The future of the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum

John Lilley (Individual Representative, Mental Health) and Josh Beynon (Practice Solutions)

Improving mental health and wellbeing by respecting and 

empowering people to influence decision making

The Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum is made up of people with lived experience of mental health issues and their friends and families. The members come from a range of different backgrounds and reflect the diversity of the people of Wales. Here in Powys John Lilley - more from him below - joins Rhydian and Sally to bring the voice of Powys service users and carers to the table.

Forum members work collaboratively with other key stakeholders to influence Welsh Government policy by using the skills, knowledge and experience they have gained within the field of mental health. They play a very important role in helping shape future mental health services within Wales.

We recently heard that Practice Solutions Ltd, the organisation which has provided support to the Forum over recent years, has been awarded the tender to support the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum for the next 3 years.

Since the Forum started working on the contract with Practice Solutions it has gone from strength to strength and a huge part of this has come from the fact that Practice Solutions staff have instilled in members that it is their Forum and they should lead the direction of the work and how this looks in the future. The members are then able to use the knowledge and experience of Practice Solutions’ staff to inform and guide them in the best way forward when developing projects.

Since the Forum started working with Practice Solutions there have been lots of exciting developments. The Forum changed its name from the National Mental Health Forum to the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum. It was felt that this better represented the Forum’s work focus - what happens within services in Wales.

John Lilley chairing a Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing forum meeting

The Forum also designed their own logo and branding which is now used on their promotional material and on their social media platforms and this enables the Forum to create a professional image when speaking to organisations.

With guidance from Practice Solutions' staff the Forum also established separate working groups alongside the quarterly meetings and these included Communications & Marketing, Future Planning & Recruitment, and Reward & Engagement. These groups enable some of the members to focus on particular aspects of the Forum such as designing a logo or their website, promoting the Forum and attending events. Proposals and ideas are taken to the main quarterly meeting for agreement and voting by all members.

Another huge part of the Forum’s growth has involved the development of the website which allows members to inform people about their work, share good news stories, promote events and publish some of the papers that the Forum has produced. The Forum has also been privileged to have members share their mental health journey through the production of digital stories. These can be extremely powerful in highlighting the issues that people with mental health face.

The Forum is looking forward to continuing its work with Practice Solutions and seeing where the future journey takes them. Onwards and upwards…!

Josh Beynon, who is an Associate at Practice Solutions, and provides support to the Forum as part of his role, says: “It’s great to be supporting and working with the forum again to improve services and put the voice of service users and carers at the heart of decision making”.

John Lilley, Individual Rep Mental Health,
 at a Shared Power training session last year

John Lilley is the expert on the Forum locally here in Powys as he has been a member for several years now. He says: “I became a Mental Health Service User Representative as I felt my experience as a service user, and as someone with lived experience of mental health issues, could help to give a voice and attempt to improve access and care within the mental health services.

“I was diagnosed with bi-polar in 2013 and before that with clinical depression as a result of life changing neurosurgery in 2000. After a three month stay as a patient in Bronllys, and attending Patients’ Council meetings whilst there, I decided that following recovery I would join Powys Patients’ Council as a volunteer. I believe this helped in my recovery and boosted my self-esteem and confidence.

“After being a volunteer for over 5 years I became a Mental Health Service User Representative in Powys in 2021. During my time as a rep I have also joined the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum to represent Powys. This national forum meets regularly and reports to the Welsh Government on issues affecting service users and carers locally. I have also been a member of the Powys Crisis Care forum which oversees the delivery of the Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat in Powys. This measures the effectiveness of how Powys deals with people in Mental Health Crisis.”

Find out more about the work of the Wales Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum.

Find out more about becoming a Mental Health Rep in Powys.

Powys Patients’ Council - Growing a Garden

"Time and activity in Nature is good for us."

by Owen Griffkin, Powys Patients' Council Facilitator

One of the requests that comes up regularly when we hold Patients’ Council sessions on the Felindre Acute Mental Health ward in south Powys is gardening activities. Unfortunately until recently this has been difficult to organise due to health and safety reasons but we have been speaking to the occupational therapist on the ward, Millie Griffiths, about ways in which this could be provided.

I am a big believer in the power of gardening to improve mental and physical health and advocate for people to use ‘The Five Ways to Wellbeing’ to do this. In my view it helps you achieve all the goals in the Five Ways, (be active, take notice, keep learning, connect with others and give). It’s a skill that people can take with them when they leave the ward, and maybe join one of the many local groups to help their recovery. At the bottom of this article I have listed some local groups you can get involved with.

This is why we have been so keen to see activities on the ward, and we are delighted that Millie has been working hard to get regular gardening sessions on the ward recently. We asked Millie to give a quick overview of what they have been doing. 

MIllie Griffiths — Mental Health Occupational Therapist

In June 2020 there was an enclosed garden situated between Felindre Ward and Defynnog Ward which was unused. 

The old garden

We had no gardening group on the ward and research published in the Mental Health Journal has shown gardening as being able to “reduce stress and improve mood with a reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety,” (Thrive - a charity that has been using social therapeutic horticulture and gardening to change people’s lives since 1979). You can read more about why gardening is good for your mental wellbeing on the Thrive website.

Using Sir Captain Tom Moore Covid funds we were able to purchase planters and a plastic greenhouse which has enabled us to facilitate a gardening group for patients on Felindre Ward. We have been able to grow vegetables which we have then used in cooking groups, as well as flowers. This has enabled us to promote healthy living and spending time outside, as well as providing patients with a better outlook when they look out of their window.

From garden to kitchen!

On the ward we have weekly patient meetings, as well as fortnightly Patients' Council meetings, where it has been frequently suggested by patients that we have a gardening group. Due to the expression of interest, unused space, and research into gardening and mental health, we set up the group. I am not a gardener, nor do I know much, however through the use of Google, books and other staff/patients’ knowledge we have been able to set up the group which we hope to continue to develop to create a space patients can enjoy.

Community gardens across Powys

If you would like to get involved in a gardening project near you here are some you can try out:

Brecon & District Mind's Green Minds Project in Brecon Cathedral and other areas in South Powys.

Read more about this project on our separate blogpost - Green Minds Ecotherapy Project - South Powys

Photo credit: Laura Tranter

Llandrindod Community Garden/Transition Project - Runs a community orchard/pomarium and food garden as well as holding regular meetings to improve sustainability in Llandrindod Wells.

Newtown - Cultivate: Cultivate is a cooperative, run by volunteers and employees who are dedicated to supporting a resilient local food economy.

Newtown - Ponthafren: Regular gardening activities - details on their new activities calendar.

Ystradgynlais - The volunteers will be returning to the community garden project that was on the hospital grounds very soon. Watch this space, or keep an eye on local bulletins, for more info.

Machynlleth - Gerddi Bro Ddyfi Gardens provides and promotes a therapeutic community wildlife garden for all people in the Bro Ddyfi area, and especially those at risk of social exclusion. They will be restarting activities after a Covid break soon.

We would love to hear what you think about the benefits of therapeutic gardening and if you have joined in any of the activities at these community gardens. Comment below and also suggest other gardens you know where people could volunteer.

A peaceful patio at Felindre Ward

Citizens Advice Powys - supporting mental health inpatients

Yasmin Bell is the Chief Officer at Citizens Advice Powys, the charity which “provides the advice people need for the problems they face and improves the policies and practices that affect people's lives.”

The charity recently launched a new pilot project to benefit the inpatients on the mental health Felindre Ward at Bronllys Hospital in South Powys. We spoke to Yasmin to find out more about this important work.

Tell us more about the project

Owen Griffkin, the Powys Patients’ Council facilitator, and the Occupational Therapy (OT) team on Felindre Ward, had been talking to us over the last year about setting up an inpatient advice service. We want to support patients with various issues which are acting as barriers for them wanting to return home and on their recovery process generally. We will continue supporting them once they are at home.

One of the OTs said that some patients, escorted to their homes on day release, had become more anxious upon arriving at a freezing cold home and finding a huge amount of mail / bills. It’s not a very welcoming scenario!

In the long term we would ideally provide support so that people don’t go on the ward in the first place.

How does the support work?

We did a similar project on Felindre Ward about 10 years ago and staff remembered how useful that was supporting people on their recovery journey. At that time a Citizens Advice advisor from Brecon went onto the ward to see people. With Covid we are using video appointments. The ward has iPads available and supports patients to access the platform and then we take it from there.

There’s quite a lot of work we do with the team before we meet the client – every individual can be different. Some people can be uncomfortable about speaking to someone about their issues. In that case the OT will work closely with us to find out what kind of help is available before going back to the person to give a flavour of the advice that could be provided. This usually results in the person then taking an appointment and with a better insight of what help can be provided.

Some of the original project outcomes included – less hospital staff time spent on advice issues, improved patient engagement with treatment, reduced barriers to patient discharge, clients feel more able to stay in their own home and in control of their lives, and improved mental health. The support enables independence, self-management and clients receiving all benefits they are entitled to.

Why was the work of Powys Patients’ Council invaluable in setting up this project?

Owen and the PPC volunteers had been speaking to people on the ward and through this helped identify the need for a direct advice service to support people.

We’ve had a lot of positive comments. One patient said: “I had an appointment with Citizens Advice today and they were excellent. They were able to help with my pet and some money issues.”

How is the project funded and for how long?

This pilot project is funded by a recent Powys Teaching Health Board Small Grants scheme. It lasts for 4 months so will end at the end of May. Through this pilot we will determine the level of demand and the feasibility of the service.

Tell us about some of the everyday issues facing people on the ward and how your service can help?

We identified that it was particularly important to help patients report their change of circumstances with regard to any benefits. Once discharged their benefits can be reinstated with our help. Citizens Advice Powys can also take responsibility for contacting any third parties and putting a hold on any action pending, for example, debt repayments, until that person is able to deal with them. It’s also important to inform the third party that Citizens Advice is helping the person.

We also make sure people are getting all the right benefits – we carry out an Income Maximisation Check – looking at the person’s whole situation. In many cases it can be quite complex – other benefits can be triggered or stopped. We act to make sure there is no detrimental impact on the person.

What is Attend Anywhere?

That is the video platform we use – it is used by the NHS across Wales for consultations with specialists. It’s similar to Zoom or Microsoft Teams but it’s almost like an office set up with a reception, and five interview rooms. It does mean people can have a family member or support person with them in the interview. Language interpreters, including British Sign Language interpreters, can also be included as part of the free service we provide.

Has Covid had an impact on people’s concerns / issues?

There has been a huge increase in people receiving Universal Credit which is a very complex benefit – so people do need support with this. Employment enquiries have also gone up. We are encountering people who have never had to claim benefits or ever had financial difficulties before – so people could become patients on a mental health ward because they’ve never had to deal with that level of poverty before.

Issues are much more complex than they were ten years ago. For example, with a debt client, the level might be the same but the client may owe debts to numerous different creditors where previously it would have been one or two. Then there is the added issue where creditors sell the debt on and on – and trying to unpick it all is a lot of work.

Covid has also added a level of frustration through not being able to get through to departments they need to speak to like the Department for Work & Pensions and energy providers. We can help speed up the process.

We also support people on three-way video or telephone calls with the Citizens Advice advisor doing all the necessary work whilst the client sits in the call. There is no cost to the person themselves for this support.

If people don’t receive the support they need, what could happen to them?

People who have been stressed previously can feel much more optimistic and calm about the situation. Long term if we receive continuation funding we would like to start looking at whether people go back into the hospital if they have received support. If issues have been going on too long it is harder to resolve them so we want to do more preventative work, help people understand what we do and just basically say – don’t be scared about getting in touch.

If we are supporting someone with a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim we have to talk about their physical and mental health. We also support people through tribunals and hearings. People open up and perhaps admit for the first time some of the issues facing them which can be very traumatic for them to accept.

What are Citizens Advice Powys’s main priorities outside Felindre Ward?

It’s about early intervention, about making sure our services are accessible and available to everybody in different ways and working out the different access options. We want to build a service where we don’t assume everyone wants face to face or telephone. So we offer video also, some web chat, and contact by email. We want to raise awareness and stop people getting to really complex situations – it’s about averting a crisis.

Which other Powys organisations do you work closely with to provide support to people?

This is happening more than ever before. We’re working with Accessibility Powys to facilitate appointments and advice sessions that are accessible to people with physical or sensory impairments – trying out different methods and equipment. There are a lot of people out there who, if not in receipt of this service, would not have had any advice. There are people who have been shielding and isolating who have not had any support for the past year or so.

In the last 3 months we have had a 20% increase in formal referrals (statutory and third sector agencies) and also seen a 50% increase from mental health teams. So we’ve done a lot of raising awareness sessions – every Wednesday we invite someone to come and talk to our team about the work they do which has been really beneficial – this means we can signpost to other services confidently too.

What are the main challenges of the project?

Client engagement is one of the biggest challenges generally if someone is struggling with their mental health. Sometimes people feel less anxious if they can turn their video off. So it can be small things that help. We try and think outside the box constantly to come up with a solution that works best for that person.

Some of the appointments can be lengthy so we split them into two sessions. If it’s a complicated PIP application you could spend up to 3 hours on that – so it’s managing the length of the appointment to suit the person.

Another challenge is ensuring we have all the right consent forms and paperwork completed. The OT team on the ward have been acting as our administrators in respect of these. It’s still a benefit to them though as they can then concentrate on the work they do best and leave the advice for us. It’s all about team work! So that’s a positive really!

Tell us about some of the most rewarding aspects of this project

The feedback from patients has been very rewarding: for example, one man said after receiving support he felt he was able to go home and contact the utility company and sort out the issue himself. (We would, of course, follow up afterwards to ensure it all worked out).

Knowing that people understand where they can seek help and are better able to manage.

One person was helped to reinstate a PIP claim and said of the advisor: “She was very kind, clear and helpful about my concerns. I found this extremely helpful over a subject I have been worrying about over the last years.”

When you are not working for Citizens Advice Powys how do you enjoy spending your time?

I do a lot of coastal path walking. My aim is to walk the whole coastal path of Wales. So far I’ve done a third of it.

I also volunteer as a Cadet Leader for Newtown Police Cadets and assist the cadets doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award. I recently completed my DoE expedition assessor qualification.

If you want to find out more about Powys Citizens Advice you can contact Yasmin by ringing 01686 617641 or email: manager@powyslca.org

Powys Patients' Council - a new approach

John Lilley (Patients' Council Volunteer), Owen Griffkin (Participation Officer) 
& Rhydian Parry (Patient's Council Volunteer)

by Owen Griffkin - Mental Health Participation Officer

There is a quote that used to rattle around in my mind when going through difficult times that goes something like:

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."   Albert Camus

I was reminded of this quote attending the latest Powys Patients’ Council meeting at Bronllys Hospital’s Felindre Ward recently, where the weather flipped between a Powys winter and an Indian summer throughout the afternoon. It’s obviously a well-written quote about resilience and recovery, and when a person is staying on an acute mental health ward the ‘invincible summer’ can seem like a long way in the distance. 

This is why it is hugely beneficial for the Patients’ Council to be staffed by volunteers who have experience themselves of staying on Felindre. The patients often express surprise when told that John or Rhyd, our amazing volunteers, were once patients themselves. 

People are more likely to open up and share their experiences on the ward, and to see other people who are further along in their recovery can give them hope for their own future journey. John had several personal discussions with people about his own experience on the ward, and this can be as much an important part of our visits as raising housekeeping issues.

A new approach

We experimented with a new format for the meeting this month, and also a new venue, as the recovery room was temporarily out of action. This meant we sat in the main common space which led to more group discussions. The tray of cupcakes helped as well! 

The recovery room being out of action was one issue raised, and this is hopefully in hand and back in use by now. We had requests around WiFi connection and access to devices so we will be looking at how this develops.The health board has a strong firewall, as you would expect from a large organisation that is reliant on Information Technology, and this can cause restrictions to content that people on the ward can access. Maybe as mobile WiFi becomes more advanced we can look at an independent network.

Another issue was a request for bird feeders out in the front. We had added some with the help of the League of Friends' committee at Bronllys so we were surprised to hear they had gone. We were told this was due to concerns from previous patients about vermin, so we are researching a solution to this age-old problem.

There were also concerns about the set times for smoking (currently 15 minutes every hour) and the response was that this is due to health and safety and staffing issues. We will have to monitor if this will change once the new indoor smoking ban comes into being and how smoking breaks will work then.

There were two other maintenance issues raised, one of which was being fixed as we left, which is a quick turnaround. The Occupational Therapy kitchen issues, which had led to it being out of use for a few months, have now been fixed.

We will be back for the next Patients’ Council meeting at the end of October, when there is likely to be a new Occupational Therapist in position on a permanent basis. We hope this role will mean that there is a quality programme of activities on the ward and will help to support this in any way that we can.

Find out more

I post regular updates about the Patients' Council meetings on our mental health website. If you would like to find out more, or volunteer for Powys Patients' Council, then you can contact me by emailing owen.griffkin@pavo.org.uk or ringing 01597 822191.

Yoga classes for mental health inpatients in Powys

by Owen Griffkin, Facilitator Powys Patients' Council

“Yoga is physical health, mental calm, and interpersonal peace.” 

  

Roger Cole MD, Iyengar Yoga practitioner

One of the recurring issues brought up by people who attend the Powys Patients' Council meetings on the Felindre Ward (the acute mental health ward at Bronllys Hospital in South Powys) is that they wanted an activity that would help both their physical and mental health and wellbeing. 

Some people also specifically requested regular yoga sessions. With this in mind, the Patients’ Council looked for funding and a practitioner to provide this. We were lucky enough to discover a development fund set up by the Iyengar Yoga Association UK which would contribute towards yoga sessions for people who would not usually have the funds or ability to access yoga classes. We then found a local practitioner, Pete Norton of Wye Valley Yoga, who could apply to this fund as a qualified Iyengar Yoga teacher. The application was successful and the classes started in April.

So far the sessions have been a success, running every Monday in the recovery room on the ward. Pete said “Yoga is a mind-body practice which has the potential to improve someone's frame of mind. Whilst we are not explicitly teaching yoga as therapy, there is often a therapeutic benefit. This is because when we pay attention to the body and the breath in a mindful way, it helps with focus and concentration and to balance the body systems. Iyengar Yoga is particularly suitable for this kind of environment as we use props such as belts and chairs to ensure everyone can work towards a pose safely, no matter what their experience or ability level is.”

Feedback from participants

Some of the comments from people taking the classes have included:

‘‘Enjoyed the yoga session. It helps to focus your mind and forget about other stresses you may have."

"Absolutely brill!"

"Found the session very relaxing. It also eased tension throughout my body."

Teaching a class in a ward setting can be challenging. It’s not always easy for people to concentrate nor for them to be consistent, partly because some people do not have long stays on the ward. However, those that have experienced classes have really enjoyed them. Therefore, Patients’ Council’s next aim is to find further funding and a venue for yoga classes somewhere close to the hospital so that people can continue practicing yoga once they have left the ward. Pete is keen to continue working with people on a long term basis and a lot of people who have enjoyed the sessions want to take up classes to help with their long-term recovery. 

You can find out more about local Iyengar Yoga classes in South Powys here.

If you would like to know more about Powys Patients' Council then contact Owen Griffkin by emailing owen.griffkin@pavo.org.uk or ringing 01597 822191.

Powys Patients' Council responds to Smoke-free Premises consultation

John Lilley (PPC volunteer), Owen Griffkin (Participation Officer) & Rhydian Parry (PPC volunteer)

Ever since learning of the Welsh Government's proposal to introduce a ban on smoking in all hospital grounds, Powys Patients' Council has been working hard with current and former patients of the mental health inpatient unit in Powys - Felindre Ward at Bronllys Hospital - to gather feedback. The Council was determined to prepare a formal response to the recent government consultation on the topic. 

Up until now mental health wards have been exempt from the regulations, and designated indoor smoking rooms have been allowed. The new regulations, if agreed, would give hospitals 18 months to close down their indoor provision, and, if appropriate, set up outdoor smoking areas instead. However, as the Council discovered, it is not necessarily straightforward to set up outdoor provision. In the case of Felindre Ward, patients smoking outdoors would require staff supervision due to the nature of the outdoor space. Obviously if already busy nurses have to watch people smoking then they're not able to do much else at the time!

In his Ministerial Forward to the consultation document, Cabinet Social Secretary for Health & Social Services, Vaughan Gething, noted:

"The consultation considers the removal of an exemption that allows designation of a room in which patients and residents of mental health units may smoke and replacing it with a time limited one that would expire 18 months after the new regulations come into force. Smoking prevalence among people with mental illness is substantially higher than the general population and is of great concern. Removing the exemption will bring the law in line with general hospital service users and will aim to address health inequalities for persons with mental heath conditions."

My colleague Owen Griffkin introduced the topic to readers last month when he wrote Powys Patients' Council: Kindles, smoking ban and more. 

Since then he joined PPC volunteers John Lilley and Rhydian Parry to circulate the relevant questions from the consultation to put to current and former patients, along with staff working on the ward. These included:

1. Do you agree with the proposal to remove the exemption that permits the designation of smoking rooms in mental health units? (Regulation 8) (Please note that the removal of the exemption would not prevent the person in charge of the premises from designating outdoor areas as places where patients can smoke).
2. Do you agree that the proposed transition period of 18 months after the 2018 Regulations come into force is sufficient time to allow mental health units to implement indoor smoke-free conditions in a safe and secure way? (Regulation 8(6).

Much feedback was gathered, and the Council pulled together a formal response which was submitted by the deadline earlier this month. Owen has now summarised this response for our readers:

Powys Patients’ Council's response to
The Smoke-free Premises & Vehicles (Wales) Regulations 2018 Public Consultation

A consultation was launched in May regarding changes to the Smoke Free premises and Vehicles' Regulations that will affect mental health wards, including the Felindre Ward in Bronllys Hospital. Rhydian and John from the Patients’ Council attended a meeting on the ward with Ward Manager Lisa Hale and Penny Price, Service Manager for Adult Mental Health Services in South Powys, to ensure that they had a voice in the hospital’s response to the consultations. The Council also responded themselves by completing the consultation form and we have summed up the main points here.

At the moment, the only option for people on the ward is to smoke indoors in a designated smoking area. These new regulations would end this practice and would force people into refraining from smoking for long periods. Some of the people with lived experience on the ward who smoke also used facilities in England where indoor smoking was banned and they said it was a very difficult time that made recovery more complicated. During a time of great distress it could cause extra stress to have an enforced period of nicotine withdrawal. It’s always possible for other hospital patients to leave their beds and ‘sneak out’ for a cigarette but due to the secure nature of mental health wards this will not be possible for Felindre patients. The Council was also concerned on the effect on staff time, with the staff having to accompany smokers to an unsecured outdoor smoking area.

One of the main barriers to giving up smoking in a mental health unit is that patients do not have enough activities to help keep them occupied. Patients have said that they have wanted to smoke more because of the boredom as it gives them something to do. We urged that there be increased funding specifically for activities on mental health wards.

We also want there to be access to a full range of cessation tools on the ward, including vaping/e-cigs, and for staff to be well trained in cessation techniques so that patients can be fully supported.

The consultation closed on 17 August 2018 so we will keep you informed as to the outcomes and findings.

Powys Patients' Council is facilitated by the Health & Wellbeing team at Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations and aims to give a voice to people staying on inpatient wards in Powys. For more information, please contact Participation Officer Owen Griffkin by emailing owen.griffkin@pavo.org.uk or ringing 01597 822191.

Powys Patients’ Council - Kindles, smoking ban & more

by Owen Griffkin, Mental Health Participation Officer

I have been facilitating Powys Patients’ Council, with the support of volunteers Rhydian Parry and John Lilley, since early 2018 as part of my role in the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO) mental health team.

Powys Patients' Council aims to give a voice to patients, currently in Felindre Unit at Bronllys Hospital in Powys, who are offered acute in-patient mental health services. Regular patient-only meetings give people an opportunity to express their views on the services they receive whilst they are in hospital. These views are then passed on anonymously to ward and hospital management staff, in addition to senior Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) staff, so that solutions can be found.

Owen Griffkin

It was a sweltering day for June’s Patients’ Council meeting and the ward was close to capacity. This was the first Patients’ Council session since we had left a suggestion box on the ward, so there were more issues than usual to deal with. Having the suggestion box means we can address issues or concerns that we might have previously missed from people who have had short stays on the ward. It can also follow that these might have been dealt with already, as was the case with a note about the heating being on in rooms at night.

Another note praised the caring environment and professional staff which the Patients' Council were pleased to pass on to the new permanent Ward Manager, Lisa Hale.

Concerns raised in the meeting included a lack of activities, the annoyance of an office door banging and not being allowed devices with cameras in communal areas due to privacy reasons. As all modern tablets/phones have cameras this unfortunately means no devices can be used in the day room. We have sent out an appeal over Facebook and Twitter to see if anybody has any 1st generation Kindle Fires as these tablets didn’t have cameras, so hopefully we will get some response to this. We are looking into raising some money for activities provided by an external facilitator as this will leave the ward affected less by staff leave and sickness.

Lisa Hale, Felindre Ward Manager

There has been a new advocacy service commissioned by PTHB and delivered by Conwy & Denbighshire Mental Health Advocacy Service (CADMHAS) and this was praised by patients who found it very good and non-judgemental. We spoke to Adrianne Cleverly who provides the service in Powys recently in How can mental health advocacy help you?

Proposed smoking ban in hospital grounds

The Patients’ Council is also attending an extra meeting this month to discuss smoking in the light of the recently announced news about banning smoking on ALL hospital grounds.

As this will include acute mental health in-patient wards such as the Felindre Ward, it is important that people associated with the ward(s) voice their views in relation to this consultation. 

The ban is due to come into force in Summer 2019, and this will give ward managers 18 months from then to ensure there are alternative measures in place to replace existing indoor smoking rooms, and that outdoor areas fall in line with the new rules. One of the proposed rules will prohibit an outdoor smoking area from being within 10 metres of any hospital building. This will mean that if there is no exemption for mental health wards it will be impossible for there to be a secure smoking area that people can use without staff members present and this creates other issues relating to staff health and second-hand smoke. 

I will be working with the Patients’ Council to look at the possible impact of these rule changes, and how the hospital can offset the disruption and distress that it may cause to people on the ward and potentially other wards/mental health facilities across Powys. This will very likely be a contentious issue and it will be interesting to see how other hospitals in Wales deal with it. If you have lived experience of an acute mental health ward, and would like to contribute to the consultation, please email owen.griffkin@pavo.org.uk or ring 01597 822191 with your comments or for more information.