The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board’s ECT Team were named ‘team of the year’ at last year’s South Wales Argus Health & Care Awards. Sue Bradley discovers how high standards are being maintained despite the challenges presented by Covid-19.

CORONAVIRUS has led to new ways of working for the ECT Team at Monmouthshire’s Maindiff Court Hospital over recent months, but one thing that remains unchanged is the warm welcome received by patients.

While staff members are wearing full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in line with their department’s red infection control status, this in no way affects the care taken to ensure those undergoing treatments are made to feel at ease.

The attention paid to patients, along with improvements to facilities, the environment and care at the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board’s (ABUHB) ECT department at Maindiff Court Hospital near Abergavenny, led the department to be named ‘team of the year’ at the South Wales Argus Health & Care Awards 2019.

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ECT stands for Electro-Convulsive Therapy, which is used to relieve the symptoms of some mental health problems.

The treatment, administered under general anaesthetic, involves sending an electric current through the brain to cause quick, short term improvements to the way people are feeling.

Electro-Convulsive Therapy can be used to help patients suffering from severe or life-threatening depression, along with cases of moderate to severe depression for which medication and talking therapies haven’t helped.

The past few months have been busy for the ECT Team, with the department being revamped in line with the ABUHB’s red level infection control precautions, explains senior nurse Dr Tracey Salathial.

“The environment is still very welcoming to patients but to ensure treatment went ahead, and without stopping it completely, we’ve had to reduce numbers slightly,” says Dr Salathial, who manages the ECT Department and the Torfaen Older Mental Health Services at Ty Siriol. “Some parts of Wales have had to stop their ECT from going ahead, but because we’ve adhered to red PPE guidelines we have been able to continue with it.”

Dr Salathial says ECT treatment can be “life saving”.

“We see people who are severely depressed and for whom medication hasn’t worked,” she explains. “The changes we see in them are fantastic – ECT really changes their lives.”

Winning the ‘team of the year’ accolade at the health and care awards certainly impressed ECTAS standards inspectors from the accreditation body the Royal College of Psychiatrists later in 2019, who described the department as “exemplary” and went on to share various documents used at Maindiff Hospital with other ECT units throughout the UK.

  • Is there a team that has made a big difference to your health in 2020, or are you keen to see your GP surgery, pharmacist, surgeon or care provider honoured for the difference they make? Nominate individuals and teams for these categories and more in the South Wales Argus Health & Care Awards 2020, held in association with t2 group, at southwalesargus.co.uk/healthandcareawards. But don’t delay - entries must be received by Sunday, November 22.

Training is the key to top-quality healthcare

THE headline sponsor of the South Wales Argus Health & Care Awards 2020 is t2 group. The company is also supporting the ‘Outstanding Achievement’ category.

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A motivated, engaged and valued health and social care workforce is one of the key elements of the ambition to encourage a healthier Wales, and a goal that t2 group is keen to support through the provision of the high quality apprenticeships they provide using funding from the Welsh government.

The company, now one of the UK’s largest providers of apprenticeships, wants to equip individuals that undertake its programmes with the capacity, competence and confidence to meet the needs of people across Wales.

The Cardiff-based management and care apprenticeship specialist is fully aligned with the new strategy launched by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and Social Care Wales: ‘A Healthier Wales: Our Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care’, which sets out seven key themes it wants to achieve by 2030.

These are:

  • An engaged, motivated and healthy workforce.
  • Attraction and recruitment through health and social care being well established as a strong and recognisable brand.
  • Seamless workforce models with multi-professional and multi-agency workforces being the norm.
  • The building of a digitally ready workforce.
  • Excellent education and learning.
  • Leadership and succession, with collective and compassionate leadership being displayed.
  • Workforce supply and shape, with a sustainable workforce to meet the health and social care needs of the population.

“Our provision of high quality apprenticeships funded by Welsh government fully support the strategy by providing excellent training for health and social care professionals, enabling them to deliver the skills and capabilities needed to meet the future needs of people in Wales,” explains t2 director Dave Marr.

Learn more about t2 group at t2group.co.uk/

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