Information for Carers

Information for carers

Our patients’ families, friends and carers are very important. They add value to how we provide care to their relative or friend.

Wathwood Hospital is here to help people in their recovery. We help people to manage their symptoms and learn how to cope with their illness.

We address severe mental illness, alongside developing skills which will help people to build a better life.

In this section

Our code of conduct, vision and provision of care

Wathwood Carers Initiative information

Our code of conduct, vision and provision of care

Wathwood is a Medium Secure Psychiatric Hospital and part of the National Health Service. We are a purpose-built, 78-bed hospital, catering for male patients aged 18 and above.

All our patients receive care and treatment under the Mental Health Act. They may have been suffering with a treatment resistive illness or have committed an index offence. All patients receive an individualised, recovery focused care pathway. A full multi-disciplinary team approach provides the foundation of all our care and treatment programmes.

Our vision is to ensure best practice standards are delivered in an open, innovative and collaborative way.

Mental Health Advocacy

If you or your relative have concerns that they don’t feel listened to, a solution you could suggest is to talk to the independent confidential service for patients, called the Advocacy Service. The Advocacy Team can be contacted on 01709 870839.

Support for carers

Under the 2014 Care Act, people who look after someone that needs support, such as our patients, now have access to clearer information and better support to meet their needs.

Carers can request a Carers Assessment through their local authority (council), which will consider your caring role and how it affects your life and wellbeing. The hospital social worker can help you access an assessment.

Concerns of family or carers

If family or carers have any concerns about any aspect of a patient’s care they should talk to the patient’s named nurse, social worker or a carer link worker of their ward initially.

They could also consider approaching the ward manager to discuss the concern further.

Carers Forum

The carers forum works using the principles of Triangle of Care. The forums are held four times a year, on a Saturday morning. This is an opportunity for carers to meet with other families. Our workshops help carers learn about how to best support and understand their relative with their mental health, both now and in the future.

Each ward has its own ‘carers link’ member of staff – they provide a point of contact for general information, support and provide a link to the carers forum.

The forum offers families the ability and opportunity to become more involved in Wathwood, as well as the forum, through becoming a carers representative. There are also opportunities to become more involved in activities within the wider Trust

Wathwood Carers Project

Wathwood Carers Initiative information

Wathwood Carers Initiative In January 2002 a group of staff all of which had an interest in developing services for carers set up a carer’s initiative. Within this meeting ideas were generated, and it was agreed that there were a range of possible interventions that could be made from the hospital towards carers that would be of value in terms of direct patient care, as well as providing support for carers during difficult periods.

Find out more here: Wathwood Carers Initiative.pdf [pdf] 104KB

“Wathwood has helped me progress and develop myself. Allowing me to work with the MDT Team to gain vocational skills for my future” – Con Care Ward

“Wathwood is a good place. I like the atmosphere” – Con Care Ward

“Wathwood has helped me to progress”. – Rehab Ward

“Wathwood has helped me a lot with my mental health and has helped me rebuild relationships with loved ones” – Con Care Ward

“Wathwood is the best hospital I have been placed in. It has given me the skills to move onto the next step in life”, “I’ve built good relationships with staff and patients throughout the years”. – Con Care Ward

The patient journey

There are four wards in the main hospital; ICU (intensive care unit), Assessment, Continuing Care and Rehabilitation.

Patients will move through these as their treatment needs change when they begin to recover. Some patients will progress to The Lodges, which is a secure rehabilitation unit, situated next to the main hospital.

The patient journey