Self-help guides produced by a North East NHS Trust have been recognised at the national British Medical Association Awards for the ninth year in a row.
Two guides were recognised at a ceremony held this week at the BMA headquarters in London, with awards given to two guides, ‘Understanding what influences your mental health and wellbeing’ which received a highly commended award and ‘Alcohol and you’ receiving a commended award at the BMA’s Patient Information Awards.
The guides are produced by staff and service users at Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (NTW), a provider of mental health and disability services, and are part of a series of 23 self-help guides on a range of mental health conditions.
Understanding what influences your health and wellbeing aims to help people and families using mental health services to further understand what is important to their mental health and wellbeing and help them to make informed decisions about their care and treatment.
We are delighted to have this booklet recognised by the BMA as a helpful source of information about what is important for people’s wellbeing. Many people who use and work in NTW services and their supporters have co-produced this booklet which helps everyone to ask key questions about aspects of their lives that affect their mental health.
Jan BostockPathway Lead for Psychological Interventions, NTW
The British Medical Association established the Patient Information Awards in 1997 which aims to encourage the production and dissemination of accessible, well designed and clinically balanced patient information.
These awards aim to reinforce the BMA’s commitment to support good educational practice and acknowledge new approaches and technologies intended for the public audience.
I’m thrilled two of our resources have been recognised at this year’s Patient Information Awards. There is so much information available online which can make it hard for people to navigate between information which is good, and information which isn’t so good. Therefore it’s important that have been recognised for developing resources which can be trusted and will support those who need it at a vulnerable time.
Karen O'RourkePatient Information Manager, NTW
The resource is available for viewing here https://www.cntw.nhs.uk5P and the full range of 23 self-help guides can be viewed at www.ntw.nhs.uk/selfhelp.