North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is delighted to announce that the trust-wide commitment to supporting carers has been formally recognised with a Triangle of Care Star 2 Award from Carers Trust, covering community services. The trust was awarded Star 1 in 2023, relating to inpatient and crisis teams.
Triangle of Care is a quality improvement scheme for health and social care providers that promotes safety, recovery and wellbeing by including and supporting unpaid carers. Originally developed by carers, the scheme is run by Carers Trust and recognises healthcare providers that have committed to continuous improvement according to six key ‘carers included’ standards.
Working in partnership with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council, as well as North Staffs Carers and the Staffordshire Together for Carers over the last two years, the trust has built on the existing support available for carers. This has included working on improvements to the support available, as well as evaluating communication with carers and looking at how to involve them further with the care and recovery of the patients that they support. It has also enabled the trust to deliver strong, inclusive and compassionate mental health services with support from carers and service users.
Many teams at the trust have been involved in the accreditation work, including 10 inpatient teams and 29 community teams. Action plans have been developed with each team and support has been put in place to enable staff to put the actions plans into practice.
Kenny Laing, Chief Nursing Officer, is pleased to hear the trust has been recognised in this way:
“We are proud to share the news about this accreditation from the Carer’s Trust. The purpose of the Triangle of Care scheme is to strengthen collaboration between carers, service users and mental health professionals ensuring that carers are included, supported and recognised for their crucial role.
“This collaborative achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of everyone who has been involved. I would like to thank all the teams and staff who have taken part in helping us to highlight the role of carers at our trust.”
Professor Pauline Walsh, Non-Executive Director, highlights the aims and achievements of the accreditation in this short video which can be watched on our YouTube channel.
Further information from Carers Trust about the Triangle of Care scheme can be found here or by watching a short video here.
