tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91003253979034527322024-03-05T17:36:36.299+00:00Beds In The OrchardBeds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-52406969532785272902015-11-24T11:25:00.000+00:002015-11-24T11:25:14.203+00:00Taking the "care" out of Lancashire Care<div>
After a reasonably quiet year, it looks like we may be back in business. This time to try and protect local rehabilitation for service users being discharged from hospital.</div>
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In 2014, LCFT opened Moss View in Heysham following a refurbishment costing tens of thousands of pounds. The site was officially opened in July 14 to great fanfare, only for LCFT to be winding down the site and closing it not much more than a year later.</div>
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This site should care for up to 12 service users who need rehabilitation after long hospital stays and serious illness. It is also used to support people with complex needs, such as learning disabilities who are not unwell enough for hospital, but not well enough to care for themselves independently.</div>
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Without this resource, we can only imagine that people will be sent out of area or left to Home Treatment, a team LCFT is currently cutting by 20-25%.</div>
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LCFT has been struggling with demand for acute inpatient beds, after years of systematic bed closures. One of the reasons for delayed discharge can be lack of suitable follow on care. This makes this decision even more incomprehensible.</div>
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Crikey LCFT. Will there be any actual care left soon?</div>
Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-4688952714303493232015-03-09T22:59:00.004+00:002015-03-11T19:13:56.457+00:00Mumsnet, Madness and Me<b>Our Mumsnet guest post for their 15th birthday celebrations.</b><br />
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In 2012, I had a breakdown and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital with severe depression. The day after I was admitted, a member of staff came to my room to say that I had two visitors. I didn’t recognise their names. When I met them in the corridor, in front of the staff, they greeted me like old friends, and I went along with it.<br />
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When we were alone in the visiting room, they introduced themselves, with an apology. Sorry, the tall one said, but if I’d introduced myself as TheSecondComing and said that she was a BitOfFun, they’d never have let us in. I burst out laughing. It was the first time I’d laughed in weeks. That, my friends, is what Mumsnetters are all about.<br />
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Fast forward to 2014 and I was ill again and back in hospital. Soon after I was discharged, the news filtered through the community that The Orchard hospital where I had been treated was now male only, meaning there was no local inpatient care for women at all. All the female patients were being sent miles away for treatment, with no chance of being treated close to home.<br />
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I can clearly remember how far my stomach sank when I heard the news. I felt sick, I felt scared, and I felt vulnerable. What if I got ill again? What would it be like to be miles away from my children, my family, my friends? I walked around my home town thinking about it, and the more I walked and the more I thought, the angrier I became. How could the needs of women like me be dismissed in such a casual way? How could we lose a service with seemingly not a thought as to how it would affect the women around me? I needed to do something, but what, and how? I needed help from somewhere. <br />
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I sent out a call for help from the people I knew, and much of that help came from Mumsnetters. With their help, the Beds in the Orchard campaign was started.<br />
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MmeLindor gave me a crash course on how to run a social media campaign by using use a blog and Twitter to generate interest and support, and provided me with a long list of names of people who she thought could help. Therealsgm came to the rescue by posting about the situation on a site she helped run, which in turn generated interest from national media, with articles in the New Statesman and the Huffington Post. Another mumsnetter put me in contact with a journalist, who, while they couldn’t run the story, gave me amazing advice about what to do next, leading to coverage on local BBC Radio and in the Press.<br />
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A lot of work went in to keeping the campaign going at a local level, with service users joining together to share their stories and look into the legal aspects of the closure, but that was all backed up by the help and support from my Mumsnet family. With their help, we turned a small campaign about 6 beds in a small psychiatric unit in the corner of North Lancashire into something that people all over the country cared about and wanted to support.<br />
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Mumsnetters tweeted and retweeted our posts and promoted the campaign. Mumsnet Bloggers gave me blog of the day, generating around 1000 hits to our blog and many more signatures on our petition. The local Mumsnet and Gransnet Sites for Preston, Blackpool, Lancashire and Cumbria all helped support the campaign by sharing our blog, promoting our petition, and tweeting their support. Hundreds of Mumsnetters signed our petition, and some even wrote directly to the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust to show their support for us. <br />
We fought and fought hard to get the beds back for the women, and we WON! At the end of January 2015, the Trust reverted The Orchard to a mixed-sex facility, and we doubt that they will close it to women again.<br />
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<b>What Mumsnet Means to Me</b><br />
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Being a Mumsnetter is like having a thousand extra sisters you never knew you needed. Since joining, I have had support through some of the toughest experiences of my life, including my child being diagnosed with Autism, and serious illness.<br />
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I have had support and advice about everything from how to navigate the system to get a Statement of SEN for my child, to how to get rid of the mould from my washing machine. I have laughed my hardest at some of the funniest threads and cried along with those who are suffering. When I was in hospital, women I'd never met or spoken to in real life wrote me letters and made me feel cared about in a way that’s hard to express in print.<br />
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I have met some of my best friends on Mumsnet, with on-line acquaintances turning into real life friends. Even though, sadly, one of them now lives on the other side of the world, I count myself fortunate to know them every day.<br />
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<b>So Happy Birthday, Mumsnet!</b><br />
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I am truly honoured to have been given the Guest Post for Mumsnet's 15th Birthday. You’re one in a million, and I’m glad I have your sisterhood on my side.<br />
<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-27501602124629836652015-02-03T15:23:00.002+00:002015-02-03T15:53:47.482+00:00WE'VE WON!!!!!!! The Beds in the Orchard are female once more!It is with HUGE excitement and pride that we can announce that from 5pm this evening The Orchard will be reopened to women. Women from Lancaster and District who are currently in hospitals away from home will be coming back to The Orchard over the next few days.<br />
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<b>WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!</b> <br />
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There are a lot of people that we'd like to thank for all of their help with this campaign, but for now we're busy spreading the word. However a quick thanks to...<br />
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BBC Radio Lancashire - particularly Tim Padfield.<br />
The Lancaster Guardian.<br />
David Morris MP<br />
Glosswitch at the New Stateman<br />
Louise Pennington at the Huffington Post<br />
@LynnCSchreiber for her lesson in social media 101<br />
Everyday Victim Blaming <br />
Mumsnet, Mumsnet Bloggers and Gransnet <br />
Philippa Molloy and Lisa Toner, not forgetting Bee, Janet, Bex and the BITO Massive.<br />
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And, of course, everyone who signed our petition, followed our blog and tweeted their support. There are too many to name here. <br />
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I would like to say one thanks to Keith Dibble, the Deputy Network Director at Lancashire Care NHS Trust for his professionalism in dealing with our campaign and keeping in regular touch about what the Trust were doing to put this right.<br />
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Did I mention that <b>WE WON!!!</b></h2>
Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-26013680609153317572015-01-30T14:23:00.000+00:002015-01-30T14:23:08.003+00:00Pinned Post<b>For who we are and what you can to help, please go to the post linked below.</b><br />
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<a href="http://bedsintheorchard.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/pinned-post-who-we-are-and-what-you-can.html" target="_blank"><b>http://bedsintheorchard.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/pinned-post-who-we-are-and-what-you-can.html </b></a><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.change.org/p/lancashire-care-nhs-foundation-trust-return-local-inpatient-care-to-the-women-of-north-lancashire" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">You can sign our Petition here.</span></a> </b><br />
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<b>More information about why we are campaigning is here.</b><br />
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<b><a href="http://bedsintheorchard.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/how-wrong-does-something-have-to-be.html" target="_blank">http://bedsintheorchard.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/how-wrong-does-something-have-to-be.html </a></b>Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-44441375388484266572015-01-30T14:22:00.000+00:002015-01-30T14:22:19.690+00:00We do love a good rant - an accurate one too<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hi BITO</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />Not noticed this is norm, but can I request that you post this rather than leave it as a comment?</span><br />
R<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Oh go on Anonymous, since you asked so nicely.</b><br /><br />What the hell do the LCareFT CARE. They don't give a shite.<br />They speak a load of Drivell.<br />They promised on County wide radio this won't be for ..."weeks and weeks!"<br />They told a misleading truth. They mislead the citizens of Lancashire and the radio and newspaper reporters.<br />It has been MONTHS and MONTHS and it seems the Harbour opening is 'surprise-surprise' going to be delayed.<br />So to recap Only going to be until the Harbour opens; no, just less than weeks and weeks.<br />The women are told they are going to the Orchard but have that rug pulled from under them just a couple of days before Christmas (Heartless Cruelty)<br />They empty the female wing; of all but one man, but instead of going that last step they refilled the empty five beds with men knowing the difficulty they say they faced to get to that stage.<br />And there are no signs that the concerns and frustration voiced re the experiences around the CRISIS (CRISIS RESOLUTION AND HOME TREATMENT TEAM (CRHTT) - CuRT by name CuRT by nature it seems)) are being addressed, nor even acknowledged.<br />Is this Trust run by amateurs, the heartless or the blissfully ignorant?!<br />Give these women their Therapeutic Need!<br />If anyone is harmed as a direct result of your actions and inactions The Truth WILL Out LCFT<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Posted by Anonymous to <a href="http://bedsintheorchard.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Beds In The Orchard</a> at 30 January 2015 at 14:18</span>Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-52145054337547041442015-01-30T12:00:00.002+00:002015-01-30T12:00:54.025+00:00Can you keep yourself safe? An adventure with Crisis.Can you keep yourself safe?<br /><br />So there's no local care. We know about this and at least two people yesterday who are following this campaign have been deterred from seeking help because they are scared of what will happen. <br /><br />Fear. Fear is a bad thing when you are already fearful, or perhaps not thinking rationally, or seeing every small set back as a huge challenge that can't be overcome. Catastrophising. Every little thing lending weight to the idea sat in your head that life isn't worth living and you'd be better off dead.<br /><br />In steps the Crisis Team.<br /><br />Except there's not many people in the Crisis team, and personal experiences shared by Service Users expose the huge disparity of the care given by individual members. <br />
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If you have a crisis in the middle of the night, you need to vie to speak to the lone worker who is covering all of the area. On other nights you find yourself being transferred to the lone worker sat in another area of the Trust, miles away. What can they do? Not much.<br /><br /><br />But surely you will get a sympathetic response? Not always.<br /><br />"What do you want me to do about it?"<br /><br />"Was it you calling over and over again when I was on another call? We do have other people you know".<br /><br />So you end up feeling worse, like you're wasting their time. Like you're even more nothing than you were before. This makes the usual "what can you do to distract yourself" and "What has helped before when you've felt like this." seem benign, although generally very unhelpful.<br /><br />Then you have the assessment of risk, except if you don't fit nicely into their check-sheet for risk then you're not as likely to be taken seriously to get help. You have a mental illness - fine. Not a man of a low socioeconomic background who lives alone? Well why aren't you organising your own help then?<br /><br />Because its that easy, isn't it.<br /><br />Then you have the pejorative way in which some members of the team treat people who even have a whiff of a note of "personality disorder" against them - or worse, when someone in the team decides you have a PD despite there being no such pathology in any report.<br /><br />They can't really mean it, they're manipulative and attention seeking. Missing the point that each case needs to be taken on its own merit.<br /><br />Then the last question - Can you keep yourself safe?<br />
<br />Well no, no I don't think I can, that's why I am calling you, but by calling, you dismiss the sincerity of what I am saying because I've called you.<br />
<br />Can you keep yourself safe? You better be able to as there's no help to be found.<br /><br />#crisisteamfailBeds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-41794486762218756442015-01-29T13:12:00.001+00:002015-01-29T13:14:46.302+00:00To treat or not to treat - that is the question<b>So what happens when you're to scared to call for help as you don't know where you'll end up?</b><br />
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<b>This, from one of our contributors today.</b><br />
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Things haven't been so good lately. I'm finding it harder and harder to cope.<br />
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I can't sleep, but then when I sleep, I can't wake up.<br />
I can't concentrate on anything other than making plans to end it all. <br />
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But I don't want to call for help. What are my options? There are no options.<br />
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The Crisis team? What can they do anyway? Tell you off if you call them instead of the CCTT when you aren't sure which number to ring. Have a magical bath of healing. Distract yourself. End up feeling worse than before you called.<br />
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So you're offered hospital, but I have no idea where will I end up. <br />
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<li>Burnley, which by all accounts is hell on earth.</li>
<li>Blackpool, which has a great reputation, but only next to Burnley.</li>
<li>Chorley, miles away from my family and too far for them to visit.</li>
<li>Ormskirk? I'm not even sure where the hell Ormskirk is. </li>
<li>Some private hospital somewhere? Not local, Manchester? Further?</li>
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I don't want to be sent miles away. I just don't. Knowing there's fuck all chance of being close to home, desperate to get out. That's not healing. That's not the environment you can get better in.<br />
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So I'm not calling for support as it's pointless. There's no point in calling for support when there's none, is there. If I ask for support and end up hospitalised then I'm screwed.<br />
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I give in. I really do. There's no help and no where to turn to.<br />
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Thanks LCFT. Thank you very much for taking away my local hospital. Thank you for screwing me over just because I'm a woman. Thanks for screwing over your own bed capacity to my loss.<br />
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Thanks for nothing.Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-36788843120612772802015-01-21T19:12:00.000+00:002015-01-29T13:12:57.585+00:00Is this really our last refuge?<b>LCFT Use a Women's Refuge for female service user in MH Crisis.</b> <br />
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The demand for beds in North Lancashire continues unabated, with female referrals now matching those of men. With the Trust's inpatient facilities full and a substantial number of private beds being used, getting inpatient treatment is now almost impossible.<br />
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Yesterday a female service user from North Lancashire was sent to a women's refuge after being told there were no female beds available anywhere. Even though she has a chronic mental health condition and was experiencing psychotic symptoms brought on by stress, she was assessed as "too sane" to be admitted to a private bed and since the stress was due to issues within the home, the only place they could send her to was a woman's refuge.<br />
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Is this what it's come to? Really?<br />
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Is a refuge really the right place for someone experiencing a mental health crisis? Would a man be sent to a refuge, or would he be found a bed somewhere? It's a damned serious question and one that has to be asked.<br />
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Women's refuges are such an important resource. For a Mental Health Trust to use them as a back up to a service creaking under the strain of inadequate provision would seem to be a misuse of that service.<br />
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Having spoken to the woman in question, she is concerned about relapsing and knows there is nothing she can do, as there's literally no room at the LCFT Inn. <br />
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<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-6587854845818393202015-01-09T22:53:00.000+00:002015-01-09T22:53:06.780+00:00Je Suis CharlieThis is, of course, a blog about how psych services have let down women. However the events of this week have touched a very personal nerve for me. It involves my love of satire, freedom of expression and French cartoonists. My French is a bit rusty, so I give my apologies, but it seems appropriate that I post this in the language it should be. This isn't about BITO. It's a bit more personal than that.<br />
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Je ai été un grand fan de caricaturistes français pendant une longue période . Dès les premiers instants , je ai lu Astérix en anglais comme un enfant , à Spirou en français comme une jeune fille de Fluide Glacial dans mon adolescence .<br /><br />Mes étagères à la maison sont stockés avec des albums de bandes dessinées . Je Stock sur eux chaque fois que je vais à la France, comme d'autres personnes se approvisionner en vin. Je les ai dans ma collection de livres iTunes . Ils ont été une partie constante de ma vie , quoique que la plupart des gens autour de moi dans le juste ne obtiennent pas .<br /><br />Alors que Private Eye remplit un petit écart dans l'année, il ya toujours un désir de certains bandes de style français appropriées Dessine que les romans graphiques et les bandes dessinées du Royaume-Uni et des États-Unis ne semblent pas être en mesure d'égaler . Les dessins animés et leur humour me touchent d'une manière qui me ramène tout au long de ma vie pour la première fois je ai ramassé Astérix - et bien sûr , Tintin Belge.<br /><br />Je espère transmettre mon amour pour eux à mes enfants . Ma fille tente déjà de chanter en français à Mylene Farmer, alors peut-être il ya espoir.<br /><br />Malgré mon amour pour eux tout au long des années , je ne me attendais pas à voir le jour où certains de mes bien-aimés caricaturistes seraient tués pour dessiner une image que quelqu'un d'autre ne aimait pas .<br /><br />La liberté de parole . La liberté d'expression . Je ai le droit de vous offenser . Vous avez le droit d'être offensé .<br /><br />Personne ne devrait mourir pour un dessin et personne ne devrait avoir à arrêter de dessiner au cas où ils meurent .<br /><br />Laissez le stylo être plus puissante que l' épée.<br /><br />Je suis Charlie<br />
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PhilippaBeds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-11734873204498708082015-01-09T14:52:00.001+00:002015-01-09T18:20:41.567+00:00Happy New Year - Where are those pesky beds?<div>
It's been a while since we've blogged and been on the BITO campaign trail. We've had a good few weeks off for Christmas, but are firmly back on the campaign trail from today.</div>
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<b>So where are we up to?</b><br />
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The beds at The Orchard unit are still all male. The Trust tried to empty the female ward of the men to reopen them to women and had got down to one last bed, but a huge flurry of male admissions over the weekend before Christmas meant that it was a no go. Information from our supporters show that there were some women who had been expecting to be closer to their families at Christmas and were disappointed. <br />
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So are we. Very disappointed.</div>
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It seems that it's impossible to treat men in the community. That needs looking at, it really does. It feels almost impossible to get a bed when you're a woman, but impossible to keep men out of hospital. Why is the community care failing like that? More on that in later posts.</div>
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Our spokeswoman has been in contact with the Trust on a regular basis and says that they are still working towards re-opening the beds to women as soon as possible. It's all a bit secret squirrel, but we'll keep you updated. We just want them to get on with it now!</div>
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<b>Some LOVELY news</b></div>
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A lovely person on twitter has nominated BITO for the Deputy PMs Mental Health Heroes award!</div>
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A chance for us to address our issues and speak about our campaign and the Trust with the deputy PM in person would be AMAZING.</div>
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As for LCFT, no publicity is bed, sorry, I mean <i>bad </i>publicity. </div>
Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-18880591433446813442014-12-20T19:28:00.000+00:002014-12-20T19:28:13.200+00:00Its the BITO Christmas Night Out!Tonight the Beds in the Orchard team are on their way out to celebrate what has been a very successful few weeks of very hard work. <br />
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This is the part where we all can join together and have some fun, especially for those of us who've not been able to join in the coffee and cake-fest that has been the cornerstone of a lot of the campaign team's involvement.<br />
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We're looking forward to a night of good food, good company and probably fizzy stuff to celebrate Christmas and the campaign in general.<br />
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Let the good times roll!<br />
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<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-8710729814629278602014-12-18T11:21:00.000+00:002014-12-18T11:34:00.083+00:00We're on the last straight and close to the finish!Has it all gone quiet at Beds in the Orchard? Not really, there's just a lot going on in the background.<br />
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The past week or so has been busy for the Beds in the Orchard team, but mainly in preparing for Christmas rather than campaigning for beds. The Christmas trees are up, the lights are shining and the presents mostly wrapped. Of course the main present that we want is the return of the beds to women.<br />
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<b>So, is this going to happen?</b><br />
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Yes and sooner than The Harbour opening. This is a big change from a couple of weeks ago when the Trust looked into whether they could swing the beds back and reported that it wasn't possible. Now the information is that the CCG has said that they need to be returned to female before The Harbour opens and they are working hard for that to happen.<br />
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This is good news and there has been a lot of excitement among the team because someone from LCFT said that it would be by Christmas, but as usual there is a difference between the message via the official route and the information given to someone involved with the Campaign by other LCFT staff.<br />
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One person had a member of LCFT on speakerphone so they and their friend heard that person tell them both that the beds would definitely be open by Christmas. The Official line from LCFT via our spokesperson is that its only a Maybe by Christmas as there are a lot of things that need doing and that the person from LCFT hadn't said it was for definite.<br />
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<b>So who is right?</b><br />
Two people heard the man from LCFT say it was for definite. The same man has said via the official line that they didn't say it was for definite. We think there's a bit of ass covering going on there to be honest. One person getting the wrong end of the stick, fine, but two. Big. Fat. HMMMMMMM. So while we agree that no one misheard what they were told over the phone, it just wasn't true and shouldn't have been said.<br />
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<b>However this is not the important stuff! </b><br />
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The important thing is that they are actually trying to reopen the beds to women by Christmas. They can't guarantee it as it will take a lot for this to happen and sometimes these things just aren't possible. <br />
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<b>So via our OFFICIAL LINE.</b><br />
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<li>They are trying to close down the beds to men in order to reopen them to women. </li>
<li>They have people who are in private beds at the moment at its important to get them back into Trust Beds.</li>
<li>They are looking into ways to reduce male admissions.</li>
<li>They have managed a small reduction at the Orchard to free up a bed.</li>
<li>They are doing what they can but can't guarantee it, so hopes should not be got up. </li>
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<b>This smells of success!</b> <br />
<u><b>BUT</b></u> While it looks like we're going to be successful, we're not going to have any grand announcements until we have them back for sure and we know they won't be returned to men as soon as we turn our backs.<br />
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A lot of work has gone into this campaign. Some people have joined in close to the end and their input has been great, but this has been a long slog since October when we first heard about the closure. Its taken hard work, time, lots of investigation, FOI requests, lots of legal advice and communication with the press. We're bloody proud of what we've achieved,<b> but there's no way that we're going to announce a victory before we've actually won for real.</b><br />
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So as we are down to the last bit of the whole campaign, we are going to hand over the keys to Philippa, the campaign spokesperson and founder along with Lisa and Roz, the managers and bloody scary women to deal with the Trust, so we can get on with enjoying Christmas and not get over excited before we actually get the beds back.<br />
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They'll keep you all updated, Officially updated and hopefully the news will be good and soon.<br />
<u><b><span style="color: red;"><br />MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!</span></b></u><br />
<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-38591895386109650262014-12-11T18:24:00.003+00:002014-12-11T18:24:55.250+00:00Lancaster Guardian Once More...Beds in the Orchard went back into the Lancaster Guardian for the second time today.<br />
<br />
If you're a regular follower of this blog, you may remember our first mention in the Lancaster Guardian where we were told that <a href="http://bedsintheorchard.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/its-all-fault-of-those-long-dark-nights.html" target="_blank">the closure to women was because of those long dark winter nights.</a><br />
<br />
Things have moved on a lot since then, but we kept in contact with the Guardian and they decided to talk more about our campaign in today's edition. We made it onto the front page, no less, and the full article is here - <a href="http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/community/patients-won-t-take-bed-battle-lying-down-1-6999256#" target="_blank">Won't take bed battle lying down.</a><br />
<br />
We'd like to thank both Rebecca Wilkinson and Philippa Molloy for speaking out so clearly about what this campaign means to us and why we are fighting on. <br />
<br />
A lot of the article focuses on how we believe that the Trust did not adhere to the Equality Act when making the decision. This is something that our MP David Morris is taking up for us. The Trust believe they have adhered to the act, but the truth will be in the detail.<br />
<br />
While you don't need to do a full Equality Impact Assessment or consultation for a temporary decision, we have been advised that you <b>do</b> still need to pay due regard to the Act and be able to provide the documentation showing how such due regard was taken. Without such documentation indirect discrimination will have occurred.<br />
<br />
As the Trust have been unable to show that such due regard has taken place, or provide the details of why they believe such due regard did not have to take place, our position remains the same. Hopefully this is something that will be clarified one way or another through our MP.<br />
<br />
Our spokesperson is still working with the Trust and has been in contact with them this week, although the feedback from her is that its "in progress" we expect that there will be further updates as time goes on.<br />
<br />
<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-9284031190400565422014-12-09T17:45:00.001+00:002014-12-09T17:45:36.284+00:00Judicial Review - you win some, you lose some.Today we had some bad news regarding our taking the Trust to court for Judicial Review.<br />
<br />
The rules for Judicial Review state that the claim has to be brought within 3 months of the decision being made.<br />
<br />
Recent information provided to us states that the decision was made in August and unfortunately that means we have missed the window of opportunity by a few weeks.<br />
<br />
While we're obviously disappointed by this, we still send our thanks to Irwin Mitchell and Partners in Manchester who spoke to us about the case and gave us a lot of advice for free.<br />
<br />While it is incredibly frustrating that we can't take the more formal channel of action on this occasion, we are not wholly disappointed. We still showed that the Trust was unable to supply any documentation about due regard to the Equality Act 2010 when asked.<br />
<br />
You win some, you lose some, but we shall carry on. <br />
<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-79102818721487019142014-12-09T12:01:00.003+00:002014-12-09T17:50:03.686+00:00Is a Victory Without Beds Possible?It's clear to our campaign that we may not get the beds back any time soon. They just don't have enough beds after they closed 22 male beds knowing they needed them. They knew they couldn't manage and they'd have to close The Orchard to women to do it.<br />
<br />
They also closed the beds at the start of autumn when they
knew there was a seasonal demand for male beds. Closing beds knowing they were needed. Stupid thing to do.<br />
<br />
Our spokesperson is working with their spokesperson to see what is going to happen next as well as keeping an eye on everything we're doing too.<br />
<br />
The rest of the campaign team had a meeting this morning to talk about the situation. The big topic for our meeting today was...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>If we can't get the beds has all of this work been worth it? </b><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Have we had any kind of victory without getting them back when that was our aim?</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>We think we can claim some victories along the way.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
We've publicly called the Trust to account for their actions.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
We publicly showed through FOI that the Trust was not giving the full story and people know it.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
We've managed to tell our story in local and national press and on local radio.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
We've made the Trust take a group of service users and what they are doing very seriously.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
We have gained the backing of our MP who has been on the radio to support us.<br />
That's a victory. <br />
<br />
We publicised the campaign across the UK and lots of people now know what the Trust did.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
We made Mumsnet Blog of the day so a thousand people learned about the Trust's actions.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
We've made people care about us and have had nearly 600 signatures on our petition.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
If you search for the Trust and The Orchard, our publicity there for everyone to see.<br />
That's a victory.<br />
<br />
We've helped other service users find their voice and challenge the Trust themselves.<br />
That's a victory. <br />
<br />
<b>Most of all, we doubt that the LCFT will pull a stunt like this without expecting a huge reaction as we're organised, we're working together and we'll be on it with all of the force we have.</b><br />
<br />
<b>And that, my friends is a VICTORY!</b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>We still want the bloody beds back though.</b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-61035796422669642212014-12-08T16:44:00.002+00:002014-12-08T16:46:34.331+00:00Small VictoriesThis whole campaign has been a series of small victories. While we're waiting for the report from the Trust that we expect to get today, we're sharing two.<br />
<br />
We've put these on twitter as well, but for those of you who don't follow @OrchardBeds, here we go.<br />
<br />
The blog tells us what search terms have been used to find us. A few people have searched for Orchard Hospital Lancaster. We wondered what turned up when you did.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0LoD-vm7btgyCBrV7I3RSBTJiN4sdKIsvM6quWVS1Bs7Zt5jIIWUctZ89IDSrbHIyEyz8A_w9E8YN_dVnLV5fVkjB5TMHJpOOxDc1IqOzvGuxwLgHzOT4MNRLD3MRTbteQ9c8H22oy4/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0LoD-vm7btgyCBrV7I3RSBTJiN4sdKIsvM6quWVS1Bs7Zt5jIIWUctZ89IDSrbHIyEyz8A_w9E8YN_dVnLV5fVkjB5TMHJpOOxDc1IqOzvGuxwLgHzOT4MNRLD3MRTbteQ9c8H22oy4/s1600/image.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All of our publicity in the press. Cool!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We flicked onto images and while most of the, are building shots, we found that our logo comes before the chief exec. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJykXQX42IiA1viUhGiLQNnLbyyGibyQc0YsdTUl_yuGJtDFNfUkkJ-1PPVlDF5QjnA4sZW_aQgGg5b5bZCULtWvm46i5OmNVKsw51Wc3i5aLOIUndVYzz02yOk_3Lw7eHoAjxGn3Ykhc/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJykXQX42IiA1viUhGiLQNnLbyyGibyQc0YsdTUl_yuGJtDFNfUkkJ-1PPVlDF5QjnA4sZW_aQgGg5b5bZCULtWvm46i5OmNVKsw51Wc3i5aLOIUndVYzz02yOk_3Lw7eHoAjxGn3Ykhc/s1600/image.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
As we said. Small victories!</div>
Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-24759168952221113572014-12-07T13:56:00.001+00:002014-12-07T18:30:59.631+00:00Communications with the Trust Part 3 or 4, we've lost count.The Beds in the Orchard team has been having a well deserved weekend off the campaign to regroup, drink mulled wine and do a bit of Christmas shopping. We can confirm that Christmas shopping is way more tiring and stressful than campaigning for women. However, since mulled wine has been involved, its not all bad.<br />
<br />
So on to next week...<br />
<br />
Our spokesperson has heard back from the Trust and we are expecting to receive a report from them tomorrow along with the notes from our meeting last Monday.<br />
<br />
Last Thursday, Keith Dibble held a meeting of managerial and clinical staff to discuss everything that has happened so far and their report will cover their position about the closure and actions since.<br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
So we're a bit "wait and see" now. We'll let you know what happens tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-88303184576379508892014-12-05T18:45:00.000+00:002014-12-05T18:45:12.486+00:00Our Campaign, our MP and the LCFT on the BBC Radio LancashireIf you don't live in Lancashire or if you haven't been listening to BBC Radio Lancashire, you can hear our campaign, the response from the Trust and our MP via their listen again Service.<br />
<br />
You can hear us in the morning on the <b>Graham Liver </b>breakfast show.<br />
We are on at 1:09:15 and the Trust are on an hour later.<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02c55jj">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02c55jj</a><br />
<br />
You can hear about us again and the support from our MP, David Morris on the <b>Gary Hickson</b> program from this evening.<br />
We are on at 01:10:00 or thereabouts.<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02c55pm">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02c55pm</a><br />
<br />
See what <b>you</b> think.<br />
<br />
Remember, when the MP mentions the Scarisbrick Unit in Ormskirk, this gem from our FOI requests.<br />
<br />
<i>TH suggested using The Orchard as a flexible ward if the network is
under pressure for male or female beds for a period of time. <b>The current
female patients could be moved to Scarisbrick Unit</b>. AW stated that as
the Orchard is a standalone unit it would have to be clear which
patients could be admitted as there is only 1 seclusion room. The ward
would be flexible until the opening of the Harbour.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Yes, they planned to move the female patients that were at The Orchard in Lancaster to the Scarisbrick Unit in Ormskirk, the unit furthest away from home.</b><i> </i> Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-69729663989290938372014-12-05T12:43:00.001+00:002014-12-05T12:48:44.131+00:00So what did we learn on the radio today?This morning Beds in the Orchard was back on BBC Radio Lancashire. The Trust is vulnerable to Judicial Review after failing to pay due regard when closing The Orchard to women.<br>
<br>
We sent our spokesperson. They sent a spokesperson. What did we learn?<br>
<br>
1. That they are still using the "clinical need" line when we know that this is nothing to do with women who may need PICU care.<br>
<br>
2. That they are still saying it's not for financial reasons despite knowing that they had to close a ward in this financial year and the Lancashire Telegraph had already reported that it was to save £720,000.<br>
<br>
3. That they are still saying that it had nothing to do with closing the ward in Burnley, despite FOI information showing that they themselves said that the loss of 22 male beds was "unmanageable" before they closed it. The FOI further showed how they had to close female beds elsewhere to make up the shortfall.<br>
<br>
4. That they are still talking about more community care when our FOI request showed there had been no increase in staff in North Lancs or Burnley.<br>
<br>
5. That it's preferable to deny ALL women from North Lancashire local care then send any men out of area.<br>
<br>
6. That they weren't willing to address the issue of the Equality Act when challenged.<br>
<br>
<b>And last of all, they would rather have the terrible publicity of making a group of women with mental health issues take them to court rather than sort it out.</b><br>
<br>
Well done Lancashire Care NHS Trust. Well done.Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-73484593133197932492014-12-04T18:19:00.002+00:002014-12-04T18:19:58.772+00:00Facilities for the Disabled. Is it really that hard?<b>This was left as a comment by Chris Balchin, but we have decided to make it a full post again.</b> <br />
<br />
May I just take this opportunity to say the following:<br /><br />I would just like to say that I've long been aware of the phrase<br /><br />'It's the Squeaky door that gets the oil'.<br /><br />For
those of you who have had to endure the lack of adequate facilities in
The Lancaster Unit, The Orchard and the appalling disregard to your
needs Trust wide, [the same experiences and worse that I too have
experienced] I offer my apologies for squeaking too quietly, and
possibly too timidly for too long.<br />
<br />I let you down.<br />
<br />But I care about you. I respect you, your dignity and relative independence.<br />However,
I promise you and all future users of The Orchard and wider Trust that
as long as I am able, I will not let go until you have facilities that
at least match those of the new build, The Harbour, and see to it that
attitudes are changed towards your needs and disadvantages. The Trust
owes you that.<br />You are no less important in Burnley, Ormskirk,
Lancaster or any part of Lancashire, than any patient being sent to the
modern facility in Blackpool; when it opens of course.<br />This blog is a
literal God send, facilitating serious amplification to my squeak and
for that and their indefatigable determination to roar for those who
can't or feel unable to even squeak for themselves, I give my heart felt
thanks to the team.<br /><br />Seriously -<br /><br /><b>Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU</b><br /><br />To Ms Tierney Moore, Chief Executive of Lancashire Care I would ask this,<br /><br />Why are individual voices ignored, regardless of the gravity of the message?<br />My
message has been voiced since my time as an inpatient at the worst
period of my mental ill health, but I was made to feel from the outset
like a complete nuisance and an irritation.<br />And how can it be that
the most senior member of the build project team for the £100,000 plus
refurbished Lancaster Unit say he was "unaware" of the absence of any
facilities for disabled people, and that "...it must have been an
oversight".<br />Only to follow that up with an identical situation at
the £1.2 million refurbished Orchard, even though I attended the Open
Information Day prior to work on the Orchard refurbishment, specifically
to advise of the situation in order to "...prevent the same issue
reoccurring at The Orchard".<br /><br />I deserve a transparent and honest answer to these points, as do the other service users and the financiers.<br /><br />ChrisBeds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-37537163688748063712014-12-03T17:48:00.000+00:002014-12-03T17:48:17.788+00:00We're fighting for the Women but what about Disability? <i>This post was left as a comment on our Blog, but I am moving and making it a full post as it's important. I would like to thank Chris Balchin for adding this and also for being strong enough to use their own name, something that not many can or will do.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>From the outset I can openly state my name.</b> I am Chris (Christopher) Balchin. My LCFT credentials you will find in my comment earlier in this blog.<br /><br />I am so grateful for this latest posting!<br />
<br />It
is of great benefit to me personally in my one man campaign for Justice
for disabled people in The former Lancaster Unit, at its replacement
The Orchard, and around attitudes to disabled people's experience within
the Trust generally. My campaign has received warm words but little
success since 2010 when I was an inpatient suffering the effects of a
serious breakdown.<br /><br />I today met with genuinely concerned senior
managers in the Trust. These managers were made aware of my concerns for
the first time today and were genuinely shocked at my stories. I
believe they are taking this and other issues very seriously indeed.<br />
<br />It
had not occurred to me that the Trust needed to take Due Regard for
Disability when earlier mentioned, but your wording opened my eyes to
the obvious. <br />
<br />
All I've heard from project managers and the Architect
was that Regulations are different for a refurbishment to that of a new
build. Other management just referred to cost implications. I
continually questioned the legitimacy of those comments where no
facilities are provided at all, or where facilities are so lacking that
there might as well be none.<br />
<br />The room lauded to me as 'The Disabled
Room' is named such for one reason and one reason only - it has a larger
floor area. Further, this Disabled Room is on the Men's Wing. I received no reply when I asked where the Women's Disabled Room was.<br /><br />If
those people that I have previously spoken to thought I would go away,
be assured I never would, but the stress of their inaction and
dismissive behaviour might have caused a relapse in my health forcing me
back to the inadequate conditions of the Orchard. I would not have
coped with that though so would not have likely survived.<br /><br />However, though my only technology is a phone, I see it can be so beneficial in bringing justice to the oppressed. It is amazing what Public Knowledge of a situation can do.<br /><br /><b>Well Chris, we do hope that the Trust staff who we know are reading our blog, look into your concerns properly and start taking issues of potential discrimination seriously.</b>Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-43428059719694142252014-12-03T08:44:00.001+00:002014-12-03T08:49:03.217+00:00Judicial Review - Letter Before Claim to be sent to the LCFT<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">After taking advice yesterday, Beds in the Orchard contacted their solicitor and asked for a
Letter Before Claim to be sent to the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation
Trust with regards to taking them to court for a Judicial Review into
their action of closing The Orchard to women.<br /> <br /> When taking action, even temporary, that has a direct affect on a Protected Characteristic as outlined in
the Equality Act of 2010, in this case a person's sex, a public body
must pay due regard to the act and must publish documentation about how
due regard was given when asked. The Trust as unable to provide such information and are therefore liable to Judicial Review.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Below are some of the questions that have been asked amongst campaigners and our responses. </span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><br /></span>
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b>What does this mean?</b></span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">The Letter Before Claim will lay out the case for how the Trust has made a decision in a way that contravenes the Equality Act. It will give them the opportunity to negotiate a resolution with our campaign before it goes to court.</span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b> </b></span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b>Sounds expensive.</b></span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Judicial Review claims are eligible for Legal Aid. For someone to be eligible for Legal Aid they need to be in receipt of certain benefits - in our case ESA, have savings of less than 8K and less than 100k of equity in any property they own. Because of the nature of the people we are supporting, there are a number of our group who qualify for Legal Aid.</span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b> </b></span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b>Do you really want to go to court?</b></span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">This campaign has always been about returning inpatient care to the women of North Lancashire and that is all we want. We would naturally prefer to do this out of court so that the public money that funds the NHS was spent on patient care rather than court cases. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b>What next?</b> </span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">We would appeal to the LCFT to find a way to return The Orchard to a mixed sex facility as soon as possible and to not close the facility to women again. We are still at a stage where we can resolve this together and as our case is quite clear cut it would benefit no one for this to be taken fully down the legal route.</span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b></b></span><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><br /></span>Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-49044918928144785702014-12-02T17:02:00.002+00:002014-12-02T17:02:32.961+00:00So, will we get the beds back?<b></b><br />
<div>
<b><b></b></b></div>
<b>The question we've been asked the most is "are we getting the beds back?"</b><br />
<br />
The answer to this is "yes, at some point, but it may not be until The Harbour opens."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is obviously very disappointing to us all. This will mean that The Orchard will have been closed to women for at least 6 months. Half a year is not a short term temporary closure, it is a long period of time for women to be denied local care and experience all of the negative effects.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Trust were unable to offer any guarantees about when the ward will be reopened to women, although they assured us that they are reviewing this regularly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The problem is that they're unable to cope with the demand for male beds, so have no choice to keep the ward male only. Attempts to move some beds back have not worked. This is due to the lack of capacity caused by closing the 22 male beds.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Is it just the women in North Lancashire who have lost out?</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Yes. Although there have been small losses elsewhere, the impact has focussed on North Lancashire. <br />
<br />
The first contingency plans were to close 5 female beds and change those to male. Two of these were the swing beds at The Orchard. The closure of the whole ward means that the loss of 22 male beds has resulted in a total loss of 11 female beds, 8 of which are in Lancaster.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Is there ANY good news?</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Yes and no...</b></div>
<div>
We've been assured that The Orchard will return to mixed use as soon as it's feasible, though with the usual caveat that it could run to when The Harbour opens. It's difficult for us to see this as good news when we already had that information.<br />
<br />
More positively, it was made clear that the intention is to absolutely return the ward to mixed sex and that there are further plans for investment, such as the appointment of an additional Pdoc.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Consultant Psychiatrist who attended the meeting to give clinical input was keen to point out that they wanted the ward to return to mixed sex as it was a more therapeutic environment when the ward is mixed. He also showed genuine concern about the in the impact of the closure.<br />
<br />
The Trust are keen to keep dialogue open between themselves and the Campaign and our spokesperson will keep this dialogue going. The Trust have assured us that the use of the beds is under constant review and that they are accountable to the CCGs that it is only temporary. By having direct communication we can keep up to date with what is happening.<br />
<br />
<b>Anything else?</b><br />
We suggested an interim measure to help the women and their families and this is going to be discussed by the Trust, though they felt it may not be feasible. We have actioned them to look into other ways that they could help.<br />
<b><br /></b>We also raised some feedback as to how the trust could look at how it deals with complaints. They have taken this on-board.</div>
Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-67084701839688327352014-12-02T11:21:00.001+00:002014-12-02T11:21:55.025+00:00Strategy is no Excuse for In-Year Budget CutsMuch has been made about the Strategy of the LCFT to reduce the number of inpatient beds while increasing the input from the community teams. <br />
<br />
In our meeting yesterday, we strongly challenged the closure of the 22 beds in Burnley as it was clear that decision had gone ahead with full acknowledgement that the loss of those beds was unmanageable, thus resulting in The Orchard being closed to women. <br />
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Mr. Dibble referred back to their strategy to reduce the number of inpatient beds and their major planning process of 2006 that had involved wide consultation and full due process. This was quoted that as a reason behind the closure of Ward 18 as it was part of the strategic plan.<br />
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We disagreed that you could refer back to an 8 year old plan to explain the closure of a ward to women in 2014. Mr. Dibble disagreed with us, as in his experience plans involving PFI, for example can take many years. <br />
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Our issue with this is that Strategy lays out the long term goals of an organisation, however, Strategy should not result in a failure to deliver required services. <br />
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We are not talking about the long term strategic plan, we are talking about a short term measure to deliver savings to the in-year budget knowing that it was not sustainable operationally and therefore resulted in the Trust being unable to deliver its services as required.<br />
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<b>Blaming strategic plans for operational failures does not make business sense.</b><br />
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<b>To summarise:-</b><br />
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<li>The Trust will have had to make cost savings within year. This is part of the yearly budget plan, not the Strategic Capital Investment plan.</li>
<li>The 22 beds were closed as part of the yearly budget plan, not the Strategic Capital Investment plan.</li>
<li>It is not the overall LCFT patient care strategy that caused the closure of The Orchard to women, it was the financial pressures and required budget savings within this financial year</li>
<li>A decision was made to reduce services knowing there wasn't capacity to manage that change. This is not a strategic issue. That is financial and operational. </li>
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<b>It is still clear that the women of North Lancashire are paying the price for the decision to reduce bed capacity to deliver short-term savings knowing that it was not manageable.</b><br />
<b><br />This is not acceptable. </b><br />
<br />Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100325397903452732.post-60735803291332596582014-12-02T10:19:00.000+00:002014-12-02T18:55:25.702+00:00Business Planning 101 - Know your StrategyOur representatives spent last night writing a number of updates for our blog today about what happened at their meeting with the Trust. After reading through some of them we’ve asked for some translation about what was said. So for those of you who like us have no idea what the difference is between Strategic, Operational and Financial Planning, we’re going to start off with an overview, so our first update makes sense. For those of you, who know all this already; do skip this “KISS” overview.<br />
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<i>I’ve been asked to write about business planning in layman’s terms. I’m not sure I can so apologies in advance.</i><br />
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<b>Business Planning</b></div>
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All businesses and organisations need a strategic plan to be able to grow and transform. </div>
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<li><b>Strategic plans</b> are usually long term. E.g 5 years. They state what the overall goal of the organisation is, what they want to achieve and predict where the business will go. Strategic plans should be reviewed on a yearly basis to ensure they are still relevant.</li>
<li><b>Operational plans</b> set out how they will achieve the strategic goals and run the business while working towards the goals. Operational Plans should be created yearly and aligned to the Strategic plan. </li>
<li><b>Investment plans</b> set out how much money is needed to deliver the strategic plan and the operational plans. These are usually 3 year plans, but should be reviewed regularly.</li>
<li><b>Yearly budget plans</b> set and manage the budget within year and should be reviewed on a monthly basis.</li>
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<b>Capital Business Planning</b><br />
Capital Business Planning is about investment in the business. Large projects are funded from capital should deliver a clear goal. Large investment in equipment is also capitalised.<br />
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<b>Yearly budget Planning</b> <br />
There are three budgets; Payroll, Income and Expenditure (I&E) and Capital. Payroll is a type of I&E and is generally the largest yearly spend in an organisation. I&E is what you need to run the Business and Capital is used for large expenditure. A basic example of this would be that Nurses are funded from Payroll, Bandages are funded from I&E and a new MRI scanner would use Capital.<br />
All three budgets can fluctuate depending on yearly pressures.<br />
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<b>Have you got all that? We think we almost have. There is a reason for explaining this – more to follow in our next blog post.</b>Beds In The Orchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06984932424631852825noreply@blogger.com0