Welcome to our Summer edition eNewsletter For the final Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning (Learning Centre) update of 2018 we would like to reflect on and share some of our achievements. During the year we have successfully developed, piloted and delivered a variety of face-to-face and online courses, some of which are detailed below. Pilot and launch of QC31 Supporting a Suicidal Young Person, a course designed to provide participants with skills to identify young people at risk of suicide and gain practical skills to ask directly about suicide. Pilot of QC30 Tier 2 Violence Risk Assessment and Management (VRAM). QC30 focuses on supporting clinicians working knowledge of the Tier 2 component of the VRAM framework - mental health services. Roll out of QC2 Zero Suicide Multisite Healthcare Collaborative training, providing participants with core skills in engaging, assessing and responding to people presenting with suicide risk. The first semester of the 2019 training calendar has been scheduled with January to June dates now available to view online at www.qcmhl.qld.edu.au - Thank you to all our Hospital and Health Services (HHS) partners for assisting in the complex coordination of our statewide training schedule. We look forward to sharing many more new and exciting developments in the New Year and we hope everyone has a safe, happy and healthy summer. QC53 Less Restrictive Way eLearning project is underway The Learning Centre has been commissioned to develop an eLearning training program for clinicians to facilitate the implementation of the ‘less restrictive way’ principles of the Mental Health Act 2016, with a specific focus on the provision of treatment to children and young people. The eLearning training will enhance clinical skills around assessing the decision-making capacity of children and young people and encourage the use of parental/guardian consent as an alternative to using involuntary treatment e.g., a Treatment Authority, in circumstances where a child or young person lacks capacity. An Advisory Committee has been formed and met in early November. The Committee includes representatives from Children’s Health Queensland, the Independent Patients’ Rights Advisor, EdLinQ Coordinator, Clinicians, and Legal representation as well as Consumer representatives to support the content development and review of materials whilst providing advice and guidance. The eLearning is planned to be available and live in May 2019. Have you heard of the Zero Suicide Multisite Healthcare Collaborative? Effective suicide prevention is a shared responsibility requiring a comprehensive, cross-sectoral and whole-of-government approach. Queensland Health data from 2015 showed that one in four people who died by suspected suicide had contact with a Queensland Health service within seven days of their death, and one in five people had contact with a primary care provider, such as a GP, within one week of their death. To help drive improvements across the health system, funding has been allocated through the Suicide Prevention in Health Services Initiative. The Initiative forms an integral part of the plan for Queensland’s state-funded mental health, alcohol and other drug services – Connecting care to recovery 2016–2021 and comprises three main components: The establishment and operation of a Queensland Suicide Prevention Health Taskforce (the Taskforce) as a partnership between the Department of Health, HHSs, Primary Health Networks and people with a lived experience. Analysis of events relating to deaths by suspected suicide of people that had a recent contact with a health service to inform future actions and improvements in service responses. Continued implementation of training for hospital emergency department staff and other frontline acute mental health care staff in recognising, responding to and providing care to people presenting to HHSs with suicide risk. The Department of Health, through the Taskforce, is driving a renewed focus on the responsibility of health services in recognising, responding to and providing care to people at risk of suicide. A critical attribute to the successful implementation of suicide prevention strategies is organisational leadership, which articulates and instils the fundamental tenet that suicide is preventable; thereby, creating a culture that considers a suicide attempt or death an unacceptable outcome of care. Identifying and leading innovative partnerships between HHSs, Primary Health Networks and people with a lived experience to promote the delivery of high quality, evidence-based treatments for people identified with suicide risk is a key Taskforce objective. Now that you are aware of the initiative, how can you develop your skills? The Learning Centre has been engaged by the Clinical Excellence Division, Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch, to deliver thirteen QC2 Engage, Assess Respond to, and Support Suicidal People (QC2 EARS) training workshops to HHSs across the Queensland from October 2018 to January 2019. Staff are invited to log in and enrol in sessions at www.qcmhl.qld.edu.au Vacancies are available in the below QC2 EARS workshops: 30/01/2019 Metro North – Caboolture 30/01/2019 Sunshine Coast – Mountain Creek 31/01/2019 Metro North – Caboolture 13/02/2019 Sunshine Coast – Mountain Creek LMS Satisfaction Survey Results Update In July 2017, the Learning Centre introduced our online Learning Management System (LMS) where participants can access eLearning and book into our training courses. Like our participants, the Learning Centre is dedicated to continuous improvement. As part of this commitment we have been surveying our participants about their experience navigating and using the LMS. We are pleased to announce that most users have reported our online tools to be easy to use and navigate, and even more like the look and feel. While we truly appreciate the great feedback, we are keen to hear more constructive criticism and compliments to inform our future updates. We would love you to take three minutes to tell us about your experience using the LMS, and to let us know how we can provide a more intuitive and even easier online experience for you. Click here to start survey Any feedback collected will be non-identifiable and confidential. Only aggregated data will appear in any potential publications and presentations. If you have any questions or require a response from the Learning Centre about your experience, rather than complete this survey, please instead email qcmhl@health.qld.gov.au or call (07) 3271 8837. Thank you for your support! 2019 Mental Health Scholarship Scheme The Mental Health Scholarship Scheme (MHSS) is a Queensland Government initiative that focuses on increasing the skills, knowledge and mental health expertise of health professionals who work closely with mental health consumers. This initiative was established by the Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch and has been administered by the Learning Centre since 2007 to assist the Department of Health to meet its future mental health workforce requirements. The 2019 MHSS offer closed on 19 November 2019. The panel will meet on 4th December to finalise the list of successful applicants. Successful applicants will receive up to $1,000 per subject for post-graduate study successfully completed in 2019, with a cap of $5,000 per person. Mental Health Scholarship Scheme Review In October 2018, the Learning Centre commenced a review of the Mental Health Scholarship Scheme (MHSS) to identify how well it is meeting its aim of assisting the nursing and allied health workforce to undertake post-graduate mental health study. The MHSS was first awarded in the 1999/2000 financial year and since then more than 50 scholarships have been awarded annually. These previous recipients have been contacted to provide feedback to inform the review. Findings from the review are expected to be available by mid-2019. If you have been a MHSS recipient in the past five years (from the 2013 funding round) and have not received an invitation to provide feedback for the review, please contact Melissa Hill, Research Development Advisor, by email: melissa.hill@health.qld.gov.au or phone: 07 3271 8865. Sentinel Events Review update In September 2018, the Learning Centre Sentinel Events Review (SER) team celebrated the successful delivery of the updated 'QC9 Critical Components of Risk Assessment and Management' program, and newly developed 'QC30 Violence Risk Assessment and Management' (QC30 VRAM) blended learning program to over 350 clinicians. These clinicians came away with skills to empower them while working with consumers at risk of becoming violent or aggressive, and a better understanding of the Queensland Health policy relating to the assessment and management of violence, including the Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework - Mental Health Services (the Framework). More than 160 senior clinicians completed QC30 which we delivered at five pilot-site HHSs. Following this, we engaged with our key stakeholders – participants and training development collaborators – in ongoing work to evaluate and refine the QC30 VRAM program. Suggested amendments and augmentations of the product will continue through to January 2019. The SER project team is working in close collaboration with the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist to develop a QC30 VRAM induction training video. The video will introduce the Framework’s three-tiered approach to violence risk assessment and response and its clinical application, to clinical audiences across the state through the Learning Centre’s LMS and via mental health service clinical networks. Final adjustments to QC30 VRAM and the induction training video will be made in the next two months in readiness for the state wide roll out of the Framework in early 2019. QC31 Supporting a Suicidal Young Person Since our Winter update, the Learning Centre has successfully piloted and rolled out the first public delivery of QC31 Supporting a Suicidal Young Person. Distinctly different to the new QC28 YEARS which is a clinical program, the QC31 SSYP course targets non-clinical workers - it bridges the gap between clinical training and more generalised training to support young people in distress. This one day course is designed to provide participants with the skills to identify young people at risk of suicide and gain practical skills to ask directly about suicide. It covers the following key topics: identifying and engaging young people who are suicidal asking young people directly about suicide creating a Safety Plan with the young person referring young people to key professionals and supports self care for the worker. For more information on QC31 along with 2019 training dates, please visit our website www.qcmhl.qld.edu.au or call our Learning Centre staff on 07 3271 8837. Every year the Learning Centre staff make contributions to a variety of charitable organisations. Currently five Learning Centre staff volunteer their time as Culture Club representatives, a role that includes organising fundraising activities and collecting donations on behalf of the wider team. This year it was agreed that one of the organisations that would benefit from our efforts would be the Consumers here at The Park, Wacol. Our Culture Club spoke with Consumer Recreation Officers who requested a karaoke machine and sports balls for consumers residing at Medium Secure. During Mental Health week, Learning Centre staff were honoured to be granted the opportunity to present the karaoke machine and sports equipment to the Consumer Recreation Officers on behalf of the music and sports fans living in Medium Secure. A short time following Mental Health Week, a Learning Centre staff member was having a conversation at the canteen with a consumer who resides in Medium Secure. The consumer expressed their thanks and gratitude for the donation. The consumer spoke about the pleasure they get from using the karaoke machine and sports equipment, and that passion for music was so evident by the large smile on the consumers' face. For us at the Learning Centre, the Culture Club is about team building and creating a healthy workplace, but its true impact far exceeds those goals - and truly is a gift that keeps giving. The Learning Centre team are glad to be able to make a positive difference, and would like to share with you a quote by Norman MacEwen that both sums up the Culture Club ethos and seems particularly apt as we move into holiday season, "Happiness is not so much in having as in sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give". The Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning is committed to furthering the education opportunities for all Queensland Health staff, and as such are pleased to support study opportunities at Central Queensland University. A comprehensive list of Central Queensland University Post Graduate Degrees can be found at https://www.cqu.edu.au/courses/study-areas/health Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning, Ellerton Drive, Wacol Qld 4076 West Moreton Hospital and Health Service, RTO code 40745 (07) 3271 8837 www.qcmhl.qld.edu.au Training calendar | View courses | Course Catalogue | Subscribe | Unsubscribe