Northern Area Trauma Advisory Panel. Northern Area Trauma Advisory Panel

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1 Spring 2007 Mary O Neill Northern Area Trauma Advisory Panel, Chairperson Newsletter Issue 1 Welcome Welcome to the first edition of the Northern Area Trauma Advisory Panel (TAP) Newsletter. I wish to congratulate the Panel and the Communication Sub-Group for their hard work and commitment in creating this Newsletter. We hope this will prove to be a successful medium for communicating the work of the Panel to a wider audience. While the Northern Area Trauma Advisory Panel has celebrated many successes since it was established eight years ago, this Newsletter is a major milestone in its journey. will provide information on the role and work of the Panel and its Partner Organisations who are committed to the mission of the Panel. (An insight into these Organisations can be found on page four & five). Mary O Neill Mission Statement The exists to provide a local forum for discussion on the co-ordination of appropriate and effective services in recognition of the needs of victims and survivors of the Troubles in the NHSSB area and to advise and influence decisions on the planning of services in Northern Ireland as a region. Panel members come from a range of statutory, community and voluntary organisations and agencies. Over the past eight years the Panel has been committed to do the best it can to secure services for victims and survivors of The Troubles. The work of the Panel to date has included the establishment of a two year pilot project The Primary Care Link Worker Service which has been identified as a model of good practice. (further details of this are found on page four). Other work of the Panel can be viewed on our website at: Editorial Team Mary-Frances Quinn (Co-Editor & TAP Secretary), Some members of the Betty Given (Antrim Community Development), Sharon Knowles (NHSSB), Sinead Lee (NHSSB), Sheelagh Sheerin (TAP)

2 TAP Information Resources The Panel has produced its own Services Directory and Information Resource Pack. The Services Directory contains details of organisations and agencies who provide services for Victims and Survivors within the Northern Board area and across Northern Ireland generally. The Information Resource Pack contains a range of information on trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and details relating to the physical and psychological impact of both these experiences on individuals, children, young people, communities and their families. The information contained in the Resource Pack is in user friendly language and has been endorsed by specialists and clinicians in dealing with trauma. (The Directory is available on or by contacting the Co-ordinator s office using the details at the back of this Newsletter). In November 2006 the Northern Area TAP held its inaugural Symposium where the first Annual Review and TAP Website were launched. Dr Marie Breen Smyth TAP Symposium The keynote speaker was Dr Marie Breen- Smyth, Reader in International Politics at the University of Wales, who is a native of Northern Ireland and known locally as the co-author of the Cost of the Troubles study. Dr Breen-Smyth welcomed the appointment of the Interim Commissioner for Victims and Survivors, Mrs Bertha McDougall, who also attended the event. The Symposium proved to be a very successful networking event. An evaluation of the day showed that 99.9% of attendees found the event to be excellent and informative, comments included Excellent day, a wealth of information. Informal layout of the day an excellent idea The event included seminars and workshops hosted by groups such as WAVE, TMR Health Professionals, Healing Through Remembering and The Family Trauma Centre. The ethos of the event was to provide an informal environment where people and organisations with a common purpose could meet and share good practice and information related to services for victims and survivors. Issue 1 Page 2

3 Structure of the Interim Commissioner for Victims & Survivors Report Addressing the Human Legacy On the 25 th January 2007 the former Interim Commissioner for Victims and Survivors released her report Addressing the Human Legacy - Support for Victims and Survivors. Mrs McDougall published the report in a private capacity, and some of the key issues arising from the report included: To date there has been no comprehensive Needs Analysis for victims and survivors and consequently it is not possible to quantify how many people affected by the conflict require support. GPs are not sufficiently equipped to identify complex psychological conditions arising from The Troubles. Bertha McDougall Financial needs are greatest among those who were Former Interim Commissioner injured or bereaved in the earliest years of The Troubles. for Victims & Survivors Trauma has had an adverse impact on some victims and survivors being able to comply within the time limits for making a compensation claim. The report also points to the many examples of good practice, such as the s Primary Care Link Worker Service, provision of information and advice, awareness raising, trauma related services and work with young people. Issue 1 Page 3

4 Sheelagh Sheerin & Dr Paul Miller MRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist, TMR Health Professionals Primary Care Link Worker Service The Primary Care Link Worker Service was a two-year pilot project funded by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in The Service involved the placement of a clinical therapist in GP surgeries in Carrickfergus, Antrim and Broughshane. Prior to the implementation of the service, GPs in the pilot sites were trained in trauma awareness and PTSD screening. The service has been subject to evaluation throughout the two-year period and the final evaluation report is now being compiled. Early indications from the evaluation data show that the service has been a major success overall, with GPs and patients reporting that it was an excellent and necessary part of the Primary Care environment for people affected by Troubles related trauma. Key elements arising from the evaluation process show that the project has: Provided a locally accessible therapeutic intervention for people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress conditions. Reduced levels of medication for anxiety depressive conditions (key elements of post traumatic stress). Enhanced GP knowledge of dealing with prescribed medication for post traumatic stress and co-morbid conditions. Sorcha O Toole NEELB Education Psychologist Education Psychology Training in Schools Sorcha O Toole represents the North Eastern Education and Library Board Educational Psychology Service on the Panel. Her role is to advise on the planning and delivery of appropriate services to children and young people who have suffered traumatic experiences. For example, Sorcha is currently in discussion with Sheelagh Sheerin the TAP Coordinator, and the Family Trauma Centre to design and present training in schools in the coming months. Currently the NEELB is reviewing its Board procedures for responding to Critical Incidents in Schools in its area. It is hoped to finalise the new procedures, and inform schools in the coming months. In the NEELB the Educational Psychology Service has been providing support to schools in relation to bereavement, trauma and critical incidents. This has been on an informal basis and varied from telephone advice, to school visits, training, advice on managing Critical Incidents and work with individuals/groups of children and young people. Educational Psychologists have also provided training to principals, senior managers in schools and pastoral teachers at the request of the Schools Branch. Issue 1 Page 4

5 Betty Given Antrim Community Development Project Antrim Community Development Project Antrim Community Development Project focuses on improving health and well being of local people. The Project seeks to increase opportunities to link with statutory and other organisations in informal settings to mutual benefit, these include: Supporting a community-based youth scheme that provides fun and activities for children and young people, and is run by local parents. Developing ideas for environmental improvements to create safe places to walk and play as well as a sense of local pride. Fundraising to deliver programmes and projects that directly benefit local people Play Sport, and Personal Development Programmes. The Trauma Advisory Panel provides a link to policy making and a wide range of expertise in the statutory and voluntary sectors. It affords the opportunity to ask the question, who in the community will this decision affect and will their lives be any better for it? Betty Given Margaret Riddels, Pamela Dowey & Velma Irvine WAVE Trauma Centre WAVE Trauma Centre WAVE is a grass roots, cross-community, voluntary organisation, which was formed in 1991 to support people bereaved as a result of the violence in Northern Ireland. It expanded later to incorporate the needs of young people and children and anyone traumatised through The Troubles. I am a member of the Trauma Advisory Panel and am employed by WAVE as their Training Trauma Co-ordinator. My role is to write and facilitate accredited courses which are held throughout Northern Ireland on the effects of psychological trauma. My background is in Medical Science. I was a former senior teacher and prior to joining WAVE I worked as a branch manager, training facilitator and therapist for a voluntary organisation where many of the clients presented with problems directly or indirectly caused by The Troubles. I also facilitate the Diploma in Trauma Studies at Queen s University. Margaret Riddels Samantha Brown CRUSE & Isobel Wallace Remember our Child CRUSE Bereavement Care CRUSE is a leading charity specialising in bereavement care and coping with crisis and traumatic loses. The TAP s partnership with CRUSE is very beneficial and important because of the support services it offers to people who have experienced major traumatic events over almost 40 years of community conflict in Northern Ireland. I am the local representative on the Trauma Advisory Panel. I see my role on the Panel as a representative of CRUSE Bereavement Care which deals with all forms of bereavement including suicide and sudden death. CRUSE also helps those who have been bereaved through death relating to The Troubles'. As CRUSE is well placed to deal with this type of bereavement, I am able to provide advice on this issue through the Panel. Samantha Brown Issue 1 Page 5

6 Northern Area Trauma Advisory Panel Website Link: Trauma Advisory Panel Website The Northern Area TAP website was formally launched at the Symposium on the 9 th November The website was designed in conjunction with the IT department at NHSSB. We would like to acknowledge the work contributed to this website by Mr John McLernon and Mr Barry Lau. The website is user friendly and contains a broad range of information which can be easily accessed through simple pathways and link sites. Topics on the website include: Panel Membership TAP Projects Publications undertaken by TAP Regional Services Links Contact Information A Date for your Diary HEALING THROUGH REMEMBERING MBERING Day of Private Reflection 21st June 2007 The day of Private Reflection has been organised by the Healing Through Remembering project following a successful event in The project aims to provide society with an occasion to acknowledge and reflect the suffering arising from the conflict in Northern Ireland. The day of reflection has been designed to provide an opportunity for private reflection but the project hopes that this will be a successful means to ensuring a collective and public dimensions for many in the future. Submissions for possible inclusion in the October edition of this Newsletter should be sent to: Mary-Frances Quinn Co-ordinator s Office Rockfield Medical Centre 73/75 Doury Road, Ballymena, BT43 6JD Tel: Fax: maryfrances.quinn@homefirst.n-i.nhs.uk The is a partnership of the Northern Health and Social Services Board