Prof Joe Rafferty CBE, Chief Executive's blog

In his latest blog, Chief Executive Prof Joe Rafferty CBE has written about the state of the art buildings being added to our impressive portfolio of new hospitals since 2015.

“Good design costs no more than bad design. There’s a culture within the NHS to provide repeatable bedrooms that look identical, partly because it’s always been done and because it’s the most cost effective solution, but we don’t do that.

We try and personalise and we try and make these rooms about the person that’s staying there for however short or extended their stay with us may be. We try and give them opportunities to bring themselves to their care because that’s all part of you owning a part of your own care and treatment plan.”

Read Joe’s blog in full today.


Trust wide news

The Life Rooms – course timetable

Life Rooms Logo 2022

There are many short courses available at The Life Rooms. This includes courses to recognise, understand and manage symptoms like anxiety, depression and psychosis to creative courses to build confidence and self esteem or develop skills in arts. The July timetables are now available on The Life Rooms website.

Life Rooms VCSE commission and new start at Everyman Theatre

Following the recent Life Rooms Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Commission focusing on employability, The Life Rooms announced they have commissioned The Brain Charity and Transform Lives Company to help people to gain or remain in employment.

Michael Crilly, Director of Social Inclusion and Participation said; ‘We are so lucky to have such a diverse and vibrant voluntary sector in Liverpool. The sector played a vital role in supporting our communities during the pandemic. As we work towards recovery, we are proud to commission these two VCSE organisations who are seeking to support our communities’ wellbeing through innovative activity and meaningful partnerships, helping them to gain or remain in paid employment.’

The Life Rooms have also now reopened at the Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre to provide the local community with learning, education and employment opportunities.

In addition to drama, creative writing and poetry, The Life Rooms Everyman will offer mental and physical health lifestyle sessions and advice on education and employment.

This service is available every Monday and Tuesday at the Everyman from 10am to 3pm. Find out more about the commissioned projects and the latest on our different sites on The Life Rooms website.

Liverpool 2 (Mossley Hill Hospital) July update

We are working with our design champions and experts by experience to create a state of the art mental health facility for Liverpool. Watch our newest video and read more on our website.

MC Magazine – Summer 2022 issue out now

MC Magazine Summer 2022 edition

Packed full with stories on anxiety, cuckooing, recovery, gender dysphoria, talking therapy and much more. Read it in full for FREE.

We want your feedback on our website

It has been more than 12 months since we launched our new website and we aim to continue to make it more user friendly, accessible, and easier to find information.

As part of our commitment to improve the experience of visitors to our website, we are asking for your feedback via this short two minute questionnaire. Thanks for your support.


Mental health news

Parliamentary Award Winners – Crisis Triage Car Service

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Congratulations to our Mental Health Triage Car service for winning the Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award at the recent prestigious NHS Parliamentary Awards. The service was nominated by Dan Carden MP and is a joint partnership between Mersey Care, North West Ambulance Service, Merseyside Police and the British Transport Police.

The full list of winners are available on the Parliamentary Awards website.

Nursing Times Awards - finalists

Congratulations to our Community Mental Health Teams, Early Intervention Teams and Older Adult community services, after being shortlisted for their use of 'Technology and Data in Nursing' in the Nursing Times Awards 2022.

Nursing Times Awards 2022 Finalist

They were shortlisted for how they are 'Transforming community mental health services with data driven insights'.

For more information, visit the Nursing Times Awards website.

New app marks International Father's Mental Health Awareness Day

Our Specialist Perinatal Service marked International Father’s Mental Health Awareness Day by supporting a new app for dads across Cheshire and Merseyside.

The DadPad app is an easy to use, freely downloadable resource for new dads, partners, parents and dads to be in the Cheshire and Merseyside area, packed with relevant information, as well as details on local support groups and service providers.

It aims to provide new fathers with guidance on how to develop the mindset, confidence and practical skills needed to meet their babies’ physical and emotional needs. Read more on our news page.

Making referrals for specialist mental health assessment – updated forms

Referrals for specialist mental health assessment can be made by GPs and other health and care professionals using the relevant referral form on our referral section.

Congratulations Lily-Mae!

Congratulations to Lily-Mae from Meadowside County Primary and Nursery School in Warrington, who won first prize in our Graphic Competition for our Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) in schools service.

Speak Up Get Help logo designed by Lily-Mae

This design has been adapted by our graphic designer for use in our MHST displays and engagement activities. Read more on our news page.

Need help in a mental health crisis?

For anyone struggling with stress, anxiety or feeling they can’t cope with day to day life, including thoughts of suicide, contact us on one of the freephone numbers below or visit our urgent help section.

Urgent Mental Health Helplines - Crisis lines graphic

If you live in Liverpool or Sefton, call 0800 145 6570 and aged 16 or over.

If you live in Halton, St Helens, Warrington or Knowsley, call 0800 015 1508.

Text messaging support service

If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or stressed you can contact text messaging support which is a free, confidential, 24/7 text message support service.

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For people who live in Liverpool or Sefton, Text HEAL to 85258 for immediate support, available 24/7.

For people who live in Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Warrington text REACH to 85258 for immediate support, available 24/7.

You can visit the Give Us A Shout website for more information about the text service.


Physical health news

Virtual Ward features in the Liverpool Echo

Our new Heart Failure Virtual Ward, only the second in this country, recently featured in the Liverpool Echo. The service jointly launched with our partners Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and digital health company Docobo six weeks ago and is making a real difference to our patients, their families, and the health system.

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Colette (above) shares her story and how her condition was monitored from home. Read more about it here.

The rise of Telehealth

Our Telehealth service originally started as a small project that supported around 50 patients in Liverpool with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure.

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The Telehealth service has provided much needed peace of mind and reassurance, knowing someone is constantly there to monitor my condition.

I've had equipment at home now for several months and I've found it invaluable. Especially knowinf that someone is at the end of a phone whenever I need them.

At the height of the pandemic, the number of patients being managed each day soared to more than 5,500. Read more on our website.

Celebrating the impact of our dietitians

Dietitians Week saw our dietitians and dietetic assistant practitioners talk about their different roles, what they do and how they make a difference.

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They support patients at every life stage from paediatric to older people and everything in between. Through evidence based research, the dietetic workforce contribute to our understanding of health conditions and health improvement.

Watch a short video about what our dietitians do.

Falls and Fracture Prevention Service (Knowsley) – referral changes

Knowsley’s Falls Team previously provided a postural stability programme and this was accessed directly via the Falls Team. This element of the service will now be delivered by Everton in the Community who will be delivering the new Safe and Steady Programme.

The main changes to service delivery will be the additional offer of community clinic appointments for your patients. This will be a substantial help in reducing overall waiting times in the service and improving the patient’s journey. We hope that working together we can encourage patients to make best use of these clinic appointments. We will of course continue to offer some appointments at the homes of the most vulnerable and housebound patients. Read more on our website.