New Staff & Leavers

2

Care Act Training Event

2

Port Vale FC

Match Analysis

3

Health & Social Care Event

4

England Futsal Team in Malta

5

Increase in Paramedic Students

6

Transforming Care

6

Psychology News 7

Publications 8

FAC ULTY

O F H EA LT H

S CI EN C ES

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Health Matters February 2015 I S S U E 3 3

Welcome to February 2015's

Edition of Health Matters.

It’s been another busy month especially for all our professional support staff - big

thanks from me for your continued dedication. This edition includes a sample of the

news and achievements from all areas, but looking through the last few editions -

and on Twitter—it struck me that my contribution seems limited mainly to being in

photos (sometimes in a pink wig) standing next to Faculty staff or students who’ve

won a prize, led a project, or achieved some other noteworthy learning and teaching

accolade. For example, attending Prof Rodham’s excellent inaugural lecture or giving

prizes to Nursing students at their recent Celebrating Student Success awards

evening, which were indeed highly enjoyable and worthwhile. However, my

reflections encouraged me to consider sharing in this edition some of the other roles

I play in my role as Dean. If I put to one-side the internal staff meetings, senior

faculty management meetings, meetings with Executive and so on, I thought it may

be of interest to learn of the engagement I have with some of our key external

partners. Here’s a snapshot of regular strategic meetings I attend and contribute to.

Health Education West Midlands Contract Review meetings; Local Education and

Training Council (Trusts, HEWM, HEIs); Strategic Alliance for Health Education

(HEWM, WM Deans); Million+ Health and Social Care Group (Deans); National

Council of Deans; Board of Governors West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The above focus on the current and future education of our health and social care

workforce. My role is to make sure Staffordshire University’s contribution is fully and

positively represented. I liaise closely with colleagues before and after these. And I

know, like me, staff across the Faculty are in regular meetings and developing

relationships with a wide variety of private and public partners, to improve our

recruitment, our students’ experience and attainment, our income generating

activity, our profile, our research outputs and our contribution to the local

community.

As I said at the last and each and every open day welcome, working in partnership

(for example with our commissioners, accrediting bodies, Trusts, voluntary and

private sector) is critical to the vibrancy of our courses and the success of our

students. And that increased engagement is already reaping rewards. Don’t worry.

Next month I will revert to my more usual contribution (pink wig included) but if

you have any queries/ suggestions or would like me share more of this, please let

me know. Nigel Thomas

Dean

We held a "Tea & Cakes" fond farewell party for Marion Tudor on 28.01.15 in Brindley to mark 20 years of service with the University. Marion took early retirement at the end of January and Nigel Thomas gave a fabulous speech to thank Marion for her years of hard work, dedication, support and friendship. She will be sadly missed by colleagues in Health Sciences and we wish her a long, happy, health retirement.

Good luck and Best wishes from us all X

Goodbye & Best Wishes

Julie Tipping is already with us as a Lecturer, but as from 2nd February she will take up the position of Lecturer

in Social Welfare, Law, Policy and Advice Practice based in Stoke.

New Staff Welcome to the Faculty of Health Sciences

P A G E 2

On 17th February 2015, Peter Simcock, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, delivered a day training event on the Care

Act 2014 for the Welfare Team at Blind Veterans UK, and their partners. Blind Veterans UK (Formerly known as St. Dunstan's) is a national charity providing vision impaired Armed Forces and National Service veterans with

erson-centred services and tailored support to discover life beyond sight loss. Blind Veterans UK's work ranges from helping veterans relearn vital life skills and providing them with the tools they need to be independent in

their own homes, to offering new learning, training and recreation opportunities and providing long-term nursing,

residential and respite care. The day's training covered the main provisions of Part 1 of the Care Act 2014 and how they relate to both visual impairment and the work of a third sector organisation.

Peter is pictured here with Alison Bradley (Welfare and Grants Manager, Blind Veterans UK) and John McGirr

(Commissioning Officer, Royal Borough of Greenwich).

Staffs students provide match analysis support at Port Vale Football Club

As part of a growing relationship between Staffordshire University and Port Vale FC, final year students Daniel

Aubrey and Kristian Walley have provided match analysis support for the club throughout the 2014/15 season. This has involved analysing the first team and relaying this information to the coaching staff as well as providing video

feedback to academy coaches.

The students have received glowing reports from first team performance analyst Dan Thompson: “Daniel and Kristian have contributed significantly at Port Vale Football Club this season during first team matches and academy training sessions. The link with Staffordshire University this season has demonstrated how students can not only benefit from gaining first-hand experience in the football industry but also help the club to move forward.”

Studying the BA (Hons) Sport Development and Coaching award, the students have found the experience extremely valuable to their professional development.

"The placement has improved my knowledge of software, recording equipment and the role of a performance analyst. This allows an insight into elite sport, gaining the required expertise to pursue a career within this field.” Daniel Aubrey

“I have gained skills such operating and understanding performance analysis software. It has been a privilege to

represent Staffordshire University at such a professionally run club such as Port Vale.”

Kristian Walley

P A G E 3

Dr Peter Kevern was a guest on a broadcast on

‘Dementia and Faith’ for the Things Unseen series,

http://www.thingsunseen.co.uk/podcasts/dementia-

faith/

Health and Social Care Event

On the 26th November and 26th January the UK recruitment team organised a careers event at Blackheath Lane Campus for Health and Social Care students at Stoke 6th Form College and Stafford College. Over 100 Health and

Social Care students attended with health staff from Operating Department Practice, Paramedic Science, Mental Health Nursing, Adult Nursing and Health and Social Care awards delivering information and activities throughout

the day.

The event primarily concentrated on the skills that are required within each programme with time for specific

questions and advice and guidance on their future application also provided. The students were able to watch a demonstration of the Sim man (a realistic simulated person), use the glitter bug to see how clean their hands were,

try on an ageing suit and participate in a group exercise for the new Health and Social Care award; there was even a chance to play the life size operation game in Staffordshire University’s state of the art simulated operating

theatre.

The students were very engaged and thoroughly enjoyed the day, with lots of chatter and giggles as students went

from one activity to another. The formal evaluation undertaken by the UK recruitment team reflected this positive atmosphere as there was an excellent evaluation given by both students and college staff who particularly

commented on how much enthusiasm and hard work was demonstrated by staff in each session. Overall the day was a lot of fun and demonstrates how learning can be both informative and entertaining!

There will be more events like this for other colleges at the end of the year so please try and get involved, it’s very

rewarding.

Kim Sutton

Academic Recruitment Manager

Faculty of Health Sciences

P A G E 4

Sport Psychologist in Malta with England Futsal

Lecture in Sport and Exercise Psychology Dr. Martin Turner has been with the England Futsal Team in Malta for the preliminary qualification tournament for Euro 2015.

As lead sport psychologist for England Futsal, Martin has been working with players and staff, using sport

psychology to help the team develop a winning mindset. Martin has been working with the team for just over a year now, applying his knowledge of the mental side of performance at training camps at St. Georges Park, and at

international matches. The England Futsal Team has risen 23 places in the world rankings, and have lost just one

match in the last thirteen competitions; a testament to the hard work and commitment of the players and staff. The preliminary qualification tournament for Euro 2015 was held in Malta, and England faced Malta, Latvia, and

Andorra. Dramatically, although England won two matches and drew one, they missed out on Euro qualification by one goal. Martin states that: “This is what sport is all about. The fact that even though you can perform as well as

the team did in Malta, you are never guaranteed anything in sport. This is what makes sport stressful, but also

thrilling”.

Martin continues to work with the team going forward to two hotly anticipated matches against Sweden on the 27 th

and 28th of February 2015. Martin’s work with the team is based on his research with colleagues here at

Staffordshire University about dealing with pressure in sport. Martin says that “the work we are doing here at

Staffordshire University is helping athlete across numerous levels and ages fulfil their potential when the going gets

tough. By working with athletes and coaches to integrate psychology into training and performance, performance

gains can be accelerated and accentuated.”

Sport Psychologists help corporate clients with presentation stress

Lectures in Sport and Exercise Psychology Dr. Martin Turner and Associated Professor Jamie Barker are helping

employees at a Blue-Chip organisation with presentation stress.

Public speaking is one of our biggest fears as human beings, and no-where is public speaking fear more prominent

than in a dreaded presentation to work colleagues and senior management. Using a framework developed here at Staffordshire University by Professor Marc Jones, Martin and Jamie are working with a Blue-Chip organisation

pplying their “Tip The Balance” approach to success, popularised by their book “What Business Can Learn From

Sport Psychology”. Employees with presentation stress will undergo a cutting-edge training program including cardiovascular testing, stress inoculation, and mental skills training. The program will help employees to enter

presentations in a “challenge state”, known to be helpful for performance in pressure situations.

Martin says that “A challenge state is helpful because it is associated with positive mental states such as confidence, efficient physiological states such as increase adrenaline coursing through the body, and a greater

ability to control emotions such as anxiety prior to a presentation. Therefore, after undergoing the program,

employees will feel confident, assertive, and composed in the face of presentations.” Part of the program will involve stress inoculation where employees are asked to perform stressful activities to desensitise them to the

stress of presentations. Jamie explains that “the more people face pressure, the more they become accustomed to feeling anxious and feeling under pressure. Therefore, by getting employees to face pressure regularly, we can

help them to go into important presentations with a ‘I’ve done it before so I can do it again’ mentality”. The work

begins this year, and will take place in Sweden.

P A G E 5

Increase in Paramedic Students at Blackheath Lane

From September 2015 there will be more green uniforms around at Blackheath Lane as the paramedic team are

pleased to announce that the number of students

commissioned to join us in September through UCAS applications has doubled from 30 to 60.

There will also been an increase in ‘conversion’ student

numbers for those ambulance technicians who will join us for a year to become a qualified paramedic from 50 to 100.

Whilst this will take some careful planning to ensure these students receive the same excellent experience at

Staffordshire University that they have previously enjoyed, we are really pleased that the hard work and dedication of

the staff team to make the FdSc Paramedic Science such an

attractive course to students and local employers has resulted in this expansion.

Jo Carruthers Academic Group Lead- Allied & Public Health Professions

P A G E 6

Transforming Care

For most of my 40 year career in human services I have been involved in the delivery design and evaluation of services to people with learning disabilities, so it was with a great deal of pleasure and trepidation that I responded

to an invitation to act as a clinical expert as part of a team evaluating individual services to people identified as having a learning disability and challenging behavior. The reviews examined the care and treatment of people who

are currently placed away from home and who are receiving care and treatment in long-stay hospitals and similar settings.

The reviews were a direct response to the findings of the Winterbourne view enquiry (Transforming Care) and were based on the principle that people should receive services and support both close to home and in the least

restrictive environments possible and to provide evidence to support more peoples discharge from inappropriate hospital placements.

The reviews I was involved in formed a small part of a significant number of Care & Treatment Reviews currently being carried out across England. The review team consisted of a commissioner, an expert by experience (usually a

family member or service user) and a clinical expert.

During each review we met for a whole day with service providers, care teams and most importantly the service users themselves, this gave the review team a huge insight into both the care provided and the care received by

people, this enabled the team to form opinions, judgments and make recommendations for both discharge

planning and future service provision.

It was a huge privilege to be part of this important work and to work with such a committed team, the opportunity to be part of a process which is so vital in transforming the lives and experiences of some of the most vulnerable

within our society will both inform my teaching and affirm many of the values I hold so dear.

For further information see

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/399755/Winterbourne_View.pdf

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/transform-care-nxt-stps.pdf

Mike Newbury (Senior Lecturer)

Dr Helen Combes received a vice chancellor’s small grants award to investigate and film the views of various

community groups on the 9 protected characteristics defined within the Equality Act. This is to develop a teaching resource for us on the programme and within the wider university.

Psychology News

Staff receiving Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy – Dr Robert Dempsey.

Results of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework announced for psychological research conducted at Staffordshire University.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a Government initative conducted every five years or so to evaluate the quality of University research. This year was the first time our Psychology team was submitted to the REF as a

standalone subject area.

With respect to Psychology, we have done extremely well in terms of the ratings our work has been given for its

impact. 100% of our research impact was classified as being internationally significant. More specifically, 60% of our impact was rated as 3* (in other words, internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour)

and the remaining 40% was classified as 4* (in other words, world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour).

Head of School Dr Peter Jones “this is great news for Psychology at Staffordshire University and provides validation of our work, as well as encouragement for us to continue to build and grow our research. To be so highly rated for research and rated in the top 10% of Psychology degrees in the UK for student satisfaction show what a great team we have here at Staffs.” For more details about psychological research conducted by academic staff at Staffordshire University please visit:

Centre for Psychological Research

Centre for Health Psychology

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/research/centre-for-psychological-research/

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/research/chp/index.jsp

Karen Rodham, Professor of Health Psychology comments “the results have been out for a little while now and we have had some time to look through all the data, take stock and identify the lessons to take away. The fact that so many of those submitted for the REF were early career researchers highlights the opportunities that this university provides for people to grow and develop their research careers. As someone who has only recently joined the university, this confirms the impression I had before I decided to accept the offer of a job here – that Staffordshire University is a university committed to conducting high quality research that has meaning beyond the confines of academia.”

P A G E 7

P A G E 8 Publications

Dr Amy Burton (Psychology): Burton, A., & Shaw, R. L. (In Press). Pain management programmes for non-English speaking people with long term or chronic pain. Musculoskeletal Care.

Dr Helen Combes (Clinical Psychology): Stokes, L., Combes, H., & Stokes, G. (in press). The dementia diagnosis: a literature review of information, understanding, and attributions. Psychogeriatrics. doi: 10.1111/

psyg.12095

Dr Robert Dempsey (Psychology): McAlaney, J., Helmer, S., Stock, C., Vriesacker, B., Van Hal, G., Dempsey, R. C., et al (in press). Personal and perceived peer use of and attitudes toward alcohol among university and college

students in seven EU countries: Project SNIPE. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Ellis NJ, Gidlow CJ, Cowap L, Randall J, Iqbal Z, Kumar J. A qualitative investigation of non-response in NHS Health

Checks. BMC Archives of Public Health 2015;in press.

Gidlow C, Ellis N, Randall J, Cowap L, Smith G, Iqbal Z, et al. Method of invitation and geographical proximity as

predictors of NHS Health Check uptake. Journal of Public Health 2014;doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdu092.

Aigbogun NW, Hawker JI, Stewart A. Interventions to increase influenza vaccination rates in children with high-risk conditions - A systematic review. Vaccine (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.12.013

Claire Evans (former Senior Lecturer ) and Peter Kevern have had a paper published in Nurse Education in Practice:

Liminality in preregistration mental health nurse education: A review of the literature URL http://

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471595314001188

Health Matters Contact Details

Kerri Thomas

Faculty of Health Sciences, Staffordshire University

The Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Mytton Oak Road, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. SY3 8XQ Tel: 01743 261136 Email: k.thomas@staffs.ac.uk

Deadline

for Next Edition:

25th March 2015