25 September 2024
Life Beyond the Cubicle
New free eLearning resources for health and social care professionals working in mental health services and emergency departments are now available in time for World Mental Health Day 10 October 2024.
These resources were co-created by people with lived experience as patients, family carers and clinicians in the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. An advisory group drawn from a wide range of expertise supported the project.
The project aims to contribute to improving patient care and reducing harm, deaths and near misses that might occur during mental health crises. Such harms might include deaths by suicide and attempted suicide, non-suicidal self-inflicted deaths and near misses, and actual or attempted homicides.
Through short film and audio scenarios and case studies, Life Beyond the Cubicle shows why it is so important to involve and support family and friends. The purpose is to help clinicians reflect on why they don’t always attend to family support and involvement routinely, and how they can overcome barriers to effective practice. The resources are engaging and interactive.
Dr Karl Marlow, Chief Medical Officer and Consultant Psychiatrist, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust said:
“We are incredibly proud to have partnered with Making Families Count to contribute to the design and test this training resources for staff working in health settings. An independent evaluation has shown that 90% of clinicians in different NHS Trusts who tested the training, found this directly relevant to their work. This work is helping us to further embed the importance of working with family and friends carers in everything we do.”
Ellie Gordon, RN (MH), Senior Nurse: Learning Disability and Mental Health, National, Workforce, Training and Education Directorate, NHS England said:
“I really welcome this resource. It supports reflective practice and encourages clinicians to think creatively and constructively about how best to engage with families and friends carers in order to improve the care they give.”
Dr Karen Harrison-White, Nursing Education Senior Specialist, Honorary Professor (Brunel University, London), Workforce, Training and Education Directorate, NHS England South East Region said:
“I was delighted to support this project. It has been fantastic to be involved in one of the best examples of co-production I’ve ever encountered, and to see the outcome of fabulous learning resources.”
The resources were trialled in 11 NHS Trusts in England. An independent evaluation of the trial, conducted by Buckinghamshire New University, demonstrated that the resources were relevant to 90% of those who tested. Additionally, 77% said that they planned to make changes to how they worked with patients, families and carers as a result of working through the modules. Clinicians who tested the resources said they had transformed the way they think about family members and motivated them to improve their care of patients and support for families to keep everyone safer.
Notes for Editors
- Making Families Count is a Community Interest Company made up of families and clinicians that provides training to staff working in the NHS.
- NHS England South East contributed to the funding of the Life Beyond the Cubicle Project (with HEE legacy funds). The project was led by Dorit Braun, a bereaved family member. The resources were co-authored by Dorit Braun and Karen Lascelles, Nurse Consultant, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
- The resources have been endorsed by a wide range of clinicians:
Dr Rachel Gibbons, Co-Chair Patient Safety Group, Chair Working Group on the Effect of Suicide and Homicide on Psychiatrists, Vice-Chair of the Psychotherapy Faculty and member of the Project Advisory Group said:
“Life Beyond the Cubicle is an invaluable resource and training that bridges the communication gap between families and mental health services. This well-developed tool is essential for clinicians, fostering thoughtful dialogue, and supporting reparative functioning after traumatic events. It is a vital step forward in mental health care, addressing a significant need in the field. All mental health services should engage with this transformative initiative”
Dr Emma Rowland, Chief Operating Officer, Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and member of the Project Advisory Group said:
“A great resource that should be used by anyone who engages with people in a mental health crisis in their work and beyond. It’s engaging and incredibly helpful in enabling us all to reflect on the importance of sometimes what might be small acts of kindness with significant impacts to someone’s life.”
Dr Zoe Brummell, Intensive Care Consultant, University College London Hospitals and PhD researcher at University College London said:
“This is such an impressive set of resources to improve patient care and patient safety. Relevant to anyone working in a setting in which people with a mental health crisis turn up, it shows why it is so vital to engage meaningfully with family and friends, and helps clinicians face and reconsider the barriers that stop them doing so.”
Lucien Champion, Head of Investigations, NHS England South-East said:
“Independent reviews of the care and treatment of people using mental health services regularly identify meaningful engagement with families and carers as a theme for improvement, I strongly recommend this resource as a tool to support clinicians to reflect on their practice and develop skills to work collaboratively with families and friends to improve safety planning.”
Nikki Crust, Senior Safety Investigator, HSSIB said:
“These resources are such a powerful tool for staff working with people with mental health problems. The scenarios and case studies used reflect the experiences of patients and families we spoke with during our HSSIB investigation. They offer opportunity and time for reflection on how individuals and teams might respond to different scenarios involving people in mental health crises, including the wider impact on families and carers. This is a fantastic piece of work that everyone working and supporting people in mental health crisis should consider using.”
- The resources are available free to the health and social care workforce via the NHS Learning Hub.
- The resources can be downloaded by NHS Trust Learning and Development teams to support a Trust-wide approach to using them as part of essential training and learning.
- More information about the content of the resources can be found on the Making Families Count website here.
- Contact [email protected]