The MPFT Podcast

Joint working can often be key to providing comprehensive and effective mental health care to people in need. The Social Care In-Reach team works closely with health colleagues and external agencies to ensure holistic care for patients, and their unique position allows them to bridge gaps between medical treatment, social support, and community resources. Charlie Thorpe and Naomi Babbs talk about...

In this latest MPFT Podcast episode with the Families' Health and Wellbeing 0-19 Service, Caroline talks to Sadie, a children’s respiratory consultant nurse about asthma. The episode covers what asthma is, the symptoms, how it is treated, the importance of Personal Asthma Action Plans and ‘Count it out’ methods. A transcript of this episode is available to download ⁠. Links & info: Families He...

In this episode Gemma and Tori discuss why returning to school after a long break can be a challenging time for many children and young people. While there are often many things that they might be looking forward to, such as catching up with their friends or returning to a favourite subject, there can also be a great deal of anxiety and worry around starting a new school term or year. They talk ab...

In this episode of the podcast we hear from Leanne Borley and Jordan Perrins. Both of them work for the Mental Health Support Team in South Staffordshire. The team work closely with identified mental health leads within schools supporting children and young people with emerging, mild, or moderate mental health difficulties that may be affecting their day to day life. Jordan talks about the mental...

In this episode Kristy, Carolyn and Caroline talk about 5 Ways to Wellbeing. Our mental health is important and evidence suggests there are ways that we can look after it which can help to improve our mental health and wellbeing. Trying these things could help you feel more positive, cope better with life’s up and downs, and get the most out of life. These 5 Ways to Wellbeing are simple things tha...

March is when the NHS Staff Survey results are published, and we are delighted to announce MPFT scorded above average in all nine of the key elements of the 2023 NHS Staff Survey, surpassing our previous year's results despite another difficult year for NHS services. In this episode we are joined by two colleagues from our Organisational Development Team (Lisa Whitehouse and Abbie Charlesworth...

Our Safeguarding Team offer an introduction to the White Ribbon campaign, and discuss the recent announcement of MPFT becoming White Ribbon accredited. Website links: White Ribbon UK Rape Crisis England & Wales Refuge A transcript of this episode is available from our website .

To mark Black History Month 2023 we present a discussion between Jack McKinnell (Senior Peer Support Worker from the East Staffordshire Mental Health Support Team), Chanette Barnard (Director and Training Lead at Empower My Voice), and Simeon (a teacher at the Knowledge Room DE).

Unemployment rates are often high for people with mental health issues and the road to a new job can feel overwhelming. Within Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, MPFT is working with specialist mental health employment support service Enable to support people to find work suited to their interests and skills. We chat with Neil Woodhouse, an Early Intervention Support Worker with MPFT, and Matt M...

Mike Cooper and Jade Clarke are MPFT Mental Health Nurses who work with local authorities, housing associations, and voluntary and community organisations in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin to offer mental health support to people who are sleeping rough or experiencing homelessness. They talk about the support they provide to some of the most vulnerable people in society, what motivates them,...

Speaking up to raise a concern about anything that gets in the way of good patient care is vital in ensuring lessons are learned and services can continuously improve. To mark Speak Up Month, which takes place throughout October each year, we chat with Kath Chambers, one of MPFT’s Freedom to Speak Up Guardians about the role and process of speaking up, and why she’s so committed to ensuring this i...

Jo Probyn (Head of Forensics) talks about her experience of being invited to 10 Downing Street to attend the 'NHS Heroes' event as part of the NHS75 celebrations. She also discusses her career path that led to her current role as Head of Forensics, and her receipt of "The Fantastic Place to Work Award" at our recent Staff Awards Ceremony . A transcript of this episode is availabl...

In this podcast episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with Beth Barnett, an Occupational Therapist at MPFT. Listen to Beth open up about her career journey, and share the driving force behind her choice to become an Occupational Therapist, and highlight her favourite aspects of the role. If you would like to join our award-winning trust as an Occupational Therapist, check out our latest vacanc...

In this episode we chat with two of our staff about the work that they have been doing to keep inpatients active during a hospital stay to support with their recovery. The fun, inventive approaches that they and others across the Trust have taken to support our patients has led to MPFT being one of just a handful of NHS trusts in the Midlands to receive the Recondition the Nation Platinum Award. A...

Join Carol and Stacey in this episode of the Parents Podcast Series where they talk about breastfeeding when returning to work. It can be a daunting prospect thinking about returning to work while breastfeeding. Carol and Stacey discuss your rights as a breastfeeding employee and top tips on how to practically manage your return. Further information is available through your Health Visiting Team:...

In this episode of our podcast, we hear from Nicola Ball (Specialist Nurse Practitioner) who works in CAMHS, Lichfield. Nicola talks about the therapeutic benefits of being outside in green spaces, and the development of a garden for children and young people at Holly Lodge in Lichfield. Read about the work for MPFT's Green Team on our website , and follow them on Twitter . A transcript of thi...

In this episode Carol and Caroline talk about reducing the risks of accidental poisoning in children. From kitchen cleaner to medicines and things lurking in your garden shed, keeping them away from children is so important. We all wish we had eyes in the back of our heads but being more aware of where we store things in our homes should help us to reduce those risks. You can find more useful info...

Mindfulness is about being aware of the present moment, sensations and thoughts. Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves a little better. In this episode, health visitor Carol shares how mindfulness can be enjoyed in every day experiences and invites you to join her on a short guided meditation concentrating on your breathing, t...

Sleep is so important, but busy thoughts can whizz around our heads, making it difficult to settle. Join Health Visitor Carol as she invites you to follow a guided meditation to help quiet your mind in readiness for sleep. She uses a visualisation technique where you will imagine walking along a beautiful beach, keying into your senses, before finding a comfortable spot to rest, relax and sleep. A...

In this latest episode of The MPFT Podcast we hear from Leanne Macpherson (Head of programmes at the Community Foundation for Staffordshire). Leanne describes the Community Foundation's role in approving grant applications to organisations seeking to provide community-based projects that help support people in Staffordshire with mental health illness. This work is part of the Community Mental...

Join Carol (a health visitor within the 0-19 service) as she talks you through a physical activity to help shake off feelings of tension or stress from the body. This can be a useful technique to share with children; they too might benefit from shaking off feelings of tension or worry. Or you could decide to do this activity together with your child just for the fun of it! A transcript of this epi...

In this episode Health Visitors Carol and Caroline talk about crying babies and the ICON messages that help people who care for babies cope with crying. Babies start to cry more from about 2 weeks old and starts to get less each week after 8 weeks old and whether there is a reason or not it can be frustrating, upsetting and extremely stressful. They share advice to help with crying and what to do...

In this episode of The MPFT Podcast, Lyse Edwards (Head of Operations for the Children and Families Care Group) talks with Gill Phillips (developer of Whose Shoes, a game for co-production) and Rachel Crook (one of the Professional Lead Nurses in the Care Group) about the Whose Shoes Game, and how the Care Group are hoping to use it to shape services. They share details of two upcoming workshops w...

In this latest episode we hear about the collaborative work being undertaken by Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust , North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust , and colleagues from Primary Care (GP Practices) across Staffordshire. Their work is helping those people suffering from Serious Mental Illness (SMI) deal with both their mental and physical health problems. A tran...

We are celebrating gaining University Trust status from Keele University. From Tuesday 4 April 2023, we will be known as Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. We will continue to use MPFT, for short, as this is widely used and well recognised. The award is in recognition of our contribution to research and education over a number of years. We play an active part in training the nex...