a workforce that is not equipped to deal with the complexity of cases. It was so interesting to listen to the personal accounts of their involvement with services during a crisis.

The service users’ and relatives’ accounts of their experiences were the most powerful, however. And, finally, the discussion forums we attended inspired us to look at our own service to see how we can make improvements.