Welcome to our new Focus Weekly bulletin, this week focusing on teams across the Trust.
Get to know our services, what they do, and learn about best practices or new models that make a positive difference to delivering good patient care.
This month we focus on three teams:
- Snowdrop Ward
- The Specialist Memory Assessment and Dementia Support Services (SMADSS)
- The East Midlands Gambling Harms Service
With:
- A spotlight on the Kedleston Unit's new Ward Manager
- A snapshot of Forensic and Rehabilitation Services.
If you are looking for a specific section of the newsletter, click on the grey square in the bottom right of your screen.
What's happened this week...
- Message from Vikki - 27 July 2026 : read Vikki's full message on Focus.
- Yellow heat health alert issued for the East Midlands, from 2 August to 5 August – please check the warm weather guidance on Focus and take care of service users and yourselves.
- The latest issue of the Policy bulletin is out - read more on Focus.
- Thank you to our League of Friends, who raised £535 at the recent Summer Fayre to support our patient-facing services. The volunteer-run charity organises fundraising events throughout the year and is looking for new members. If you'd like to get involved, contact Carole Elter at
leagueoffriends94@gmail.com.
- Sharing your news: please continue to submit on Focus and post on the closed staff Facebook group.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meet the Team
Snowdrop Ward
Interview with Dawn Bradley, Ward Manager
Which team are you?
Snowdrop Ward, Walton Hospital
Tell us about your team
Snowdrop Ward is an 18 bedded assessment and treatment unit for older adults with an acute organic illness who require a period of assessment within an acute mental health setting.
This unit is a mixed environment for males and females, with single ensuite bedrooms. Whilst in hospital, patients can expect a comprehensive assessment from a multi-disciplinary team assessing their needs from a social, physical and mental health perspective.
We will aim to make every patient's stay with us as comfortable as possible. We aspire to provide high quality care within a warm and patient friendly environment.
We have a mixed team – some registered general nurses, Learning Disability & Mental Health Nurses working alongside a team of Nursing Assistants. We also have a discharge co-ordinator (Heather), Ward clerk (James) and Clinical Educator (Helen). We have a small therapy team with an Occupational Therapist (Vic), Physiotherapist (Alex) and support workers. We also have an Assistant Psychologist (Chloe) and Clinical Psychologist (Rosie). Our leadership team consists of Edelle, Kate, Dawn, Greg and Karen. Greg and Karen are our Clinical Leads.
What have been your main achievements?
Alex (Physio) has done a lot of work under Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS) to promote lying and standing BP (blood pressure) in falls prevention and management. She also supported the medics to develop a FRAX (an online programme to determine if someone has osteoporosis) / bone health project to support our patients on the ward. We are really keen to embed lots of the good work we did in DCHS into Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (DHCFT). The team have managed really well during the transfer to DHCFT, continuing to deliver the high levels of care despite the changes.
What’s the best thing about your team?
The care and compassion we show our patients. We are a very passionate bunch of people that often go above and beyond for our patients.
Just for fun…
Who has the cutest pet on a Teams call? Our Admin Debbie – she has Marley and Bhodi that often make an appearance!
Who eats all the best biscuits out the tin? Sam our Student Nurse Associate.
Who’s first to make a round of brews? Dawn – the Ward Manager. She loves a good cup of Yorkshire Tea.
Specialist Memory Assessment and Dementia Support Services (SMADSS)
Although not everyone could be in the photograph, this image represents the wider Specialist Memory Assessment & Dementia Support Services (SMADSS) team whose commitment, expertise and compassion make a difference to patients and families across Derbyshire.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Interview with Narinder Kaur - Service Manager
Which team are you?
We are the Specialist Memory Assessment and Dementia Support Services, and we’re excited to share a little about who we are and what we do.
Tell us about your team
Our service provides a pathway through memory assessment, treatment, post-diagnostic support and therapy. The Specialist Memory Assessment team is responsible for handling referrals from primary care for individuals experiencing cognitive concerns. We arrange a comprehensive assessment with a clinician, after which the patient’s case is reviewed by our medical staff or discussed at the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) for diagnosis. Patients are titrated onto therapeutic doses of medication, if indicated.
Our Dementia Support team offers post-diagnostic and therapy groups to those who have received a formal dementia diagnosis. We support patients and carers in our Living Well programme - a five-week course designed to help them understand the diagnosis and connect with others. Following this, we offer an eight-week course of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, an evidence-based group therapy. We tailor each session to the participants’ interests, skills, and background, ensuring the activities are meaningful and engaging.
To make our services as accessible as possible, all our resources are available in Punjabi, Urdu, and English. We are committed to reaching underserved communities and work closely with the Alzheimer’s Society to make sure no one is left behind. Based on patient feedback, we offer an annual Dementia Hub event where the public can speak to local support services and organisations. We’re planning two smaller events in rural areas to further improve accessibility.
We also play an active role in research, constantly looking for ways to improve support and care. Our team are actively engaged in recruiting and supporting participants in the CareCoach study, ADAPT (this is a research study where bloods test is taken for bio markers and diagnosis for dementia) and On-Fire.
The Dementia Support team recently worked with carers to better understand their needs, sending out a questionnaire about preferred access to services. Many carers juggle work alongside their caring responsibilities, so we’ve condensed our five-week course into a single day, offering education, information, and peer support in a format that works for them.
What have been your main achievements?
We were honoured to win the Team of the Year award in the 2024/25 HEARTS awards, which was a fantastic recognition, especially after our recent merger. We’ve entered again this year - fingers crossed for another success!
What's the best thing about your team?
The best thing about our team is the rewarding nature of our work. We know that people coming to us are facing a life-changing diagnosis, and our team excels at making them feel comfortable, supported, and reassured throughout the process. Our feedback shows that patients really appreciate the sense of community and support, and no one ever feels alone.
Just for fun...
Who’s got the cutest pet making an on a Teams call? Jackie Spencer.
Who’s the first to make a brew? Rachael Cooke.
Who’s got the biggest smile? Jackie Spencer.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The East Midlands Gambling Harms Service
Interview with Paul Sanger – Service Manager
Which team are you?
We are the East Midlands Gambling Harms Service
Tell us about your team
We support people experiencing gambling-related harms across the East
Midlands through a structured programme of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other psychological therapies. Although we're still a relatively new service, having been established just over three years ago, we're proud to be part of NHS England's commitment to improving support for people affected by gambling harms.
Our team includes nurses, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Therapists, Psychologists, Assistant Psychologists, Psychiatrists and Administrative staff, with everyone playing an important role in helping people access the right support.
We all bring different experiences from areas such as mental health, crisis care, acute services, therapeutic services and addiction services. Bringing those skills together means we're able to support people whose gambling harms are often linked with other complex challenges in their lives.
What have been your main achievements?
Over the last three years, we've grown as a service, supporting more people than ever before while consistently exceeding our treatment targets.
Alongside our clinical work, we've worked hard to raise awareness of gambling harms across the region. We've attended universities, local businesses and community events, and have used digital technology and social media to help reach people who may not otherwise know support is available.
We're also committed to making it as easy as possible for people to access help by offering a flexible, person-centred approach to engagement. More recently, we've introduced peer support and volunteers into the service, recognising how valuable lived experience can be, and we're excited to continue developing this in the future.
What's the best thing about your team?
Without a doubt, it's the people.
Although we're remotely based and don't often work together in the same building, we're a close-knit and supportive team. We make a real effort to stay connected, look out for one another and celebrate each other's successes.
Everyone genuinely cares about the people we support and wants to make a difference. That shared goal, together with the willingness to help each other whenever it's needed, creates a positive team culture that we're really proud of.
Just for fun…
Who’s the first to make a brew for everyone in the team? Jayne Kirkland, our Administrator.
Who keeps everyone smiling? Senthil Mahalingam, Consultant Psychiatrist - he's always got some words of wisdom.
And who knew? Two of the team have pet tortoises! Paul Sanger and Dorian Carr both have a pet tortoise!
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................
New Ward Manager joins Kedleston Unit
The Kedleston Unit has welcomed Candice Cotton, who has taken up the Ward Manager role on a six-month secondment. Candice began her career as a Healthcare Assistant in secure services before qualifying as a Mental Health Nurse and progressing into a role in acute inpatient care.
Candice said she is excited to return to forensic services and is looking forward to working with colleagues across Curzon and Scarsdale wards, building relationships and supporting positive change. She hopes the secondment will help her grow as a leader while contributing to the continued development of the service.
A snapshot of our Forensic and Rehabilitation services:
Our Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service screens and supports people in police custody and the courts, often identifying mental health, learning disability, substance use or social needs that have previously gone unrecognised.
Reconnect supports people preparing to leave prison, helping them overcome barriers and engage with health and care services as they return to the community.
The Forensic Community Mental Health Team provides specialist care to people living in the community, combining recovery-focused support with the management of complex clinical and public protection risks.
Kedleston Unit provides low secure inpatient care across two wards. Curzon Ward focuses on assessment, treatment and stabilisation, while Scarsdale Ward provides rehabilitation and supports service users to progress towards greater independence and discharge.
Cherry Tree Close provides inpatient rehabilitation, helping people rebuild confidence, develop everyday living skills and prepare for life in the community.
The Community Enhanced Rehabilitation Team supports people to leave hospital safely, avoid unnecessary admission and sustain their recovery within the community.
Our Placement Review Team maintains oversight of some of the most complex pathways, including people placed outside Derbyshire, challenging delay and helping people return closer to home wherever possible.
Would you like to be part of the next Meet the Team?
Please email dhcft.communications@nhs.net to be involved in a future edition.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Got news?
Focus Weekly is a weekly e-newsletter for all Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust staff created by the communications and engagement team. Read back issues of the bulletin in our Focus Weekly archive on Focus.
Focus Weekly is delivered by Microsoft Sway. This allows the newsletter to be accessible to all. Please forward it to colleagues who aren't able to regularly check their emails - this newsletter can be viewed on any device.
Create and share interactive reports, presentations, personal stories and more.
