Lincolnshire mental health services open doors to BBC

As part of a week-long look at the services provided by a modern NHS mental health service, BBC Radio Lincolnshire is featuring NHS staff talking about working on the mental health frontline and service users’ sharing their experiences of living with a mental illness and road towards recovery.

The series, Picking up the Pieces, will run until Saturday [March 6] on the breakfast, mid-morning and drive-time shows. In between interviews with staff and service users there will be opportunities for listeners to pose questions live on air to clinicians employed by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and participate in a psychological therapy exercise.

Each day will feature different services provided by the Trust, starting with housing support, psychological therapies (talking therapies), and an interview with the Trust’s chief executive, Dr John Brewin.

Dr Brewin said: “This is a great opportunity for local people to hear more about the services available to them from the voices of the people that work there and from the people in our care.

“We hope this series of interviews and emotive case studies will go some way to help increase public understanding of mental health and reduce stigma. It is only through improving education and knowledge that we can really change peoples’ attitudes and behaviour around mental health.

“Mental illness can happen to anyone at any time; in fact one in four will experience it in their lifetime and sadly many of those will also be affected by stigma and discrimination. I hope that this mental health series will raise sufficient awareness and understanding to encourage people to talk openly about mental health issues and seek the help they need.” 

Later in the week the focus will be on the work of: the county’s only sexual assault referral unit, inpatient teams, children and adolescent mental health services, eating disorder services and crisis services.

The series will also celebrate the recent success of Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which has been rated better than the majority of mental health trusts in the country for the percentage of staff (91%) who believe their role makes a difference to patients, experience job satisfaction and feel motivated at work.

The results of the annual NHS Staff Survey 2014 show positive and much improved results for the Trust, both year-on-year and in comparison with other mental health trusts. 25 of the Trust’s scores – out of 29 – were above the mental health trust average.

Read the full schedule and listen to BBC Lincolnshire at: www.bbc.co.uk/radiolincolnshire