Trust recognised for our approach to family and carer involvement

We’ve retained our two-star Triangle of Care rating for our work with families and carers for the third year running.

The Triangle of Care is a framework in mental health services, championed by the Carers Trust, that fosters a partnership between a person receiving care, their carer, and mental health professionals. This initiative recognises our commitment to working with, listening to and including families, friends and carers in the planning of care for people with ongoing and complex mental health needs, in both our inpatient and community services.

Over the last year, we’ve been building on the amazing work done within the organisation, making sure we’re continuing to put families, friends and carers are the heart of all that we do, working with them in partnership and ensuring that we are listening to their stories, needs and worries.

Helping families feel included: We’ve been working to make visiting hours more flexible in inpatient services, and have been holding a series of trust wide workshops to look at how best we can support our families, friends and carers. We have been involving carers in the development of groups, training and resources across services to make sure that our offer meets their needs. We’ve also held events and workshops across Carer’s Week and Carer’s Rights day to help keep carers in mind.

Working together as a team: Colleagues have been learning new approaches that they can use when working with families, including using the Open Dialogue model. Carer Champions are meeting regularly to share ideas and further discussions about family, friends and carers within their teams. Teams have been working together to complete their Triangle of Care self-assessments, reflecting on their strengths and where they feel that more can be done to embed a family focus.

Knowing our families, friends and carers: We have been working to improve the way that carer information is recorded to make it easier for staff and to make sure we have the most up to date information about who we should be talking to. We have developed and run training sessions for staff which have been co-produced and co-delivered with families and we have been able to share their lived experience and their words with those working in services. We have also continued to ask for their thoughts and feedback on the work that we do through our family, friends and carer experience measures, engagement work and service accreditations.

Chief Nurse, Andy Cruickshank said “We understand family, friends and carers are experts in the needs of our service users. The Triangle of Care framework allows us to work with them to achieve the best outcomes for everyone.”

Mary Patel, Triangle of Care Programme Lead said: “We commend the Trust for ongoing efforts to develop a ‘think carer’ culture, supported by comprehensive staff training and some important new support groups for carers. Promoting a Triangle of Care between staff, service users and carers helps ensure that carers’ vital knowledge is part of care planning and their needs are considered too.”