October 2004

News
Welcome to the DSPD news page. This page will be updated regularly with any recent major events that have occurred throughout the entire DSPD programme.

New Unit Opens at Rampton Hospital

Dr Mike Shooter, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Sylvia Denton OBE, President of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), formally opened the Peaks Unit at Rampton Hospital today.

The unit, built at a cost of over £20 million, will be home to 70 male patients requiring long-term care for their serious personality disorders. First patients moved into The Peaks in March this year, with all wards expected to be open by the end of 2005.

Dr Shooter and Ms Denton were asked to open The Peaks jointly because of the unit’s commitment to multi disciplinary team working. Psychiatrists, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists and other health and social care professionals will work together to devise the most appropriate treatment and therapeutic regimes for those patients in their care.

The Peaks Unit is one of four National pilot sites being developed to provide appropriate accommodation for this patient group. Other units are at HMP Whitemoor, HMP Frankland and Broadmoor Hospital.

The Peaks Unit has provided employment opportunities for many people in the local area as well as professionals from around the country who wish to specialise in the development of treatments for this patient group. Some 350 jobs will have been created by the time the Unit is fully operational.

Professor Brian Edwards is Chairman of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, which manages Rampton Hospital:

“This is a great day for the project team members who have been involved in the development of The Peaks. Rampton Hospital always strives to be at the forefront in the development of services within a high secure environment. The Peaks Unit offers a chance to develop enhanced services working within a true multi-disciplinary team environment. I welcome Dr Shooter and Ms Denton and thank them for their interest in our services.” 

For further information please contact:

Julie Grant
Communications and Involvement
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Telephone: 0115 993 4529

Forum – York

A forum was held in York on the 7/8 September which provided an opportunity for the multidisciplinary teams to share experience of the policy, organisational and clinical professional issues faced in the delivery of this programme.

Informative presentations on what worked well and what not so well were given by each of the pilot sites and presentations from our guest speakers were very well received.

Mats Dernevik - Head of research Vadstena Forensic Centre and Research Director - risk assessment and management at the Centre for Violence Prevention, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, gave a very useful and interesting presentation on Professional Risk Assessment: Possibilities and Limitations

Peter Greeven - Programme Director at the Expertise Centre for Forensic Psychiatry, Utrecht, Holland gave an overview of the structure and approach used in the Dutch model and Judith de Boer, Director of Policy and Innovation at the TBS Clinic also in Utrecht, described latest policy developments and experience gained in the treatment of this group of offenders.

Damien Mitchell from the National Health Service University described present and future training opportunities and needs, the role of accreditation, and integrating training for DSPD into the wider picture of work in the field of personality disorder.

Workshops were held with the aim of addressing issues of direct relevance to those involved in the development and delivery of the DSPD service. Topics included:

• Addressing bullying and harassment
• Use of medication
• Assessment - how long does it need to take?
• Managing expectations/maintaining engagement and using the Planning and Delivery Guide
• The DSPD Programme and the Criminal Justice Act 2003

Conference – Edinburgh

Representatives from the Central Team, HMP Whitemoor and HMP Frankland gave presentations to a large group of delegates attending the International "Towards a Safer Society" Conference in Edinburgh at the beginning of September. This was followed by a Q&A session and with many visitors to our stand.

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