The Staff Psychological Service

The Staff Psychological Service (SPS) is a dedicated provision for Oxford Health NHS Trust staff (OHFT) members to access specialist confidential psychological support.

Meet the Team

The team is comprised of psychological therapists, including Clinical Psychologists, a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, trainee psychologists and an Assistant Psychologist.

Who is this service for?

Our service is available to everyone who works for OHFT.

Although we understand that some people may experience several difficulties, the SPS offers time-limited psychological interventions focused on issues directly related to work.

The difficulties we can help with include but are not limited to:

• work-related stress and trauma
• burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma
• bullying, discrimination, harassment
• moral injury
• patient-related incidents.

Our therapists offer a range of evidence-based psychological therapies in line with NICE Guidelines.

What do we offer?

The SPS offers consultations, signposting to resources and psychological services to staff presenting with common mild to moderate psychological difficulties.

Our therapeutic offer involves a wide range of interventions including workshops, individual and group therapy.

These are available to staff presenting with psychological difficulties that are caused by or triggered by their work.

We also offer team interventions such as the Tree of Life for Professionals, Reflective Practice and consultation for managers.

Accessing SPS for psychological support?

You can be referred to the SPS service by an Occupational Health Practitioner or following a Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) assessment.

In the future, we are looking at options for self-referral to some of our groups and workshops.

Managers can contact us directly if they wish to discuss the suitability of a team intervention.

If you would like to discuss whether you might benefit from seeing us, please contact us by email at:

StaffPsychologicalService@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

What will happen once I have been referred?

Our team meets weekly to discuss referrals and we aim to inform you within one week of the outcome of the referral.

We may offer you a consultation appointment to establish which service might best meet your psychological needs.

Or if we feel that we are not the right service for you, we will signpost you to another service best placed to meet your needs.

Confidentiality and your notes

All our staff are required to abide by a strict code of conduct on confidentiality.

The SPS is part of the NHS, therefore any information you provide us will be kept confidential and your information will not be shared with anyone outside of SPS, including your manager and Occupational Health, unless we agreed it would be helpful to do so, and you have provided consent.

We may need to break confidentiality if we feel you or somebody else are at risk. This is rare and we will always try to discuss your situation with you before liaising with other services.

What should I expect?

If you are offered a psychology consultation with us, you will have the opportunity to talk about your problems and how you would like them to change.

The therapist will usually ask about other aspects of your life and personal experiences.

This is necessary to gain a more complete understanding of you as a person, and not just the symptoms you are experiencing.

You may be asked to complete our service questionnaires prior to, or at your appointment.

Your initial consultation will last approximately 50 minutes.

We can see you in person at Littlemore Mental Health Centre in Oxford, online via Microsoft Teams or by telephone.

At the end of the consultation, your therapist will discuss the assessment with the team and a treatment plan is proposed.

A report summarising the discussion held at consultation, a plan and any recommendations will be sent to you.

With your permission, we will share this with your referrer and your GP.

What will happen next?

If your presenting issues can be addressed by our service, you will be offered a psychological therapeutic intervention.

When you are offered therapy, the therapist will usually devise a plan with you about how to approach your problems.

Appointments

The number of appointments will depend on the plan agreed between you and the psychological therapist.

Appointments usually last between 50 minutes and an hour and a half.

Please only book an appointment if you are sure you will be able to attend.

Non-Attendance Policy

If you do not attend your initial appointment, you will be contacted within 7 days of your appointment date to be offered another appointment.

If you do not respond or attend your 2nd appointment, then you will be automatically discharged from the service.

We understand that some things may be out of your control and cause you to miss an appointment, however we are usually only able to accommodate two missed appointments before we discharge you from the service.

If you are running late to your appointment, please call or email to let us know.

Useful Resources

SHOUT

If you need to talk to someone, you can access support by texting SHOUT to 85258 for support 24/7.

This service is available to all NHS colleagues who have had a tough day, who are feeling worried or overwhelmed, or who have a lot on their mind and need to talk it through.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Offers a freephone, confidential helpline available 24/7, 365 days a year. To access support any time of the day or night, 365 days a year, simply call 0800 028 0199 and state:

Username: Oxford         Password: NHS

If your mental health worsens or you do not feel safe, please contact your GP, the out of hours service (111), attend A&E, contact Samaritans on 116 123 https://www.samaritans.org or Oxfordshire Safe Haven open every day from 9:30 am to 11:30 pm, or call on 01865 903 037.

NHS Talking Therapies

Find an NHS talking therapies service – NHS

NHS Practitioner Health

NHS Practitioner Health is a mental health treatment service for health and care staff. They support staff members who, due to confidentiality reasons, cannot access care or treatment locally.

https://www.practitionerhealth.nhs.uk/

Telephone: 0300 0303 300

Email: prac.health@nhs.net

Feedback

If you wish to make a complaint or raise a concern, we suggest that you firstly discuss this directly with the team using the Staffpsychologicalservice@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk email.

If you prefer to call and discuss instead, please contact 01865 902504. We will do our best to respond to your concerns or complaint straight away if at all possible.

If you prefer, you can make a formal complaint directly to the Deputy Head of Organisational Development – Occupational Health by emailing Fiona.warren@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk or Occupational.Health@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk.

Wherever possible, we ask for formal complaints to be made in writing.

This helps us to understand all of the issues you are raising. If you would like to discuss your complaint or need help in making your complaint, then please contact the team for advice or support.

Phone           01865 902504

Email            Occupational.Health@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk