If you would like any more information
please contact Guild Lodge on
01772 773698
Guild Lodge
Specialist Services
Whittingham Lane
Preston
PR3 2JH
Notes
Contents
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Directions
Introduction and Welcome
Brief History
Aims of the Service
Our Values
Promoting Safety
Your Recovery Journey
Your Accommodation at Guild Lodge
The People Who Make Up the Ward Teams
Life at Guild Lodge
Visiting
Care Programme Approach
Mental Health Act 1983
Managers’ Meetings
Mental Health Review Tribunals
Advocacy
Letters and parcels
Service user and carer groups
Activities in Guild Lodge
Feedback about Our Service
Volunteers
Guild Lodge Address and Telephone Number
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Notes
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Directions to Guild Lodge
A6 Lancaster
A6 Garstang
Pub
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Restaurant
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Petrol
station
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Junction 32 M6
Preston A6
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Guild Lodge Goosnargh Preston PR3 2JH
01772 773698
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Notes
Introduction and Welcome
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust includes a
number of distinct services, one of which is known as
the Specialist Service Network. Within this network
Guild Lodge is a medium secure mental health care
hospital for men and women from the Lancashire and
South Cumbria areas of North West England. The
hospital is located in the grounds of Guild Park,
about four miles north of the City of Preston in
Lancashire.
As the medium secure part of a larger service, Guild
Lodge includes a number of locked hospital wards
within a particular confined area. Other locked wards
outside this area are located in Guild Park. Because
they are outside the confined area these wards are
low secure wards. In addition, the service has
specialist community based teams supporting people
who have left the hospital.
Together these wards and teams provide a seamless
and continuous service from admission to discharge
from the hospital.
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Brief History
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As a medium secure hospital, Guild Lodge opened in
July 1999. At that time it included just four wards and
a community nursing team. Since then the overall
service has grown in response to the needs of people
with ongoing and community rehabilitation care
needs. The service now supports people at the request of other hospitals, the courts and the prison
service.
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Aims of the Service
The overall purpose of our service is to provide high
standards of assessment, care and treatment for
people with mental health care needs, and to respond to these needs in a way that safeguard service
users, staff and the general public. Whilst the hospital
is described as secure, and has obvious characteristics that make it look like a secure environment, the
care provided is monitored to maintain high standards that are tailored to the needs of each person living here. The conditions of security are applied only
with safety in mind.
Notes
Our Trust and Service Values
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Within Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust all
staff are required to carry out their work with a range
of key values in mind. These include:-
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Accountability
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Teamwork
Trust values
Compassion
Integrity
Respect
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Excellence
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Promoting Safety
Whilst our values provide a foundation for
compassionate care, the specialist service, as with all
mental health care, has an obligation and a duty to
maintain the safety of everyone involved, including the
general public. When working with people using the
service we provide, we explore appropriate decision
making that supports a safe, individualised recovery
journey.
Staff include and involve each service user in
appreciating and understanding the safety issues
represented by their personal circumstances. This
approach to safety takes into account the experience
of living within a secure care environment. Inevitably
where safety is closely monitored, further care is
necessary in order to avoid compromise in other
quality of life areas, such as personal privacy.
Recovery Journey
The journey of recovery within a mental health context
is a deeply personal, unique process of changing one’s
attitudes, values, feelings goals, skills, and/or roles. It
is a way of living a satisfying, hopeful and contributing
life even with the limitations caused by illness.
Recovery involves the development of new meaning
and purpose in one’s life as one grows beyond the
catastrophic effects of mental illness. As a process,
mental health recovery is most helpfully defined by
three core beliefs:

Hope. Recovery is probably
impossible without hope. It is
essential to help a person stay
motivated. It supports personal
expectations of an individually
fulfilled life

Agency. This is about regaining
a sense of control in life.
Recovery means gradually
taking control over personal
problems, the services received
and life in general. Agency
supports self management,
self determination, choice and
responsibility

Opportunity. This links recovery
with participation in a wider
society. People with mental
health problems, like anyone
else, wish to be part of
communities; a valued member
of the community, contributing to
and enjoying access to the
opportunities that exist within
those communities
The Community-Working Group
The Community Working group (based at the
Tarnbrook centre) supports landscape jobs in and
around the local village of Goosnargh and other areas
around Lancashire. We also work in partnership with
Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
The work is very enjoyable and involves planting
flowers and plants then maintaining them to keep
them in good shape. The good thing is you work as a
team; service users and staff together with everyone
taking responsibility. The activity promotes exercise
too, because we walk if we are working in the village.
The best thing is that local people often pass by and
comment on what a good job we are doing. Skills
learned on other activities come in handy in the
community working group.
After working in woodwork the nest boxes, bat boxes
and raised beds we make are used by Lancashire
Wildlife Trust. We recently did some work at
Brockholes Brow and have also worked on the
grounds at Ribbleton Hospital. The Grow Your Own
project is also within the grounds and people can
volunteer to work on the project.
Horticulture
The horticulture session involves growing plants from seed
or potting-on plants. Growing plants is a satisfying
experience. We use the plants to create hanging baskets
and tubs ready for sale.
Sometimes you get to work with people from woodwork
sessions. They make the planters that we use to plant up
and sell on in the Tarnbrook market stall. Activities in
horticulture help everyone to learn to work as part of a team
and develop knowledge about looking after plants in
different seasons. There is also an opportunity to help sell
the plants on the market
Service users and carers volunteer and support a Grow
Your Own project here at Guild Park.
Volunteers
Volunteers work within Guild Lodge to support our
service as we see volunteering as a big part of our
organisation.
Accommodation at Guild Lodge
Each ward within Guild Lodge provides a care environment for
men only or for women only. Two of the wards are for women
only. The service is designed around the following service user
characteristics:

People who have mental health problems and have also
committed an offence
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People with mental illness with a pattern of challenging
behaviour, that by virtue of its severity and frequency
requires secure accommodation and rehabilitation

People whose circumstances are likely to place them and /
or others at risk of harm by virtue of mental illness, with a
history of repeated absconding and disengagement from
services
.
Silver-smithing
Care Provision
Care provision within the secure environments seeks
to reduce the distress of mental health problems and
related consequences, including the reduced potential
for harm to others. All of our wards include communal
areas such as dining room, TV lounge, laundry, toilet,
quiet room and kitchen. Each ward has a set of
agreed “House Rules” which help to meet everyone’s
needs within the ward community. All accommodation
within Guild Lodge is single occupancy. Within each
room there is space for personal belongings, furniture
and washing facilities. However, some rooms have
more facilities than others do.
Silver-smithing involves making silver rings using 925
sterling silver. These are then sold on our own
Tarnbrook market. You get to learn how to use a
variety of hand tools to cut and shape the rings and
are encouraged to create your own personal designs.
Sometimes the work can be fiddly, especially when
putting the solder on to join up the cut ends and form
the ring. It is a great pass time because you can
sometimes get to make something for yourself or
make a gift for someone else, and you get to buy it at
cost price. The facilitator is always willing to help if
anyone is stuck or frustrated with the fiddly bits so
you always finish with a great piece of work.
Woodwork
The woodworking sessions are held at the Tarnbrook
centre and involve constructing various items out of
wood using both hardwood and softwood. Items we
make include bird tables, planters, garden benches
and bird nesting boxes. Service users learn how to use
the various machines such as the band saw,
thicknesses, and chop saw as well as a variety of hand
tools. Woodwork passes the time in a constructive way
and can help maintain current skills or develop new
ones, like problem solving.
Bike maintenance
Bike maintenance takes place in the metal workshop in
the Tarnbrook centre. We have many bikes that we
repair and improve before selling them on.
Repairs can include replacing brakes, gears and all
cabling. We will fix punctures or replace the inner tubes
and oil all the moving parts. Sometimes we will re-spray
the bikes depending on their condition. It’s all about
teamwork to get things fixed and you are encouraged to
develop problem solving skills to find out what’s wrong
with the bike and the best way to fix it.
.
Men’s Service
Within the medium secure area the wards have the
following names:
Fairsnape Ward
With accommodation for eight men, this ward provides for
the assessment of service users from other agencies
where this may be required, or specific assessment to help
in the management of particular safety related behaviour.
The multidisciplinary team liaise with other agencies and
act in an advisory capacity to other multidisciplinary teams.
The ward provides an environment for service users who
require particular levels of support and supervision in the
earlier phases of the recovery journey.
Calder Ward
Metalwork
Calder ward provides accommodation for ten men. The staff
team provide assessment for men referred from other
agencies where admission may be required. This involves
the treatment and management of risk behaviours, including
offending behaviour both past and present and substance
abuse.
The metalwork sessions are designed to teach
service users new skills or to remind them of lost
skills if they have any previous experience. The
workshops support other activities such as
horticulture by designing and creating garden
sculptures. Occasionally these are made to order or
sold at market. If someone has a sculpture idea we
discuss it and try to make it work. If something is not
working right we talk it through with others in the
group, and the instructor.
The ward provides a therapeutic environment that is safe
and effective for treatment of men with acute mental health
needs. Referrals are accepted from local acute mental health
services. In some cases referrals may come from the courts,
prisons, special hospitals and the probation service, and
from other clinical areas within Guild Lodge.
Greenside Ward
Greenside ward accommodates twelve men for up to
two years. The staff team support service users with
particularly challenging difficulties within a secure
environment. The ward offers a secure environment
to enable mental health assessment for whilst on
remand, or would benefit from a period of high
dependency care to assist in their transfer to less
secure facilities.
Service users can learn about the machinery used in
the Tarnbrook Centre.
Some service users learn how to weld metals
together. Developing new skills helps to build
confidence. Working in teams reinforces effective
social skills. The work experience provides a routine.
Occasionally service users have progressed onto a
college course to take their skills to another level.
Creating something that other people have asked you
to make or want to buy is very rewarding.
Participating is not all about work and if you need
something the instructor will always listen and help.
Information Technology (IT)
Marshaw Ward
The need to be able to use and understand computers
is becoming increasingly important in today’s world.
We use computers to do different types of work such
as word processing, using spreadsheets, storing data,
desktop publishing and exploring the internet.
Marshaw ward can accommodate ten men providing
continuing care and treatment for enduring mental
health needs. This includes the assessment and
management of challenging behaviours, including
offending behaviour, promoting effective
rehabilitation, specific approaches in order to
address risk or offending behaviour and preparing
people for transfer to less secure settings, including
community places where relevant.
Working in the information technology suite can help to
develop skills in using different computer programmes
whilst promoting problem solving skills. The sessions
also provide a chance to work on basic literacy and
numeric skills.
Compassion
Low Secure Facilities
Adult Education
Fairoak Ward
Adult education sessions take place once every week
within the service and include support with literacy
and/or numeracy. The aim of the session is to build on
current skills and confidence.
With accommodation for eighteen men, Fairoak Ward
offers a lower secure continuing care environment.
The focus for care is the provision of appropriate
rehabilitation opportunities and pre-discharge planning
and care. The staff team give particular attention to
issues involved in preparation for discharge to less
secure and dependent settings, including community
placements where relevant. This involves liaising and
coordinating with other agencies as appropriate.
Dutton Ward
This ward offers accommodation for fifteen men.
Dutton is part of the low secure accommodation that
enables the use of the least restrictive type of
environment in secure care. The ward promotes close
working with other health, social services and criminal
justice agencies in order to enhance the potential for
rehabilitation and reintegration into local community
and local services.
A tutor supports the service from one of the local
colleges and service users can work towards
completing specific exams and certificates if they want
to. The sessions take place as a group but if people
want to work on their own then one to one sessions
can be arranged to start with. Each person completes
a short assessment to begin with, but this is not too
difficult. It helps the tutor to structure the work at the
right level.
There is always someone in the sessions to help if
anyone gets stuck and the tutor will always go over
things with people individually. It’s not just about
getting a qualification - it can also help you to cope
with everyday things like using multiplication, reading
instructions and talking to people. It can help to build
on personal independence and once you have the
skills they can make life much easier.
Tarnbrook Centre
Vocational Therapy
Vocational therapy is about looking at providing people
with realistic work opportunities, developing work skills
and promoting social inclusion within a relaxed and
friendly environment.
The Tarnbrook Centre has a programme that includes a
range of workshop sessions such as metalwork,
horticulture and woodwork. These are all designed to
help build up relevant skills. There are also adult
education sessions and the chance of real work
experience in the Gleadale Café.
Tarnbrook is a registered charity with all profits going
into the charitable fund. If you attend Tarnbrook you get
to decide what to spend the proceeds on. This often
includes social events such as barbeques and discos,
new equipment and vouchers. The Tarnbrook Centre is
about promoting social inclusion; we are always open to
different ideas and suggestions.
Fellside East and West Wards
This facility offers a range of low secure
accommodation for twenty five men with mental
health needs who have previously received a period
of secure care. The facility has five remotely
supervised flats and staffed areas that can be subdivided to meet the specific needs of the other
residents. The unit aims to provide a stepping stone
between secure care and discharge to community
placements and accepts referrals of men for whom
discharge within 12 months is a real possibility.
Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Service
Fishing Group
Bleasdale Ward and Whinfell Wards
The fishing session takes place every week (but this
depends on a car being available). Due to the
popularity of the group we have a rota each week
just to make sure everyone gets a turn. You learn all
about different fish, what rods to use, which bait and
what other bits of tackle you need. You learn how
the weather or the environment affects how
successful you are at catching the fish. Fishing can
be very relaxing, just sitting on the bank and
watching your float bob up and down, even if it’s
pouring down.
The accommodation on Bleasdale ward is for nine
men and on Whinfell ward for nine men. The wards
provide assessment, care and rehabilitation for men
with severe and enduring mental health needs with
significant organic brain changes that affect their
behaviour or treatment. The recovery journey on
Bleasdale ward or Whinfell ward may require between
one and two years of care. The ward team pay
particular attention to issues involved in preparing the
men for transfer to less secure settings.
Gardening
The gardening group involves planting new plants,
tidying up the garden area and maintaining it so there
is a nice garden for everyone to visit. The current
project involves digging a pond, making a rockery, a
vegetable patch, a sensory herb garden and a nice
flower area. The group is also rebuilding a wall and
pavements and generally maintaining the garden.
The session helps to build good social skills by
working as part of a team and talking to others about
new ideas for the garden.
Women’s groups
Some sessions within the activities are just for women.
They can take place on the ward, in the Gleadale
Centre and at the Therapeutic Resource Centre. Staff
work with service users in one to one sessions and
group sessions. Activities range from cooking healthy
meals, beauty therapy sessions, women’s sports, arts
and crafts themed events to promote the women’s
service, team building activities and community
outings.
Langden Ward Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
Service
Accommodation is for fifteen men who have a
degree of cognitive impairment and enduring mental
health needs. The specific function of the ward is to
provide low secure rehabilitation care for individuals
who present with challenging and offending
behaviours. The ward team pay particular attention
to issues involved in preparing the men for transfer
to less secure settings as appropriate, or the
community.
The Hermitage Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Service
Outdoor Leisure Group
The Outdoor Leisure Group takes place once a week.
The groups are small but you can usually take part
every three weeks. We visit a range of places around
Lancashire so you get to know the area around here if
you are not already familiar. We can do a lot of
walking, depending on where we go.
Getting outdoors in a group is a great way to socialise
and get some exercise at the same time. For those
who are anxious, outdoor walking offers a relaxed and
friendly atmosphere away from the hospital.
The Hermitage accommodates eight men in an
independent setting in the grounds of the old Whittingham
hospital. The Hermitage offers a non-secure environment
for men with an acquired brain injury who have previously
received secure care. 24-hour nursing support is provided
focusing on the strengths of each person with a clear focus
on quality of life and community access, in particular using
local community based facilities. Regular contact is kept
with link workers from the service user’s own district to
facilitate appropriate placement in the community.
The service offers a slow and steady approach to reskilling service users in many areas e.g. personal and
environmental hygiene, social skills and budgeting skills.
Hope
Opportunity
Growth
Women's Service
Health Living Groups
Elmridge and Mallowdale Wards
The sessions help service users to find out which
foods are good for health and which are not so good.
Attending the Healthy Living Group provides
information on how to use a food pyramid to help
choose a balanced diet, by taking something from
each different type of food group.
The two wards jointly accommodate seventeen
women. Elmridge ward supports the admission and
assessment of women. Mallowdale ward offers
continuing care to women who have been referred
from a variety of other agencies such as the prison
service, courts, district general hospitals and special
hospitals. Mallowdale ward supports a rehabilitation
programme, pre-discharge planning and continuing
care within a secure setting.
You also discover how to read and understand food
labels to avoid eating too many fatty foods and
knowing how much fat, sugar and salt you can eat in
your diet. It’s not just about food though, you get to
learn about how different chemicals can affect your
body and in particular, the damage that smoking can
do.
Forest Beck
Voices, Visions and Unsettling Beliefs
Many people who are coping with mental distress
experience unsettling experiences. Within this group
people can share their experiences and learn how to
appreciate what they mean to them.
Forest Beck provides independent accommodation
with remote staff supervision in two double flats for
four female service users. The facility is not locked
and provides a ‘stepping down’ rehabilitation service
to women who have previously received secure care.
This facility provides for a period of pre-discharge
Those involved in this group are encouraged to
explore different ways on responding to troubling
experiences. By listening to others with similar
experiences, ideas for a better way to deal with things
can emerge. The course also gives information on
how medication can help with symptoms. The course
provides information about the influence of stress and
how this can affect people and make things seem a lot
worse at times. At the end of the course you come
away with a better understanding and improved skills
to deal with things. The design of the course helps
everyone to work towards a personalised ‘Staying
Well Plan’.
rehabilitation as part of the process of providing care
and promoting independence in the least restrictive
setting.
The staffed area provides 24-hour nursing support. In
the attached flats there is no staff presence. Service
users receive support and supervision from the
clinical team consistent with identified individual
needs.
Focusing on Managing Anxiety
The People Who Make Up the Ward Teams
Consultant Psychiatrist
This is a doctor who specialises in diagnosing and
treating people with mental health problems. They will
examine different factors that may have contributed to
a mental health problem and will have overall
responsibility for assessment, care and treatment.
Integrated Clinical Manager
Integrated clinical managers work within a coproduction model. They are responsible for providing
effective and efficient leadership within a primary
service line. From a clinical and quality perspective
they are responsible for ensuring that national and
local quality targets and goals are achieved and
maintained within their areas of responsibility.
Anxiety is a normal experience we all have to cope
with at some time in our daily lives. Sometimes the
levels of anxiety experienced can become troubling.
This course is designed to encourage people to
share their anxieties and experiences. The sessions
are friendly and relaxed to encourage people to feel
comfortable talking about their experiences.
Everybody in the group supports each other, which
helps each person to begin developing their own
individual coping strategies. After a while anxieties
become less stressful so that they can be dealt with
in a more positive and practical way.
Ward Manager
Gaining Confidence (developing confidence in
social situations)
This course explores our current skills in everyday
social situations including the following:
Feeling uncomfortable in the company of other people
Overcoming shyness
On each ward is a manager who is a qualified nurse.
Their role is to deal with the day to day management
of the ward and to ensure that service users receive
the care they require. Ward managers are
responsible for ensuring that national and local
quality targets and goals are achieved and
maintained. Ward managers each have an
experienced deputy, known as the team leader, who
can also manage the ward.
Starting and ending conversation
Learning about communication with body language
Knowing how to make requests assertively
Listening to others effectively
Posters on the wards give details of each course. For
some people the course extends to going out into the
community and practicing the topics covered in the
sessions.
Being shy or anxious with other people is
something you can overcome.
Team Leader
The team leader provides clinical and managerial
leadership directly to ward based staff ensuring that
issues of quality are maintained. They also support
the ward manager in achieving set targets and goals.
Named Nurse
A qualified named nurse is responsible and
accountable for the quality of individual nursing care
provided on the ward. This can take many forms,
including physical and psychological care and takes
into account the social and spiritual needs of service
users.
Essentially the named nurse will assess care needs,
negotiate a collaborative approach to care within an
individualised plan, support and coordinate the
implementation of the plan and provide regular reviews
about care progress. Named nurses often coordinate
meetings where the care team can come together with
the service user to explore the way forward and
discuss progress. An associate nurse will work with the
named nurse to provide additional support.
Clinical Practitioner
Clinical practitioners work directly with the medical
team and attend CTMs and CPAs. They work with the
doctor in completing reports and assisting in the
completion of assessments of individual patient needs.
Health Care Support Worker
Health care support workers are a crucial part of the
nursing team, providing vital support for the provision
of care and maintaining the general wellbeing and
safety of the ward environment. Health care support
workers are able to support a broad range of activities
and functions both on and off the wards, ensuring that
service users gain appropriate access to activities and
leisure time.
Learn to Relax
In relaxation sessions you learn how to become calm
and this can help maintain control with everyday
anxieties. A member of staff will talk through a series
of breathing exercises and muscle relaxing techniques
to help shake off tension in the body and mind. Staff
guide service users through short imaginary journeys
such as walking on the beach, whilst at the same time
listening to relaxing sounds such as waves crashing
on the shore.
The session is full to the brim with coping strategies
as you learn techniques to relax and clear the mind of
stress and anxiety. Obviously, this session could be
seen as just another way to fill time, but it’s much
more than that. The strategies and techniques learned
will remain long after the sessions and they can be
repeated anywhere, at any time and whenever they
are needed.
Occupational Therapist
The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary is a special space for everyone. It’s
located near the sports hall and gym. The Sanctuary
is a quiet, relaxing space for those who want to spend
time getting away from it all. The Sanctuary also
offers;
Somewhere sacred to pray or meditate, join in a
Mass or take part in other religious services
Somewhere without distractions for you to just
think or clear your head
Somewhere for you to simply ‘be’
The Sanctuary can be whatever you want it to be; a
chill-out room, a temple, a church, a synagogue,
oasis of calm or an escape. The Sanctuary is a safe
place for people to feel protected with comfortable
seating and floor coverings, mood lighting and a
sound and vision system aimed at creating a peaceful
atmosphere.
Occupational therapists support service users
through the medium of activities promoting
confidence and skills required for day-to-day life,
assessing and treating an individual’s functional
skills and roles. These include personal, domestic,
social, leisure, educational or work activities. Group
or individually tailored sessions help develop these
skills. The occupational therapists work on the wards
and also provide a range of activities and workshops
for service users to attend.
Staff within occupational therapy include technical
instructors as well as occupational therapy
assistants. These staff support the qualified
occupational therapist (OT) in carrying out their
recommendations.
Psychologist
A psychologist is someone who uses talking therapies
to help people resolve their problems. Psychologists
often use a method called cognitive behavioural
therapy, which involves talking about thoughts and
experiences. Psychologists support service users in
specific ways within a planned number of sessions.
These sessions can take place in the gym or through
a range of activities such as walking and a variety of
sports. The physical activity programme will also take
into account personal goals around food and lifestyle.
Associate Practitioner
Associate practitioners are staff that deliver particular
types of care under the supervision of a qualified nurse
or psychologist. Associate practitioners develop
particular skills in addition to those of regular health
care support workers.
Social Worker
A social worker offers professional support and advice
on family relationships often providing specialist support
in safeguarding the interests of vulnerable adults and
children. They work particularly on developing a
broader support network and lifestyle for service users,
in preparation for a return to life in the community.
Social work also supports practical matters such as
housing, employment, benefits and similar issues.
Sports Sessions
Sports sessions take place during the week. They include
football, badminton, dodge ball, basketball, cricket or
volleyball. Each of these offers a chance to burn off some
energy. Most of the sports are team games where you
have to work together and help each other if you want to
win. Sport is a good way to get some exercise if you do not
like going to a gym.
The gym instructors welcome ideas and suggestions
regarding sport activity at Guild Lodge. These are very
popular sessions and a lot of fun for those people who
participate.
MDT Secretary
Attending the Gym
Whilst living at Guild lodge becoming physically fit or
staying fit, building stamina, strength and flexibility are
all achievable within our own gym. We have two
physical activity coordinators who can offer personal
guidance and prepare a keep fit plan. They carry out a
short assessment and provide some guidance about
how to use the machines.
Going to the gym can be a great way of feeling good
about yourself. Sessions take place once a week for
about an hour. Personal routines can involve weight
training or cardiovascular workouts. Staff attending the
gym can support the workout routine and monitor your
progress. It’s a social activity. You get to talk to staff
and service users there. Team work is needed and
cooperation with sharing equipment, but it’s a great way
to spend time. Attending to physical health helps you to
cope with the stresses and strains of life.
The gym also holds physical health priority sessions,
which are individualised one-to-one sessions that
support service users to look at and work on personal
physical health.
An MDT secretary provides general administration for
the ward and the ward manager. MDT secretaries are
an essential part of the team, allowing nurses to
spend more of their time in direct contact with service
users.
next steps!!
recovery
progress
involvement
Life at Guild Lodge
Taking Part in Art Exhibitions
Guild Lodge Occupational Therapy Department (OT)
has introduced a number of art-based projects over
the years, using diverse approaches to engage
people in the arts.
On arrival at Guild Lodge accommodation for service
users is provided on one of the wards. A care team
(the multidisciplinary team) allocated to support the
service user includes a psychiatrist, psychologist,
named nurse, social worker, associate practitioner and
an occupational therapist. With the involvement of the
service user the multidisciplinary team work together to
ensure the best and most appropriate care is available.
The multidisciplinary team meet within CTMs (care
team meetings). CTMs used to be known as ward
rounds.
Letters and Parcels
Each service user is expected to sign for and open
incoming mail (except legal letters) in front of staff.
This arrangement helps the staff to make sure that the
contents of the mail are not a risk to the service and
that action is taken on important information related to
ongoing care.
There is the opportunity to take part in many forms of
art at Guild Lodge. The culmination of all the work
service users do is sometimes displayed in an
exhibition which is held each year at the PR1
Gallery, within the University of Central Lancashire
(UCLan).
There are different themes each year aimed at promoting
the emotions, challenges and experiences of dealing with a
long term mental health issue. Service users can work
together as a team with others on your ward or individually
on your own pieces.
Visiting
Art
No need to be an artist to enjoy this session! There are
so many different ways to build on your creative side.
Art is a good session to help people relax and is
something that can be continued as a hobby after
leaving hospital. Within the art session there is the
opportunity to try out different mediums like
watercolours, acrylics and oils, or even pastels.
Service users are encouraged to develop and
experiment with their creative side within a group
setting or on a one to one. To enjoy art you do not
have to be able to draw or paint right away. You can
work with stencils or tracings or perhaps work in an
abstract way. Whatever the choice, the staff will offer
advice and support with tips to help everyone get the
best out of this popular session. Art sessions take
place on the wards or in the TRC Art Studio.
Family and friends can arrange to visit by contacting
the ward and booking a specific visiting time. Visits
can be accommodated between 09:00-20:30 Monday
to Sunday and can be held on the ward or in the
Family Room at the main reception. After booking the
visit by phone the hospital will send a letter
explaining the visiting procedure to the visitor. This
will make the process of visiting easier for everyone
involved. Visitors can bring items with them such as
clothing, food and other personal items, but it’s worth
checking this with the named nurse or ward manager
first. It is important to realise that for the benefit of
everyone’s safety in the hospital we have very clear
restrictions in place on a number of items and
activities. The multidisciplinary team use a method
known as risk assessment as part of the process of
safety and risk management of each individual, other
service users and staff. Risk assessment facilitates
decision making and supports gradually increased
involvement in general ward and hospital activities.
The first risk assessments should be in place within
four weeks of arriving at Guild Lodge. The list of
restricted items is sign posted within the hospital
reception area and special arrangements are in place
to look after such items during visiting times.
Care Programme Approach (CPA)
The care programme approach is a way of making
sure that the service user and everyone in the
multidisciplinary team discusses ongoing plans for
care at least twice a year, as a group. This process
refreshes the plan for care for the next six months.
These meetings can involve a representative of the
service user’s choice, including advocates, family
members and carers. Within the meeting everyone
has the opportunity to share their views about the
progress being made along the recovery journey, and
their thoughts about where care should be focused for
the next six months. The service user in particular
shares his or her thoughts on how things are
progressing and the things that would make the most
difference to their progress before the next meeting.
Once everyone is in agreement with what should
happen, a six month treatment plan is created. It’s in
the service user’s best interest to attend these
meetings to demonstrate a level of involvement and
motivation to take an active part in personal care.
Therapeutic Resource Centre (TRC)
The library is open throughout the week and a
librarian visits every Thursday. People meet to chat
about the books they have read or just to socialise. If
you do not see a book you like, or are looking for
something specific the librarian will try to order it for
you. There are books on all sorts of topics from
self help books and cookery books to fiction novels
and encyclopaedias.
Pottery Sessions
Pottery classes take place within the Therapeutic
Resource Centre (TRC) and this can involve learning
to make different pottery designs of your own choice.
Service users can be as creative with their imagination
as they wish and there are books to stimulate ideas.
The sessions cater for both men and women. Learning
to make pots and mugs is good fun. Designs can also
be painted on the pottery in any chosen colours.
The Mental Health Act
There is a dedicated team of staff based at Guild Lodge
who ensure that service users are legally detained and are
able to exercise their rights as determined by the section
under which they are detained. The MHA team also ensure
that clinical staff complete their statutory duties.
Activities in Guild Lodge
Guild Lodge encourages service user involvement and
has a broad range of activities designed to develop
new skills and stimulate the body and mind. These
activities provide opportunities to meet with other
service users, helping build personal confidence whilst
providing structure and meaning to the day. Everyone
living at Guild Lodge is encouraged to take part in at
least 25 hours of activity each week. Some of these
activities can take place individually or in groups,
either on or off the ward. Often activities take place in
the TRC (Therapeutic Resources Centre), Tarnbrook
and Gleadale Centre. Community sessions are also
organised for people who have leave.
If a service user is unsure about a legal aspect of their
detention, or how to appeal to the Hospital Managers or
Mental Health Tribunal, staff from this team will visit the
service user on the ward at their request.
Advocacy
The advocacy service offers service users support
and help on a wide range of issues regarding mental
health care and personal rights. Advocacy staff are
independent of the hospital and can provide
confidential, impartial, free advice for service users.
If you would like support with your CPA and further
information then Independent Mental Heath Advocates
(IMHA) are available to help. You can contact them on
01772 773520.
Managers’ Meetings
Many people living at Guild Lodge are under the care
of the Mental Health Act. Named nurses are able to
provide service users with vital information about
personal rights under the Mental Health Act. If a
service user does not agree with the requirement to
receive care he or she has the right to air these
concerns at a meeting of the Hospital Managers and
the service user can arrange for support and advice
from a legal representative who would also attend. The
meeting is known as a ‘Managers Meeting’ and is a
form of appeal against being detained in care. Each
meeting will involve lay people as well as members of
the multidisciplinary team.
Family and Friends Forum Guild Lodge
Carers are those people in our service user’s lives
who provide practical and emotional support with
particular regard to daily living and mental health
concerns. A carer can be a family member, a spouse
or a friend. Quite often carers are the people who
know the service user better than anyone else. We
encourage carers to get involved in care and to
discuss their role with the service user and the
named nurse. Service users can have carers attend
particular meetings about care, along with a friend or
advocate supporting as necessary. It is a legal
requirement for our service to offer carers an
assessment of their own needs at least once a year
to ensure that they are receiving an appropriate
amount of support in their caring role. Dedicated
literature for carers is available within the hospital.
Carers Lancashire 0345 688 7113
Carers UK 0808 880 7777
Mental Health Review Tribunals
Recovery Oriented Secure Services (ROSS) Forum
The ROSS Forum is a group for carers, service users
and staff from across the multidisciplinary teams that
meet to discuss how the specialist service can
enhance the experience of recovery for service users.
The group are working on a number of exciting pieces
of work that will make the experience of care at Guild
Lodge much more responsive to individual needs. We
briefly discussed recovery earlier. Recovery focuses
on promoting hope for the future, gaining greater
control and responsibility of one’s life and taking
opportunities to explore new approaches to life in the
future, despite mental illness. The ROSS Forum looks
at the development of hospital activity that places
individual recovery at the core of everyday life,
thereby engaging service users more effectively. The
forum promotes education, communication and
information about new ways of working.
A Mental Health Review Tribunal can be called twice
in the first 12 months of care and once every 12
months after that. The Tribunal is an opportunity for
the service user to appeal against being obliged to
receive care. The Tribunal Board is comprised of a
judge, an independent doctor and a lay person.
Service users attending a Tribunal hearing can have
their own legal representation. Tribunals will listen to
service user concerns regarding the obligation to
receive care. The Tribunal panel will also request
reports from specific members of the multidisciplinary
team so they can consider their views and balance
these alongside the views of the service user. The
Tribunal has the authority to end the obligation to
receive care based upon the findings of the meeting.
They can also recommend that the obligation should
remain in place.
Have your say!!
Service User and Carer Groups
Ward Community Meetings
At least every two weeks service users have the
opportunity to attend a ward community meeting. The
meetings are chaired by service users and designed to
involve everyone in discussions about issues that they
are concerned with on the ward. Ward community
meetings are an important part of service user
involvement within Guild Lodge. At these meetings,
decisions made can have a dramatic effect on the way
the ward operates. When care is evaluated
contributions to these meetings are taken into account
as these reflect a willingness to be involved in the
immediate community. The skills required to contribute
to meetings says a lot about a personal ability to
engage with others. The ward community meeting
offers everyone the opportunity to explore issues and
concerns and supports everyone in living in harmony
with their peers.
Service User Champion Business Steering Group
Meetings
These are meetings held weekly, which service user
representatives (Champions) attend. The aim of the
Champions group is to develop and facilitate change
in hospital policy and delivery from a service user
perspective.
All service users are invited to attend. Service users
are encouraged to raise issues that are affecting
them and to listen to feedback regarding ongoing
matters. Attendance is voluntary but we encourage
people to get involved, or nothing will change.