Award winning mental health website gets modern makeover

A nationally recognised Child and Adolescent Mental Health website; that was  created for young people by young people; has been refreshed and re-launched in time for this year's World Mental Health Day that was held on 10 October 2019. MyMind is local NHS Trust CWP's dedicated website for young people across Cheshire and Wirral experiencing mental health difficulties. Originally launched in 2011, MyMind has won a litany of accolades over the years (including Health Service Journal Value in Healthcare and Positive Practice in Mental Health Awards) and been accessed by hundreds of thousands of people across the Region and beyond.  With support from local young people from Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's (CWP) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), MyMind has now been given a modern makeover. MyMind 2.0 features a new and improved platform with a fresh new design, coproduced with young people. The site also gives specific focus to the key topics identified as most important to young people and their families: how to cope with mental health challenges, how to get help and what to do in a crisis. It also includes a host of interactive resources for young people, parents / carers and those who work with young people around the topics of Mood, Lifestyle and Relationships; as well as detailed information about CWP's CAMHS services and other local and national support sources available.

Dr Fiona Pender, CWP Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Strategic Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Families, said:- "MyMind is a resource we share with our communities to ensure that young people across Cheshire and Wirral feel fully supported during such a vital time in their lives.  Coproduction is at the heart of MyMind. We've listened to what young people and families had to say about their emotional health and wellbeing and our new website has been driven by their voice. I'm so proud of MyMind's success over the years and I'm sure our new and improved website will continue to have a massive impact across our communities."

Sheena Cumiskey, CWP Chief Executive, said:- "For years MyMind has been a leader in its field and I'm delighted we've been able to make it even better. Supporting our communities in a way that best meets their needs is a key feature of the NHS Long Term Plan and this is a fabulous example of this in action. I'd like to say an enormous thank you to everyone involved."

Local MP honours local stars of the NHS

THE MP for Birkenhead has visited a local NHS Trust to pay tribute to some of the stars of our National Health Service. A special presentation at the Birch Centre, in Birkenhead, has recently saw the Rt Hon Frank Field MP present NHS Parliamentary Awards certificates to members of staff from Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP).

The NHS Parliamentary Awards were held in London earlier this year in July, and were an opportunity for members of parliament to celebrate NHS heroes from their constituencies. Each MP nominated an individual or project that they felt worthy of recognition for the Regional judging panels.

CWP benefitted from an impressive 7 nominations from Mr Field and were delighted to learn to that he wished to present certificates, honouring the nominations, in person, at the Trust.

Ready to welcome Mr Field to CWP were Trust Chief Executive, Sheena Cumiskey and CWP chair, Mike Maier. Sheena was thrilled to welcome the long-serving MP for Birkenhead to the Birch Centre. She said:- "On behalf of the Trust I was absolutely delighted to be able to welcome the Rt Hon Frank Field MP to CWP. His recognition of the efforts of our people was most welcome and we thoroughly enjoyed being able to share with him some of the outstanding work that takes place here."

Following the 7 nominations, three of Mr Field's recommendations went on to become Regional champions in their categories. CWP director of operations, Andy Styring, was a Regional champion in the Lifetime Achievement Category. The Next Step Cards project won the North West gong in the Future NHS category. Thirdly, Stephanie John, CWP clinical support worker, won a Regional prize in the Care and Compassion category.

The Rt Hon Frank Field MP said:- "I was really, really pleased to put forward all 7 of these NHS heroes for an NHS Parliamentary Award. It is hugely important that the tireless efforts of our NHS staff, day in, day out are recognised, and I hope this has gone some way to providing that recognition. The truth is that there are many awards that could be handed out to NHS staff across Merseyside who go out of their way to provide care, often in trying circumstances. I would like to congratulate Next Steps, Andy and Stephanie for being named as Regional champions in the awards. I was thrilled that they were given the opportunity to represent the North West Region at the national awards at Westminster. I would also like to say a huge well done to all of those who I nominated. Every day I am proud to be Chief Executive of this organisation. The number one reason for this is the hard work and dedication of our people. We continue to strive to provide outstanding care and go above and beyond in helping people to be the best they can be. Recognition such as this is richly deserved for the individuals who make our Trust the organisation that it is. I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to all of those who were nominated for these awards by Mr Field."