Our Services
New Learning Disability and Autism Strategic Plan published
A new learning disability and autism strategic plan has been published outlining Mersey Care’s goals for how we will transform our care and treatment for people with a learning disability and autism leading up to 2028.
The new plan aims to help Trust staff work towards providing excellent care and treatment for people with a learning disability and autistic people so they are supported to live full and healthy lives. An Easy Read version of the plan has also been published. More information can be found in the news section of our website.
Film launched for Autism service users
Do you know what to expect at an autism assessment? We’ve launched a new film for our services in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Warrington to explain to patients and service users what to expect when they’re first assessed.
New interactive workbooks to support mental health in schools
Our Mental Health Support Teams in schools have released new interactive workbooks designed to help young people, parents and education staff learn new ways to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Developed from resources originally produced by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, they aim to provide young people with practical strategies and tools to better understand and cope with mental health and wellbeing. More information in our news section of the website.
International Nurses’ Day celebration
Chief Nurse, Jenny Hurst led our International Nurses’ Day celebration, reflecting on her career path, Trust achievements and supported this year’s theme with a reminder of our comprehensive wellbeing offer and the importance of self care.
Trish Bennett, Chief Executive Officer, thanked our nurses and allied health professionals for their passion and commitment to nursing and was followed by James McLean, NHS England’s Regional Chief Nurse, who talked about nursing, past, present and future.
Pictured above (left to right): Jenny Hurst, Mersey Care’s Chief Nurse, James McLean, NHS England’s Regional Chief Nurse and Trish Bennett, Mersey Care’s Chief Executive Officer.
NHS England in the North West also wanted to highlight the incredible and compassionate work of learning disability nurses and encourage people to consider a career in the profession. Sandra Watkins, our Student Nursing Associate and Learning Disability Mentor, shared her story on their website.
Expansion into community venues prompts closure of The Life Rooms Bootle
The Life Rooms Bootle has closed as part of their move to provide increased access to support throughout communities in Sefton and Liverpool.
The team is identifying community venues in Sefton that are closely located and aligned to Mersey Care’s community mental health teams (CMHTs), offering greater access to learning sessions, pathways advice and social prescribing to support service users with their health and wellbeing.
The Life Rooms have already rolled out a timetable of activity in community venues in Liverpool and are generating referrals from CMHTs to address concerns like social isolation, finances and mental wellbeing.
Their centre in Walton, located a short distance from the Bootle site, is also open to service users for a range of support from learning, digital skills and practical advice, with a café and library. Find out more on The Life Rooms website.
Mersey Cares Sky Dive 2025: Supporting our services during Mental Health Awareness Week
Congratulations to our amazing skydivers and Mersey Care staff, Carol, Nismen and Tracy who took to the skies during Mental Health Awareness Week to raise £1,775 for our services and to raise awareness around psychosis and early intervention.
Read more about their challenge on the Mersey Cares website.
Impact: How Mersey Cares supports people living with dementia
We’ve been able to support our Later Life and Memory Services with funding for a range of initiatives and resources and we’re delighted to see the positive impact they’re having for people living with dementia, as well as their families and carers.
Admiral Nurses have launched a lending library of dementia aids including therapeutic dolls, puzzles, clocks and books, while dementia friendly door wraps and murals have helped transform ward spaces.
Funding has also provided resources for enhancing engagement in therapy sessions. Plans for a memorial garden to benefit patients and staff are underway at Willow House. More information can be found on the Mersey Cares website.
MP visit to Trust services
Patrick Hurley, the MP for Southport, visited Southport community mental health teams following engagement with Trust staff at a Dementia Roundtable event in April.
The visit was facilitated by Rebecca Taylor, Deputy Divisional Director
Community Mental Health Services and Consultant Psychiatrist, Lisa Williams. Mr Hurley was keen to listen to the challenges faced by services and discussed how he could support in raising the profile of the needs of local residents and ‘the system’ in working more collaboratively.
Our Achievements
Parliamentary call for The Life Rooms
Michael Crilly, Director of Social Health and Community Inclusion, recently attended the Health and Social Care Select Committee to give evidence in Parliament.
The purpose of the session was to showcase good and innovative practice and highlight examples of work Government and NHS England may want to examine.
Michael’s attendance at the session can be found on Parliament TV’s website starting at 10.35.
Consultants earn Fellowship honours
Two of our consultants, Dr Declan Hyland and Dr John Crosby, have been awarded Fellowships from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Dr Hyland (pictured below on left) is a general adult psychiatrist who has worked in Clock View Hospital, Hartley Hospital and now the Brooker Centre, while Dr Crosby has worked at Ashworth Hospital for nearly 14 years and leads on medicines and safety for the Trust.
They were recognised by their professional body, the Royal College, who present this honour after psychiatrists reach a minimum of 10 years in their roles and have proved their outstanding contribution to the discipline.
Low Secure Unit leads tech safety revolution
Our team at Aspen Wood, the new low secure site at Maghull Health Park, has been highlighted by Building Better Healthcare magazine for using technology to massively reduce false door alarms.
Frequent false alarms create barriers to a calm, therapeutic environment and Aspen Wood was experiencing more than 600 of these a month. In other parts of the country, there were reports of ‘false alarm fatigue’ meaning real incidents might be overlooked.
Aspen Wood leads had identified that alarm overload was a patient safety issue and our clinicians worked with external tech partners to make improvements. The team looked at training, sensitivity adjustments and smarter data logging. This cut the alarms down to just 6 by April this year, a 99 per cent reduction.
You can read the full article, including data, on the Building Better Healthcare website.
Our Research
Promoting Count Me In at The Life Rooms
We have introduced Count Me In to make it easier for Mersey Care patients and service users to hear about and get involved in research. As part of our widespread communications campaign, the Count Me In team recently attended events at The Life Rooms in Walton and Southport during Mental Health Awareness Week.
It was a fantastic chance to meet people from across our local communities and make them aware of the benefits of research. To make it easier for third sector organisations and community groups to promote Count Me In, we’ve produced a communications toolkit. If you would like a copy of the toolkit please contact info@mric.uk.
Mersey Care and M-RIC welcome new Honorary Suicide Prevention Research Lead
Professor Pooja Saini (below) has recently joined Mersey Care as Honorary Suicide Prevention Research Lead. As part of her new role, she’ll be conducting suicide prevention research with M-RIC as part of the population mental health work package.
In a recent blog for M-RIC, she discusses her background as a leading figure in suicide and self harm prevention research in the UK and her ambitions for her new role.
Mersey Care staff co-author paper on systems thinking in mental health safety
Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Dr Alexander Challinor is a lead author on a new paper which investigates systems thinking in mental health patient safety.
It has been co-authored by Research Effectiveness Lead, Oladayo Bifarin and Honorary Suicide Prevention Research Lead, Professor Pooja Saini. You can read the paper Systems Thinking in Mental Health Patient Safety: A Narrative Review of Complex Adaptive Systems.
Empowering research in learning disabilities, autism and neurodiversity
Mersey Care is committed to improving services for people with learning disabilities, autism and neurodiversity. To support this, we recently held a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Special Interest Stakeholder Day at Maghull Health Park. Find out more about the event on the M-RIC website.
Get Involved
Celebrate 77 years of our NHS by hosting an NHS Big Tea event
Join the nation in marking the anniversary of the NHS (5 July) by hosting an NHS Big Tea event between 30 June and 6 July.
Please gather your friends, family or colleagues, enjoy a brew and raise funds to support Mersey Care’s mental health and community services. Your support is so valuable and helps to bring to life projects beyond the scope of NHS funding.
Register for your fundraising pack which includes posters, decorations and activities for your event, on the Mersey Cares website.
Become a ZSA Friend to support suicide awareness and prevention
Mersey Cares charity is supporting the important work of the Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) and launched their ZSA Friend Appeal during Mental Health Awareness Week.
It’s a powerful way for supporters to make a lasting impact on suicide awareness and prevention. By becoming a ZSA Friend and donating a small monthly gift, you can help ZSA plan for the future and allow us to fund new resources and develop future, targeted training such as the newly launched Social Isolation and Loneliness Training, which was made possible thanks to NHS Charities Together.
More information about how to become a ZSA Friend can be found on the Mersey Cares website.
Free training for local authority and community practitioners
Due to the success of previous training for Mersey Care staff, local authority and community practitioner colleagues, the Trust has decided to extend its popular Autism and Mental Health training.
The dates, which can be seen on the image below, offer a combination of online and face to face sessions and details of how to book are at the bottom of the image.
MC Magazine
Now available online - MC Magazine Spring 2025 issue.
Read life stories:
- Eyes open – spot the warning signs of county lines drug gangs
- Diabetes – how to eat better to live well
- Count Me In – a mental health nurse explains why research is so valuable
- Mersey Cares – how fundraising challenges can change lives
- Flower power – why floral therapy is ‘bloomin’ marvellous’
Join our stakeholder news mailing list
Do you know someone who wants to learn more about Mersey Care by joining our stakeholder mailing list? Please ask them to fill in the form on our website and they’ll be the first to hear all our news.