Issue 17

User Friendly Group

The User Friendly Group (UFG) is headed up by RobC and he has run the UFG for 8 years; he is therefore very experienced in his role. He also acts as an advocate - This means helping patients who wish to talk confidentially about various issues. RobC can also represent patients at their Clinical Team Meetings when a patient needs support, tribunals, managers meetings and 117 meetings. RobC will also help with your spiritual believes should you wish to see someone about your religion.

The UFG also includes patients and Staff and meets every month.It is open to any body who may wish to attend - watch out for the minutes on the ward notice boards. All staff are emailed with the date , time and venue (that is usually on a Friday at 3pm in the café) should anyone wish to attend. However, The UFG feels that the meetings may have run their course and should they be finished due to lack of interest from the Management - we hope that this does not need to happen.

Other items recently addressed and which are under the UFG umbrella are:

• Shop – This will now start in September. NeilM (Occupational Therapist and JeanetteD) to help RobC in its launch.
• Unauthorised cars are still using Clinic parking places. LisaR to obtain stick bollards parking signs for "Clinical Vehicles Only".
• Untidy Cars are still a problem but are now valetted once a month instead of once a quarter.
• Diabetic/Healthy foods are now available in the food menus, this includes low sugar, low fat diets examples being Muller Rice Lite, low fat yoghurts.

Catering service will now supply four weekly menus instead of the current three. Desserts will be stopped at lunch time because this facility is not being used by patients - desserts will still be provided at tea time. However, yogurts and rice will still be available at lunch time. There is no problem in patients having their own food such as beans on toast provided that the house keeper is given enough time to prepare it.

Charter Mark Audit. This assesses how Caswell Clinic is run. It was very successful with either full compliance or best practice for all categories – Caswell clinic has never achieved such a positive response before. A special mention went to the Caswell Chat and the development of a web site for it.

A cart boot sale was arranged by JeanetteD but it did not get many punters. However, JeanetteD arranged a Fete in Caswell Therapeutic gardens which was very successful. It raised £30 for garden produce and £40 for "brick a brack" and with a raffle.

JaxS highlighted that only those patients not receiving benefits would be entitled to clothing and weekly allowances, and also refreshment rebate from community leave.