5 BOROUGHS PARTNERSHIP NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
5 Boroughs’ Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides treatment, support and guidance for people affected by mental ill health and learning disabilities of whatever age, living in Halton, Knowsley, St Helens, Warrington and Wigan – including day care, in-patient care and community services.
Dedicated and expert staff work closely with local partners in each borough, to provide a better view on mental health for service users and carers, commissioners, staff and the local community as well as care for those experiencing difficulties.
The Trust’s aim is to deliver the very highest standards of care and advice, in safe and calm environments with a commitment to excellence. . Facilities include a designated Education Centre and Library at Winwick, near Warrington, to support learning, knowledge, skills, and evidence-based practice among its workforce.
The Challenge
The Trust needed to raise employee awareness of the Safeguarding Children element of their Effective Care Co-ordination Policy and Procedures – this was due to the fact that many of the Trust’s members work primarily with adults, so the focus of assessment was around adult needs.
Training would enable staff to be more effective in considering the needs and welfare of children and young people – for whom their clients may have carer’s responsibility. The package had to highlight the record-keeping process and the importance of documenting information about children and young people to ensure consistency across The Trust.
The Athena Solution
Athena was selected for a number of reasons. Karen Dobson, Named / Advanced Nurse Practitioner Safeguarding Children, said: “We chose Athena because of Sarah’s solid reputation. Having known Sarah when she worked as a trainer for a partner agency I knew she had a direct approach to business. I liked the diverse, innovative ideas and methods she proposed to deliver this training and the fact that The Athena Programme was intimate, in terms of being small but effective. We were given a consistent service as opposed to speaking to numerous people as would happen with a larger company.”
Athena co-delivered a course designed with local specialist safeguarding children leads. This utilised evidence-based materials sourced from the Royal College of Psychiatry Reports, National Clinical Standards as outlined in the 5 Boroughs Partnership 6th draft Safeguarding Children – Child Protection Training Strategy and Framework; the Every Child Matters (Department for Schools, Children and Families) training materials; and research from Children’s Needs and Parenting Capacity (Cleaver, et al 1999).
Delegates had the opportunity to explore key principles of safeguarding children and effective care co-ordination in a supportive, safe and enjoyable environment. This course ran for two years.
The Outcome
Karen said: “˜Evaluations from all the training sessions were extremely positive and the communication and standard of record-keeping by staff appears to have improved. We found the Athena team to be friendly with a unique and flexible approach to delivering training. We received a personal service – meaning the training package was tailored specifically to the needs and requirements of us, the customer.”
