An interview with Chloe Grey. Chloe is Project Support Co-Ordinator (Department Education & Development) at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
At Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, the commitment to suicide prevention is reflected in the demand for Storm Skills Training. They have invested in a dedicated support and coordination role for the delivery of Storm Skills Training for their employees to provide the best possible mental health outcomes for their patients.
To gain deeper insights into the roll-out of Storm Skills Training, we had the opportunity to catch up with Chloe, who plays a pivotal role in the delivery of this program.
Thank you for talking to us Chloe! We are excited to hear about your new position and the roll-out of Storm Skills Training at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. Can you start by telling us a little bit about the Trust and the services you provide?
"At Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) we provide mental health and learning disability care for people across Norfolk and Suffolk. We are dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion, delivering many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community. We have clinical teams providing services in inpatient, community, and primary care settings.
As a trust, we believe in ‘working together for better mental health’ "
We'd love to hear more about your role. Can you tell us what you do and what aspect of your job brings you the most satisfaction? Also, is there a particular area of your role that you find particularly fulfilling or inspiring?
"My role is Project Support Co-ordinator (Department Education & Development), I work closely with the Associate Director of Nursing to support the development of all operational processes, support weekly and monthly review meetings, and liaise with Trust stakeholders.
I’m the first point of contact for enquiries regarding operational improvement, work programmes, and the resolution of day-to-day problems. I provide comprehensive programme and project administrative support in the running of the Storm Skills Training within the Trust to support the delivery of high-quality, safe, and effective care
No two days are the same - I enjoy the variety and breadth of the tasks and the continual learning of this role. I get to meet and collaborate with all different people, from different departments across the Trust. Seeing a project from the start, and through all the stages of evolution is always a privilege when working for a Mental Health Trust. I cannot wait to see where we are in the next 12 months.
I don’t have a clinical background, but I haven’t needed one to understand the positive impact on patient care Storm Skills Training courses can have. I’ve seen this evidenced through the engaging course content and our staff’s individual feedback.
I am proud to be a part of a team that plays a small but primary role in putting on the prevention of suicide training, which is so important - This alone is incredibly rewarding for me!"
The level of dedication and commitment your organisation shows in preventing self-harm and suicide is wonderful, and this is reflected in the creation of your job role. As part of your role, you are instrumental in facilitating the training for various staff members. Can you please share some insight into how this works in your Trust?
"We are still in the early stages of the roll-out, but we have identified the need for Storm Skills Training to be a part of the wider Trust strategy. This is a long-term piece of work to deliver evidence-based, high-quality care to all those we serve. My team believes Storm Skills Training to be considered within this project. This is a vital piece of work in our Trust’s journey towards excellence in mental healthcare - so watch this space!
The overall feedback has been fantastic and very positive. We really value our staff voices, and we are very keen to listen and to make workable and considered recommendations from what they say."
As Storm Skills Training, and the research and evidence in self-harm and suicide prevention is continuously evolving, what are your aspirations for the future of the program within your organisation? How do you see it growing and making an even greater impact in the years to come?
"Our aim is to develop a strong group of Storm Skills Training facilitators in the Trust to support with the training roll-out. Our trust is 5,000+ employees strong and growing. We will need to continually expand to meet the required demand for this training.
We want everyone Trust wide to have an awareness of Storm Skills Training and the best practices in self-harm and suicide prevention.
Storm Skills Training will be an integral part of our approach to risk assessment, but in addition what we are looking to put in place is a forum for trainers to come together, share their experiences and to identify areas of best practice. This forum will be the vehicle to influence the wider Trust."
And finally, do you have any words of advice to organisations considering similar investments in self-harm and suicide prevention training? What advice or insights would you share based on your experience so far?
"Starting off on the right foot. The first thing I had to do when I started my role was to get up to scratch with all things 'Storm'!
The Storm Skills Training team have been so helpful and supportive, helping me to understand their training package and always quick to answer the many questions I had. I feel we (Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust) have a great working relationship with the whole team they have been a fantastic support so far in my journey, and I look forward to seeing how this develops in the next year on this project.
I think the Storm Skills Training programme, once adopted throughout our Trust, will have a lasting and sustainable impact on the staff and the service we offer to the people in need. From what I’ve learnt so far on my journey, is that Storm Skills Training has the power to positively empower our employees to work to their best ability in their everyday practice."
We also caught up with Chloe’s manager, to ask him why the training, and Chloe’s role is important to the Trust;
“We are so excited to be delivering Storm Skills Training to our clinicians to help support them in the work that they do. Delivering this type of training isn’t straight forward and Chloe is pivotal in ensuring that we do this is a systematic way and that we constantly listen to feedback and improve our delivery. Ultimately, we want to ensure that the training has an impact on our patient safety culture by reducing the number of incidents that we see.”
