Head Up
The following information is from a friend of Hungry for Change, Esther Osborne, who has the vision to create a Halfway House. Please support her in all her hard work.
Let me introduce myself - In a nutshell, my name is Estie and as a long suffering Anorexic who has been through the mill many times over I finally decided that I wanted to do something to change the way the Eating Disorders Service treats and supports sufferers.
It became my dream and thus was born my project - HEaD-uP
I have always felt there is a HUGE difference between Inpatient care & the return to the home environment, creating a void in support and therefore creating a need for a more structured pathway involving 'step down' levels of care. This would facilitate and promote sustained and full recovery in the home environment and locality in which a person lives. As I see it, at the moment it's pretty much out of the frying pan and into the fire!
And so, as a way of bridging this gap and giving sufferers a much smoother road upon which to travel on their way to recovery i see massive potential in the introduction of a 'Half-Way House' concept. In essence, it would be based around the following criteria:
HEaD-uP
A buliding consisting of individual living spaces which promote independent living but with the addition of communual areas where occupational therapy can be provided at certain times for cooking and meals etc. Similar perhaps to what is offered in sheltered housing facilities for the elderly or for substance abusers.
Lightly staffed but with the facility that there is someone 'on call' around the clock who can be reached if needed in times of crisis.
Promotes social inclusion, both with other sufferers and with the wider community.
Individually tailored care plans so that each person can have a set pathway back into the community. The importance of building on skills learned as an inpatient (or learning/developing new ones for those people who are not coming from any form of NHS care at all) with a view to living at the facility for a period of 6months.
It would be time limited to avoid sufferers becoming too dependent and thus impeding their ability to move on to full recovery. The whole purpose is as the concept of 'halfway house' suggests - it is a stepping stone on the road to recovery.
For example:
A younger person may want help with setting up a college course, making the necessary enquiries, help with applying for funding etc.
Others may want help applying for jobs, updating their CV, undertaking voluntary work, looking into evening classes, retraining, changing career, help with applying for benefits, finding a place to live for the end of their stay at HEaD-uP - all done with a view to giving the individual a fully rounded life that is more fufilled and gives them purpose beyond the illness to enable them to move on.
Basically, all the kinds of practical support that simply aren't available at the moment.
The emphasis is upon the huge importance of a specialist facility with staff trained primarily in Eating disorders (Those staff trained in general mental health tend not to have a sound enough skills base of Eating Disorders) and mutual support. With the best will in the world and with all the help love and support of family and friends, no-one can understand the disorder unless they have lived through it.
Given that there are often also close links/overlaps with other mental health problems - ie Depression and Self Harm there would also be provision for help and support with issues such as these if they are identified in an individual's care plan.
Further to this, there would also be the potential for the house to also offer support groups/drop in sessions once it is set up (for those not resident to be able to access) For sufferers and for carers or anyone with concerns for a friend etc.
And finally and perhaps the most important of all factors - the facility is for those with a genuine desire to work hard to sustain their recovery and will actively engage in doing so. The environment will be a positive and supportive one and be a far cry from 'institution style' living. It is to be somewhere the individual can call home, their own living space - and a sanctuary...somewhere they want to be and feel comfortable and safe. A platform for life.
So that is the general concept - for those of you that are interested in reading on for more information, please do! But for anyone else who is happy with just the main outline then you need read no more - but I do implore you to proceed to filling out the questionnaire, if you can find the time. Please!
As we speak, a review is in progress of the Eating Disorders service in general. This is ongoing over the next few months and therefore the timing of proposing such a facility is very good! So, as you can imagine, the ability we have to provide the most evidence and support during this window of opportunity is critical. Basically guys - it's crunch time! Hence why I am pleading with you all to fill out the questionnaire and give us as much information as you feel you would like to about your own personal experiences. It's basically your chance to have your say!
The Eating Disorder's service has always been under pressure and now is under threat (as are many areas of the NHS) of further cut-backs.
At a time of an ever rising number of sufferers, it is a time when there should actually be more provision for helping and addressing the need to offer these growing numbers of sufferers help treatment and support. You only have too look in the media to see how there are more and more people falling victim to these awful illnesses. This is all well and good but in highlighting them, there needs to be the move to expand the service in order to cope with the rising numbers!
That is what we hope to achieve!
Once the review is complete we will then know whether the funding can be found within the NHS or whether we will be looking to apply for external funding/sponsorship.
If you are still interested read on.......
Progress to date - where 'we are at' with the Project
We have had meetings with various MP's, Councillors and Community Action groups. We have attained full backing of the Dorset Mental Health Forum and have formed an official steering group with them. There will be a section on their website dedicated to HEaD-uP and also a link to the questionnaire here too.
We are ongoing in our evidence gathering, research and liaising with sufferers.
We are URGING sufferers, famillies, friends, carers, health care professionals, anyone who knows anyone with an eating disorder or has any experience in whatever form - large or small......to come forward and show their support by visiting either SWEDA or Dorset Mental Health Forum Websites and taking time to complete the questionnaire.
Plans are afoot to visit various facilities in various counties to gain insight and ideas as to how they are run - the positives and negatives, general set-up etc. Meetings scheduled with both Rhodes Farm and Janet Treasure at the Maudsley Hospital where the latest research takes place.
We are looking at and planning to apply for small grants in order to enable us to carry out this research and enable more extensive visits to functionning units etc.
We hope to be able to distribute the questionnaire in hard copy amongst health care professionals to pass onto anyone they feel would like to take part.
Also in GP surgeries & amongst various Community Action Groups as a way of reaching as broad and diverse a spectrum of society as possible and reaching individuals from all walks of life.
Eating disorders are diverse and people tend to think of the typical anorexic looking body. But many more suffer in silence from other forms, eg Bulimia or are managing to maintain a more 'normal' weight but still struggle immensely with the mental aspect of their disorder. It is perhaps people like this who so often fall through the net, that we hope to reach by making the questionnaire as widely available as possible.
And finally, if anyone has any ideas as to what they feel would be good to have as part of the facility - have your say via the questionnaire or if you have any other thoughts, ideas or would like to know more (if there is anything I haven't managed to cover above!) Then feel free to e-mail me directly at: head-up2011@hotmail.co.uk
Thank You for reading!
Let me introduce myself - In a nutshell, my name is Estie and as a long suffering Anorexic who has been through the mill many times over I finally decided that I wanted to do something to change the way the Eating Disorders Service treats and supports sufferers.
It became my dream and thus was born my project - HEaD-uP
I have always felt there is a HUGE difference between Inpatient care & the return to the home environment, creating a void in support and therefore creating a need for a more structured pathway involving 'step down' levels of care. This would facilitate and promote sustained and full recovery in the home environment and locality in which a person lives. As I see it, at the moment it's pretty much out of the frying pan and into the fire!
And so, as a way of bridging this gap and giving sufferers a much smoother road upon which to travel on their way to recovery i see massive potential in the introduction of a 'Half-Way House' concept. In essence, it would be based around the following criteria:
HEaD-uP
A buliding consisting of individual living spaces which promote independent living but with the addition of communual areas where occupational therapy can be provided at certain times for cooking and meals etc. Similar perhaps to what is offered in sheltered housing facilities for the elderly or for substance abusers.
Lightly staffed but with the facility that there is someone 'on call' around the clock who can be reached if needed in times of crisis.
Promotes social inclusion, both with other sufferers and with the wider community.
Individually tailored care plans so that each person can have a set pathway back into the community. The importance of building on skills learned as an inpatient (or learning/developing new ones for those people who are not coming from any form of NHS care at all) with a view to living at the facility for a period of 6months.
It would be time limited to avoid sufferers becoming too dependent and thus impeding their ability to move on to full recovery. The whole purpose is as the concept of 'halfway house' suggests - it is a stepping stone on the road to recovery.
For example:
A younger person may want help with setting up a college course, making the necessary enquiries, help with applying for funding etc.
Others may want help applying for jobs, updating their CV, undertaking voluntary work, looking into evening classes, retraining, changing career, help with applying for benefits, finding a place to live for the end of their stay at HEaD-uP - all done with a view to giving the individual a fully rounded life that is more fufilled and gives them purpose beyond the illness to enable them to move on.
Basically, all the kinds of practical support that simply aren't available at the moment.
The emphasis is upon the huge importance of a specialist facility with staff trained primarily in Eating disorders (Those staff trained in general mental health tend not to have a sound enough skills base of Eating Disorders) and mutual support. With the best will in the world and with all the help love and support of family and friends, no-one can understand the disorder unless they have lived through it.
Given that there are often also close links/overlaps with other mental health problems - ie Depression and Self Harm there would also be provision for help and support with issues such as these if they are identified in an individual's care plan.
Further to this, there would also be the potential for the house to also offer support groups/drop in sessions once it is set up (for those not resident to be able to access) For sufferers and for carers or anyone with concerns for a friend etc.
And finally and perhaps the most important of all factors - the facility is for those with a genuine desire to work hard to sustain their recovery and will actively engage in doing so. The environment will be a positive and supportive one and be a far cry from 'institution style' living. It is to be somewhere the individual can call home, their own living space - and a sanctuary...somewhere they want to be and feel comfortable and safe. A platform for life.
So that is the general concept - for those of you that are interested in reading on for more information, please do! But for anyone else who is happy with just the main outline then you need read no more - but I do implore you to proceed to filling out the questionnaire, if you can find the time. Please!
As we speak, a review is in progress of the Eating Disorders service in general. This is ongoing over the next few months and therefore the timing of proposing such a facility is very good! So, as you can imagine, the ability we have to provide the most evidence and support during this window of opportunity is critical. Basically guys - it's crunch time! Hence why I am pleading with you all to fill out the questionnaire and give us as much information as you feel you would like to about your own personal experiences. It's basically your chance to have your say!
The Eating Disorder's service has always been under pressure and now is under threat (as are many areas of the NHS) of further cut-backs.
At a time of an ever rising number of sufferers, it is a time when there should actually be more provision for helping and addressing the need to offer these growing numbers of sufferers help treatment and support. You only have too look in the media to see how there are more and more people falling victim to these awful illnesses. This is all well and good but in highlighting them, there needs to be the move to expand the service in order to cope with the rising numbers!
That is what we hope to achieve!
Once the review is complete we will then know whether the funding can be found within the NHS or whether we will be looking to apply for external funding/sponsorship.
If you are still interested read on.......
Progress to date - where 'we are at' with the Project
We have had meetings with various MP's, Councillors and Community Action groups. We have attained full backing of the Dorset Mental Health Forum and have formed an official steering group with them. There will be a section on their website dedicated to HEaD-uP and also a link to the questionnaire here too.
We are ongoing in our evidence gathering, research and liaising with sufferers.
We are URGING sufferers, famillies, friends, carers, health care professionals, anyone who knows anyone with an eating disorder or has any experience in whatever form - large or small......to come forward and show their support by visiting either SWEDA or Dorset Mental Health Forum Websites and taking time to complete the questionnaire.
Plans are afoot to visit various facilities in various counties to gain insight and ideas as to how they are run - the positives and negatives, general set-up etc. Meetings scheduled with both Rhodes Farm and Janet Treasure at the Maudsley Hospital where the latest research takes place.
We are looking at and planning to apply for small grants in order to enable us to carry out this research and enable more extensive visits to functionning units etc.
We hope to be able to distribute the questionnaire in hard copy amongst health care professionals to pass onto anyone they feel would like to take part.
Also in GP surgeries & amongst various Community Action Groups as a way of reaching as broad and diverse a spectrum of society as possible and reaching individuals from all walks of life.
Eating disorders are diverse and people tend to think of the typical anorexic looking body. But many more suffer in silence from other forms, eg Bulimia or are managing to maintain a more 'normal' weight but still struggle immensely with the mental aspect of their disorder. It is perhaps people like this who so often fall through the net, that we hope to reach by making the questionnaire as widely available as possible.
And finally, if anyone has any ideas as to what they feel would be good to have as part of the facility - have your say via the questionnaire or if you have any other thoughts, ideas or would like to know more (if there is anything I haven't managed to cover above!) Then feel free to e-mail me directly at: head-up2011@hotmail.co.uk
Thank You for reading!
