Ysbyty George Thomas.

Dr Bennett said: “It’s a social prescribing

project based here in the Rhondda. If pa-

tients feel they can benefit they can be re-

ferred from their GP.”

Patients are being

offered gardening on

prescription in

Rhondda to help them

to improve their

wellbeing.

Rachel Bennett, a GP

at Forest View practice

in Treorchy, came up

with the idea of Grow

Rhondda, a therapeutic

gardening group.

The service is designed for people presenting

with mild anxiety, mild depression and social

isolation.

Patients who would

benefit can now be referred to the

gardening project which is based at

GP Gareth Jordan who is

helping to pilot the Early

Cancer Diagnosis project.

Grow Rhondda offers patients

gardening on prescription

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Editorial 1

Key contacts 2

Baby Teeth 4

Army vet in EPP 6,7

@Home service 8,9

3Cs boost 10

Valleys Steps 11

Primary Care

Newsletter W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 / 1 8 I S S U E 2

WELCOME

TO YOUR

WINTER

EDITION

Hello and welcome

again to your Cwm Taf

p r i m a r y c a r e

newsletter.

Our aim is to keep you

up to date with the

innovation taking place

in p r imary a nd

community care across

Cwm Taf.

This edition shines the

spotlight on social

p r e s c r i b i n g a n d

community involve-

ment.

We showcase the Grow

Rhondda project which

offers therapeutic

gardening to aid well-

being.

We learn about Care &

Repair’s essential

involvement in a

virtual ward in Cynon.

There is a guide to the

Help Me Quit service.

Army veteran Chris

Dorrington tells his

story as an EPP tutor.

What is your story?

Keep in touch.

tom.bodden@wales.nhs.uk

To Page 2

Marcus Longley and

Rachel Bennett

2

People presenting with mild anxiety, low mood, low self-

esteem or social isolation would be eligible for the

eight week programme.

“The scheme consists of

eight weekly sessions where patients attend and

be involved in all aspects of gardening.”

The pilot project is a joint venture by Rhondda

primary care, Ysbyty George Thomas and the

community group Men’s Sheds, who will deliver the

sessions to cultivate courtyard gardens at the

hospital.

Men’s Sheds was first

developed in Australia to help to combat male isola-

tion but has spread to the UK and Ireland. There are

now 32 ‘sheds’ in Wales.

The hospital project is open to

men and women.

Dave Harris, from Treorchy

Men’s Sheds, said: “I think the

benefit you will get from any

gardening project is the fact

you are outside.

“You can share that experience

with other people and enjoy the

aspect of the garden through

the changes in the seasons,

what you can plan or plant.

Ynysmeurig House

Navigation Park

Abercynon

CF45 4SN

Phone: 01433 744800

Email Newsletter Editor:

tom.bodden@wales.nhs.uk

Cwm Taf University Health Board

From Page 1

CWM TAF CARES

We’re recruiting

Joincwmtaf.wales

Merthyr Tydfil GP Lead Dr Mary Franklin. Practice Manager Leads Kate Francis; Kevin

Rogers. Primary Care Development Manager Imran Gilani 01685 351357.

Cynon Valley GP Lead Simon Gray. Prac-

tice manager leads Lynwen Francis and Lucy

Evans. Primary Care Development Manager

Tess Raybould 01685 351387.

Rhondda GP leads Dr Westley

Saunders; Dr Rachel Bennett; Dr Rachel Jef-fries; Dr Neeraj Singh. Practice Manager Lead Sarah Simpson.

Primary Care Development Manager Hayley Pugh 01685 351341.

Taff Ely GP leads Dr Tom Hodges-Hoyland and Dr Jonathan Finnegan. Practice Manager

Leads Moira Moore and Sarah Moore. Primary Care Development Manager Janet Kelland 01685 351483.

“Men’s Sheds got involved

because it gives us the

opportunity to do

something within our

community.”

The project combines the

interest of primary care

in well-being, brings the

local hospital into the

community and links with

community groups.

The scheme was launched

by the chair of Cwm Taf

University Health Board

Marcus Longley. “The

health board is

committed to improving

the health and well-being

of the people we serve.

This is exactly the sort of

thing we need to support

this in practice.”

Primary Care Clusters

3

Why Care & Repair is ‘invaluable’ to

Cynon’s virtual ward network

Care & Repair in Cwm Taf is part of the

virtual ward in Aberdare, enabling practical

solutions to non-medical problems to

improve the quality of life and health of

vulnerable patients.

The partnership is part of an innovative

approach to connect with patients who are

difficult to reach, the elderly or vulnerable

people with complex co-morbidities.

Dr Owen Thomas at St John’s Medical

Practice in Aberdare said: “Care & Repair

has been invaluable in providing this

element to the service and hopefully we can

prevent social problems becoming medical

problems.”

The 17-strong Care & Repair team in Cwm

Taf aims to enable older and disabled

people, owner occupiers, to remain in their

home in greater comfort, warmth and

security.

Nerys Williams, chief officer for Care &

Repair said that one of her team sat on the

virtual ward group at St John’s.

3,949 clients

75

average age

1,009

Healthy Home

checks

4,218

jobs completed

£1.12m val-

ue of works

£229k

welfare secured

98%

clients satisfied

Its Warm Homes on prescription

programme was funded by the Welsh

Government to develop partnerships with

primary and secondary care to support

patients who present with chronic

obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or

asthma, for example.

“We would get involved to make sure the

home is warm when the referral comes from

a health professional and carry out an

energy assessment on the property.”

Work can include a new boiler, or replace-

ment windows to make the home more

energy efficient.

“We do a full healthy homes check and a

benefits check to ensure that they are

receiving everything they need. The main

aim is prevention and that clients can come

out of hospital as quickly as possible. The

service has grown year on year in an ageing

population.”

A rapid response service for small adapta-

tions to homes is carried out on average in

To Page 4

4

Improved social care means better treatment

Health secretary backs Baby Teeth DO Matter

From Page 3

five days compared to

the target of 15 days.

Last year, the agency

carried out more than

4,200 jobs for around

3,900 clients in Cwm

Taf, spending around

£1.1m, on the core

service for the over

60s.

It also delivers a Manag-ing Better & Dedicated Dementia service to

avoid crisis situations.

Dr Thomas said: “Actually

having everybody sitting

around together, working

together and directing

resources is not only better

for the patient and better

for us but it’s also much

more efficient for how the

health service spends its

money going forward. By

improving the social care,

by improving the patients’

well-being we get better

engagement and we get

better disease outcomes

which means the patient is

treated better, they engage more.”

Managing partner Lynwen Francis said: “Having this

agency is essential when the patient’s problem is of the

physical environment rather than a medical problem.

“It makes a huge difference to patients’ lives if they are able to

access their garden and potter around because Care and Repair

have provided an access ramp.

“Care and Repair staff consider

the patient’s home environment and their needs and wrap a solu-

tion around it.”

The Baby Teeth DO Matter

campaign has been raising

awareness of the importance

of adopting healthy dental

habits early to prevent tooth

decay in children.

The initiative aims to tackle

the high rate of tooth decay

in children by giving oral

health messages to parents

at the earliest opportunity

and to encouraging

attendance at a dental

practice.

When parents attend the

baby clinic, they are giv-

en oral health messages

by a dentist along with

free toothbrushes and

toothpaste.

The campaign’s key

messages are:

– Start tooth brushing

as soon as your child

gets their first tooth

– Brush teeth twice a day with

a fluoride toothpaste

– Reduce sugary snacks and

drinks

– Take your child to the

dentist when they get their

first tooth

Pictured is Vaughan Gething,

Cabinet Secretary for Health,

who visited Pontcae Medical

Practice, Merthyr Tydfil.

5

Help Me Quit is the sin-

gle point of access for all NHS stop smoking ser-

vices in Wales, provided face-to-face, in groups, in

local pharmacies, in hos-pitals, or over the tele-

phone making it easier for smokers to get the

best NHS stop smoking support for them and

recognising that smokers have differing support

needs.

Smoking, and quitting

Smoking remains the

single largest cause of preventable ill health in

Wales. 19% of Welsh adults smoke. 64% of

smokers want to quit and 44% actively tried last

year. (National Survey for Wales).

Waiting times for cessa-tion support are now less

than 7 days (average), and quality of support

(quit rates) across all services are consistently

in line or above

recognised benchmarks.

What advice should

we give smokers? The best way to quit smok-

ing is with free NHS stop smoking support

offered through Help Me Quit. NHS stop

smoking services offer smokers the greatest

chances of success by providing: structured,

tailored and expert sup-port; carbon monoxide

monitoring for motiva-tion, access to free

licensed stop smoking

medication.

Smokers are four

times more likely to successfully quit

smoking with NHS stop smoking sup-

port, than going it alone.

Smokers can get support directly by:

Calling: 0800 085 2219 Texting: HMQ to 80818

(to get a call-back), or

Visiting: www.helpmequit.wales/

quit-now to request a call-back

Professionals should

refer smokers by: Using existing referral

routes such as the web-based referral platform:

Quit Manager, or Telephone Help Me

Quit (with client permis-sion): 0800 085 2219

Using the professional

referral short-form: www.helpmequit.wales/

professional-referrer/

What else can we

do?: Display posters and contact-cards at

your practice.

Asking about smoking status can trigger

a quit attempt, referring increases

the likelihood of success.

For more cessation information

contact helpmequit@wales.nhs.uk

6

ARMY VETERAN WITH PTSD IS VOLUNTEER TUTOR

Army veteran Christopher

Dorrington served in seven

tours in Northern Ireland

and in conflicts and trouble

spots around the world.

But his 41 years in the

military, in the Parachute

Regiment, Royal Engineers

and later a Reservist, left

him suffering from Post

Traumatic Stress Disorder,

symptoms of which are

persistent nightmares and

flashbacks.

His physical health has

suffered from severe

arthritis and gout in his

joints which means he is in

pain a lot of the time. He

also has a heart pacemak-

er fitted.

When he left the military,

he tried to control his

nightmares with alcohol

which just made him more

depressed. His problems

finally led him to a drug

and alcohol unit. He was

recommended to contact

the forces’ charity Combat

Stress and the diagnosis of

PTSD followed.

“It took nine months to be

assessed and see a

professional psychiatrist

and seven years of treat-

ment. I haven’t touched a

drink for more than seven

years,” he said.

It was also suggested he

contact Education Pro-grammes for Patients (EPP

Cymru) which offers a

range of self-

management courses and

workshops for people

living with a health

condition and for carers.

“I went up to Treherbert

for a six week course but

even at the end of it I

didn’t understand it. So I

asked if I could go along

again and another six

weeks later the penny

started to drop.”

His attitude and

personality impressed the

programme’s

coordinators who asked

him to train as a tutor.

He is an example of how

the course can help to

turn your life around.

“If you have problems, we

can give you the tools to

manage day-to-day living,”

said Chris, who lives with

his wife Pauline and dog

Molly in Llantwit Fadre,

near Llantrisant.

The techniques help him to

organise his day, to lessen

his symptoms of chronic

pain or anxiety. He says

that the ‘Dark Lord’ of PTSD

is there all the time but he

has learned techniques

which help him to

understand his issues and

how PTSD affects him.

“If you have nightmares,

trying to put yourself back

on an even keel is a hard

task.

To Page 7

EPP tutor Chris Dorrington and his dog Molly

7

“You feel rewarded as a tutor”

“The benefit I got from the

course was how to control

my emotions and the stress

and anxiety. I use Mindful-

ness and relaxation tech-

niques .

“It is about how to use the

tools you are given in the

toolbox to break the cycle

of pain, anxiety, difficult

emotions, shortness of

breath, fatigue and poor

sleep. The only person who

can do that is yourself.”

Going out for exercise,

planning your day, saying

the word ‘no’ more often,

and giving yourself

rewards. Communication is

also important.

“I feel that as a tutor,

having my own chronic

illnesses and issues, is an

advocacy for EPP because

I have gone through it

myself.

“I didn’t realise how bad I

was. It has given more

meaning to my life rather

than running and throwing

beer down my neck. It really

has improved my quality of

life.

“You feel rewarded as a tutor

seeing people at the end of

the course become a differ-

ent character, helping anoth-

er person also makes you

re-evaluate your own issues

too.”

EPP Cymru provides a

range of free self-

management health and

well being courses. Debra

Moore, Cwm Taf coordina-

tor, said: ”The courses are

free and last for six weeks,

2 ½ hours a week, at suita-

ble venues in the communi-

ty.

“It is run by lay tutors who

have been on a course and

benefitted greatly and have

the opportunity to train to

become a volunteer tutor.”

More details about EPP Cymru can be found at

www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/home.cfm?

or-

From Page 6

District Nurses and GP practices worked

together to set up an electronic flu clinic.

Practices created a list of patients in need

of a vaccination on their computer system

which could be accessed by District Nurses

in the community via their Chromebooks.

The initiative improves patient safety and

communication as the practice can see if

the patient has received the flu jab,

reducing any risk of missed or double

vaccination. Previously surgeries would

have produced a paper list of patients.

District nurse Kimberley Williams said:

“The electronic system is far more

efficient than the previous paper records.

It reduces the risk of a patient receiving a

double vaccination and allows better

communication with our surgeries.”

By connecting directly with the surgery

records while out in the community, the

district nurse team is able to see

immediately which patients need to be

vaccinated to protect them against flu.

Rhys Roberts, IT development nurse for

Cwm Taf University Health Board, said “It

speeds up the process and saves the

nurse having to travel back and forth to

the practice to check paper records.”

New e-clinic fights the flu

8

HELPING OUR PATIENTS TO STAY @HOME

Occupational therapist Alex Gigg with St John’s practice GP Marianne Embrey

Hundreds of vulnerable patients, who

might otherwise have to be admitted to

hospital, are now being treated while at

home, thanks to an innovative service

based in Pontypridd.

The @Home Service, established by Cwm

Taf University Health Board at the Dewi

Sant Health Park, moves care out of the

hospital and into the local community.

A ‘one stop shop’ approach brings the

expertise of specialist nurses,

physiotherapists, occupational, speech

and language therapists, dieticians and

doctors to put together a care package.

The service has dealt with more than

1,200 cases in a year, some 60-70% of

which would otherwise have been admitted

to hospital.

Those who do go into hospital can also be

allowed home earlier because of the ser-

vices provided in the community.

Patients, who are often elderly with complex

needs, are able to maintain their

independence and improve their health

while staying at home.

Lead clinician Dr Raja Biswas said that the

@Home Service represented the future of

the NHS, moving care from the hospital

setting into the community and bringing

once fragmented services together.

“The idea is that most patients or elderly

people don’t want to come into hospital.

9

From Page 8

“They want to be treated at

home,” he said. “The

@Home project offers that.

The hospital goes to the

person’s home and tries to

keep them at home.

Many have had frequent falls

or are at risk of falls,

deteriorating mobility, or are

frail elderly and at risk of an

approaching crisis; or

patients with medical

problems who may not need

24 hour in-patient care.

“A lot of the time there are

family members who are

worried about how a relative

is managing and this serves

to give reassurance that

they are being looked after

and cared for in the best

possible environment which

is their home.

“The purpose of the project

isn’t to reduce the hospital

admissions, it is to offer the

best possible care,” he said.

“The feedback we have had

so far from all the patients

and families who have used

the service has been very

good.

“They have said they have

been well looked after and

they have got exactly what

they wanted. They would

recommend us to another

therapists, physiotherapists

and therapy technicians

undertake assessments at the

Prince Charles and Royal

Glamorgan hospital sites.

The @Home service operates

a Monday to Friday service

while its nursing team

support SW@H with a four

hours nursing response seven

days a week.

Team leader Samantha

Sullivan said the @Home ser-

vice aimed to give advice and

recommendations quickly to

the referring clinician worked

in partnership with primary

care services.

How we help more people to be cared for at home

person which is the best

possible compliment we can

have.”

Senior nurse Ceri Wilson

said: “We aim to provide an

enhanced service to people,

who often have complex

needs, in the community, to

avoid unnecessary admis-

sions to hospital. In recent

months three teams have

co-located together at the

Dewi Sant Health Park aim-

ing for a more integrated

way to work.”

Meanwhile, the Stay Well @

Home team of social

workers, occupational

“We feel that the service is

a piece of the puzzle that

was missing. We can

attend to all the issues in

one sitting keeping the pa-

tient at the centre of it,

not only looking at the

medical side of things but

also what are the crucial

aspects of care.”

Primary Care

One website

The PrimaryCareOne

Wales website promotes

primary care cluster

collaborative working

and cluster

development in Wales.

It provides sources of

information specific to

clusters and cluster

leads as well as the

wider primary and

community care

audience.

PCOne Wales aims to be

a central source of in-

formation relevant to

primary care clusters,

cluster leads and other

primary care

professionals.

It is available at

www.primarycareone.w

ales.nhs.uk/home

10

A new initiative in Taff Ely

aims to boost the confidence

of older people, encourage

new friendships, and find out

about hobbies to help to im-

prove their well-being.

The Taff Ely primary care

cluster is supporting new ‘3

Cs’ groups in Ynysybwl and

Pontyclun.

Twelve weeks of new sessions

started on January 17 in The

Bethel Baptist Church Hall, in

Pontyclun.

3Cs stands for companionship,

conversation and creativity for

participants aged 50 or over.

The 3 Cs project director Mair

Williams said the aim was

to encourage friendships in

and outside the group,

confidence in meeting new

people, information about

services available and re-

vive interest in hobbies or

find new ones.

“The project aims to help

people to come out of

loneliness and isolation

and be a part of their

community and im-

prove their general

well-being,” she said.

Those taking part in

local community halls

or centres can be

guaranteed a friendly

welcome, and support

from experienced

assistants.

Activities can include talks

from local experts in history

or safety with medicines or

in the home, to craft works

such as jewellery making,

or exercise like Nordic

Walking. Sessions have

been taking place in

Ynysybwl and start in

Pontyclun in the New

Year, both supported by

Taff Ely primary care.

Meirig Gilbert, who has

been attending sessions in

Ynysybwl, said: “I’ve met

a lot of people and I’ve

learned new things.

“I would be sitting on my

own in the flat watching

TV. I look forward to a

Friday morning as it’s the

only time I see other

people to talk about eve-

ryday things. The only

other time I go out is to

Job Club on a Monday and

a Tuesday.”

Jenkin Jenkins, 87, known

as ‘Shenks’ had attended

sessions originally with his

wife who had Alzheimer’s

disease before she died.

“I don’t know what I

would be doing if I didn’t

come down here.

Watching television or

getting bored at home, I

suppose,” he said.

Taff Ely

‘3 Cs’

project

boost

11

The water was boiling in an

outdoors ‘Kelly kettle’ ready

for a warming drink as 17

people, mainly strangers to

each other, arrived to

sample ways to reduce their

stress and anxiety.

Ahead was two hours away

from day-to-day cares,

time to concentrate on what

was around them, in the

trees, on the water, the

sounds of the birds and the

river.

The Valleys Steps project

aims to improve emotional

wellbeing, delivering free

Mindfulness and Stress

Control Courses across

Cwm Taf University Health

Board area.

Now it has teamed up with

community partners Actif

Woods to take its mindful-

ness lessons out of more

traditional venues, in

libraries or community

halls, and into open spaces.

Anna Stickland from Actif

Woods is the group’s

woodland mentor. She said:

“Just being outside for me is

being mindful. There’s so

much around you, little things

you can focus on. Going into

a building, opening that

door, for some can be

threatening. But we are going

out for a walk.”

The group will learn about five

goals during their time

together: connecting with na-

ture and with each other; get-

ting active, through walking in

the outdoors and light

exercises; taking notice of

what is around them; learning

about new experiences

outside their comfort zone;

and giving - being involved in

helping each other. After tea,

the group sets out for a walk

around Clydach Vale lakeside.

Each has an egg box in which

to collect items on the walk.

When they get back to the

shelter, these are arranged

into patterns. One of those

taking part was Alison

Davies, 65. She said: “Just

being out in the fresh air –

it’s not something I normal-

ly do. If I wasn’t here I

would just be in the house.

It’s been lovely just meet-

ing some lovely people.”

Valleys Steps practitioner

Paul Griffiths said: “There

was a buzz about the group

and the session had energy

about it and people were

bonding and forming a rela-

tionship and that’s im-

portant.”

Details about courses and

upcoming events are at

www.valleyssteps.org or

contact 01443 803048.

More on Actif Woods at

www.coedlleol.org.uk

Wellbeing lessons in the woodlands

12

An Invitation for People Living

with Diabetes

We invite you to watch a short series of films as part of your

treatment plan.

Each film has been created by NHS Wales healthcare professionals

and people living with diabetes to help you to further understand

and manage your condition.

To watch these films please type this web address into your

browser and click enter:

Prediabetes www.medic.video/t-pre

Type 1 Diabetes www.medic.video/t-type1

Type 2 Diabetes www.medic.video/t-type2

Gestational Diabetes www.medic.video/t-gest

Please ensure that you type the link into the address bar at

the top of your browser – NOT the search box in the middle

of the screen.

The films have been made as part of a national plan to support

the many people in Wales living with a long-term condition.

When you have watched all the films in the series please let us

know by completing 4 very short questions on the survey link

from the landing page.

If you have any difficulties accessing the films or have any com-

ments, please email the team at patient@pocketmedic.org

Information for diabetes patients