your stories

Your StoriesIssue 2- December 2012

I channel my negative

emotions into raising awareness

Pg 4The recovery group helps us feel hopefulPg 19

My ambition is to become an MPPg 12

I now feel like I’ve

succeeded in my desire to

be myself.Pg 6

Leeds and York PartnershipNHS Foundation Trust

An introduction from Victoria BettonThe launch of our first issue was a great success with many people commenting how inspiring and interesting each individual’s story was.

People who use our services come from a wide variety of backgrounds and places and everyone has a story to tell about their journey. We want to help people feel optimistic about their future and support them to achieve their goals for improving their health and lives.

We want to share some of these stories with you.

One again, seven people have kindly shared their stories for this issue. They include individuals who have experiences of post traumatic stress disorder, personality disorder, learning difficulties and depression. I hope these experiences will show how, with a little help from our services, people can experience a life which is fulfilling, while managing their mental health and wellbeing in a positive way.

If you would like to tell your story, we would love to hear from you! We will be producing this magazine twice a year and also include stories from people who use our services on our website and in our Trust magazine.

You can email us at [email protected] or give us a call on 0113 305 5989.

Victoria Betton (right)deputy director of strategy and partnerships and recovery project lead

Welcome Your Stories

Your Stories Issue 2 03

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is here to help you with any questions or concerns you may have about the services being provided by the Trust.

If you have a worry or a problem with your care or the care of someone close to you, if you don’t know who to speak to or where to turn, PALS is here to help. We are a free, confidential service that will try to resolve your issue quickly and informally.

PALS can also act as a signposting service, putting you in touch with other local organisations outside the NHS. From advocacy services to benefits advice lines to arts and creative groups, we can find specialist resources to supplement and complement your care on your personal journey of recovery.

We are available:Monday - Friday(9am-5pm)

Freephone:☎ 0800 0525790

E-mail PALS: [email protected]

Write: The PALS Office,The Becklin Centre,Alma Street,Leeds LS9 7BE

PALSWe are here to help

04 Your Stories Issue 2

I was physically and mentally abused as a child by my mother and put into care at the age of six. Throughout my childhood I was in and out of care until I reached 17 when I joined the army.

In 1993 I was a soldier sent out to the Bosnian war and it was my responsibility to take the journalists around and show them the atrocities. As a soldier you’re trained to not to show your emotions or be affected by things; you might be suffering from the horrendous traumas you’ve seen and experienced but you can’t express any emotion or talk about it as it’s seen as a weakness. When I returned home in 1996 I began to experience sleep problems, flashbacks and I abused alcohol as a means of attempting to escape from what I was feeling.

Initially I was graded as ‘incapable of going to war’ and was eventually medically discharged from the military in 2001, after 12 years in service with what they deemed ‘recurrent depression.’ At the time I became ill the military didn’t accept Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a medical condition.

After I was discharged I was

headhunted to work in recruitment in London. I took on a high pressure role and threw myself into the job and the successes it brought. However I soon became too ill to carry on and returned to my home city of Leeds towards the end of 2004. The symptoms of PTSD became severe and I spent some time in The Mount Hospital during 2005. It was around this time that a consultant psychiatrist in Leeds diagnosed me with PTSD, which was later confirmed by a combat stress psychiatrist and eventually accepted by the military.

I suffer from a range of symptoms that affect me on a daily basis including flashbacks, sleep disturbances, severe anxiety and memory problems. The way in which I cope with these symptoms is to educate people around me to recognise the symptoms and to help them understand about PTSD, This helps me to manage my condition.

Mental health conditions can’t always be seen but they can be just as crippling as physical health conditions. It’s really important for me to create awareness around PTSD to give people a voice and help people to understand the condition. Blaming people doesn’t help, it just makes you a bitter person, I want to tell people what I can do, not what I can’t.I haven’t just accepted what I feel; I’ve put into action what I can do

and channelled my energy. I am currently running 100 marathons in 100 weeks to raise money for Help for Heroes and to highlight the condition. I’m also talking to schools and colleges about PTSD and the symptoms to raise awareness amongst young people. I strongly believe that you can’t expect anyone to understand if you don’t talk about it.

Instead of blaming myself or other people I channel my negative emotions into raising awareness and helping to educate people. I’m not looking for a pat on the back; but if what I’m doing helps one person to recognise the symptoms of PTSD in themselves or in a friend and seeks help, or if it helps someone to get out of bed, go to their doctor and receive a diagnosis, that is what I am really striving for.

Simon’s Tips• Try and explain how you are feeling• Don’t be dismissive of people because they don’t understand, try to educate them instead• Communicate and educate your friends and family about your symptoms and let them help• Make change and channel negativity into something.• Most importantly, don’t give up.

“I channel my negative emotions into raising awareness”


“At the time I became ill the military didn’t accept

PTSD as a medical condition”

Simon Buckden

might start changing and turn me into a girl, but I coped by throwing myself into my studies, striving to be the best. As my circle of friends grew older we began to have relationships, I had several girlfriends but I was still questioning myself.

Following my school studies, I went on to complete a foundation course in art and design at Leeds College of Art before going to Newcastle to study for a degree. I hated my time there as I didn’t feel like myself and returned home, fortunately to then meet a girl I fell completely in love with. We married after six months and I felt like my life was sorted. We bought a house and later that year had a baby boy, everything was perfect and then at just five months, he died from cot death. The grief was terrible, but we did our best to cope; however I blamed myself for drawing my wife into my ongoing turmoil.

We went on to have three more boys. I got a job at a sign company, learnt to make neon tubing before completing an engineering degree. I filled my time with a setting up a new business. Alongside my business partner, we created neon for the

creative sector, an exciting time as we had the opportunity to work on some fantastic projects, in turn earning the revenue to purchase a large house for my family. I still felt in the back of my mind that if I did my absolute best it would fix how I felt inside.

Due to the recession, the business began to suffer and we had to fold it. The result of dealing with the immense pressure meant I had a breakdown and told my wife everything I had kept bottled up. Her initial reaction? Shock followed by understanding. I however was suicidal, self harming and feeling incredibly guilty, but with an element of euphoria as I had released what had been eating away at me all these years. My wife began divorce proceedings, which was devastating. After visiting a psychiatrist and being referred to the Leeds Gender Identity Service, it was finally confirmed what I had thought all these years, my gender was wrong.

A year later I entered the ‘real life experience’ where I had to live as a woman. The experience was difficult and humiliating, but a hallelujah moment followed when I was given the treatment

I needed to begin changing into a woman. When you start the process and you’re told it can take five years or more it feels like a long time, but the gradual process works.

I grew up in the village that I live in today, and all of my friends have been amazing and supportive throughout. My family has been fabulous, my ex wife is my best friend and I am so proud of my sons. I’ve learnt how important it is to talk to people and help them understand. If you’re feeling like I was I would suggest talking to someone, in complete confidence, go to your GP and remember taking that first step doesn’t mean you have to pursue treatment, it’s all confidential.

I now feel like I’ve succeeded in my desire to be myself. The biggest compliment I’ve had is my neighbour asking me out and seeing her amazing reaction when I told her my history. It was the icing on the cake, and now I’m seeing the girl next door!

Julia Bickerstaff

“I still felt in the back of my mind that if I did my absolute best it would fix how I felt

inside”

“I now feel like I’ve succeeded in my desire to be myself ”Julia Bickerstaff

Your Stories Issue 2 0706 Your Stories Issue 2

My first memory of feeling different was on my 5th birthday at school. Every child was brought out a birthday cake, blue for boys, pink for girls, I can remember being

disappointed that my cake was blue because I thought it should have been pink.

Going through infant school I always felt uncomfortable being made to do the more boyish

things and I started to feel like I had the wrong body and didn’t fit in. Hitting puberty was a heart wrenchingly painful time for me as it began to dawn on me that I would go through massive changes. I went from thinking it would fix me and make me truly male to thinking that my body

“I went from being a party animal to locking down”


Rich Hilsonthe mess. Weekends became my crutch, and a couple of years went by before I realised something was quite wrong.

I spoke to my mum initially who advised going to the doctor, so I did and went onto anti depressants. I stayed on these for three years throughout which I changed jobs a number of times. After three years I decided I could do better for myself, I came off the anti depressants and started a new job. I still found myself off the rails a little, going out and drinking. Two years into my job a project I was working on went wrong, I took the blame and, after months of my boss being unhelpful and unsupportive and feeling battered down, I went back to the doctors and was again prescribed anti depressants.

I stayed on the anti depressants for around a year, until early 2009 when my mum became ill. The doctors couldn’t work out what was wrong and she ended up in hospital in a serious way. Mum, knowing that she was seriously ill, asked me if it was wise to come off the tablets. I told her not to worry and took on new responsibility for myself. I began to realise that alcohol was a problem for me; I would drink all weekend but was in denial that it affected my state of mind; I

sought help and started to address the issue.

After mum passed away I decided to commit myself to something, I saw this as a breakthrough chance to be positive and look forward, out of respect for her, so I signed up for the New York Marathon. Mum always said she wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride across Kenya and she never got to do it, I decided anything I wanted to do I could. I went from being a party animal to locking down; I stopped drinking and went into hibernation, all work and no play. I started to save up to do something special.

I still struggled over the next few years, I saw doctors and nurses and tried to understand what was going on, I realised that I was a very anxious person and that the anxiety was more of an issue for me and seemed to bring on the depression. I went to hypnotherapy feeling very anxious and depressed. The woman I saw talked about her son who had Aspergers syndrome. I began to recognise the symptoms and signs and after seeing a specialist finally received a diagnosis of Aspergers. The more I read the more things seem to fit, my struggles with work and relationships, not liking being controlled and being in conflicts.

Last Christmas I decided to challenge myself more than ever by sailing 7400 miles from Australia to China as a crew member on the ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ yacht with only five weeks of training. I made the voyage into a point, I branded the challenge ‘I hate sinking’, because when you feel depressed and anxious you can feel like you’re sinking beneath the surface, and chose to fundraise for Mind. This was my biggest achievement as I was terrified of being isolated out at sea!

If someone was suffering I’d tell them that they needed to act responsibly by making a change to improve their mental health. Give it the focus you should do, take improving your health seriously and listen to the advice you’re given. Eat well, exercise to improve your fitness, knock any substance abuse on the head and don’t give up. You deserve to feel well. Try to also help others, the more I have been open about my feelings the more people have opened up to me, I feel glad when I can offer support.

Rich Hilson

“When you feel depressed and anxious you can feel like you’re

sinking beneath the

surface”I think the first thing that triggered my feelings of anxiety and depression was a relationship breakdown. I was 26 at the time and thinking back even

in the relationship I wasn’t feeling well, I had problems sleeping and difficulties dealing with stress at work. After the relationship ended I went off the rails a bit, going out, drinking a lot.

Then it sort of became one thing after another, the industry I was in collapsed and my office decreased from 60 to eight staff over a two year period. I was responsible for telling my housemates they’d lost their jobs and the company was eventually bought out, and I felt like I was left clearing up

We at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust are working hard to raise awareness around mental health and learning disabilities. We are

working alongside the Time to Change campaign, a national campaign to end mental health discrimination.

Mental health is more common than people realise, it affects 1 in 4 people. Join us and help us tackle one of the nation’s last lingering taboos.

By becoming a member you can help to fight against stigma. You can:• Be involved as much or as little as you like, you decide upon your level of involvement• Vote in the governor elections or stand to be a governor yourself• Have a say about the provision of services• Receive our membership magazine every quarter. This will keep you informed about what is going on in and around the Trust• Benefit from NHS discounts• Attend workshops to find out more about mental health and learning disability related illnesses like memory loss and dementia or eating disorders. ...and remember all this is free.

Sign up today! Encourage your friends and family to do the same. The more members we have, the stronger our voice becomes.

To sign up please visit www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk/membership/becomeamember

Membership join up today! Building

Your TrustQuarterly involvement events for service users, carers, and members of the publicOur building Your Trust events are an opportunity for you to get involved in influencing the way in which we provide services and develop our strategy.

Keep an eye on the events section of www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk for dates and details of the next building your Trust events in Leeds, York and North Yorkshire.

To book a place please telephone Andrew Howorth on 0113 3055951 or e-mail [email protected]

I’m Susan Hanley, I was born in Morley, Leeds and have lived there all my life. As a woman with Downs Syndrome, I have always believed strongly that people with learning disabilities should have the same opportunities as everyone else. When I was growing up I knew that people treated me differently so I decided I wanted to change people’s attitudes towards and perception of people with learning disabilities.

I began attending a day centre for

people with learning disabilities as

a young adult and through this I

had the chance to go on a number

of work placements which built

my confidence and experience.

In 2004 I got a job with

Change, a national campaigning

organisation for people with

learning disabilities. I worked on

a number of projects including

‘Making Partnership Boards work’

and became a trainer for ‘Making

information accessible’. In 2008

I became the chair of the Leeds

Learning Disability Partnership

board, which was an amazing

opportunity for me.

I have also recently been involved

in the ‘Get me?’ campaign,

supported by Leeds and York

Partnership NHS Foundation

Trust, Tenfold and People in

Action. ‘Get me?’ is a campaign

to raise awareness, challenge

perceptions and create a better

understanding of people with

learning disabilities

Over the years I have gained a lot

of experience about how people

like me are treated. This has

made me want to improve things

and make a difference for people

with learning disabilities.

My ambition is to become an

MP for people with learning

disabilities. I want to listen to

people, go out and explain what

their needs are. I spent a day

shadowing Councillor Lucinda

Yeadon and have worked with

MP, Ed Balls, which was an

amazing experience. I feel

strongly about wanting to be an

MP because I want people with

learning disabilities’ lives to be

better and to get better services

for people.

In the past society has only looked

at what people with learning

disabilities cannot do instead of

what they can do. I would say:

start off with work experience,

it will give you experience and

build your confidence. Take

up training opportunities, it’s

a series of steps, it’s all about

getting on that ladder. I hope my

story will encourage others to

try and achieve things and to be

ambitious!

Susan Hanley

www.getmecampaign.co.uk

Take up training opportunities,its all about getting on that ladder


“My ambition is to become an MP for

people with learning

disabilities”

Susan Hanley

Getme?

Get a better understanding of learning disabilities

Getme?

lady who is experiencing mental health difficulties, although the diagnosis is not known to the viewer. Donna purposely made the film so that no one knew whether the lady had depression, bipolar, anxiety, etc so that it would fight the preconceived ideas people have about the different types of mental ill-health. Her aim was for people to realise there isn’t always a strict list of things that people experience as a result of having mental health difficulties.

The film starts with the lead receiving an invitation to an event, which she at first dismisses as she doesn’t feel confident to go. Encouraging herself to go out, she heads to the bus stop where she witnesses a couple arguing, which she finds upsetting and returns home. The next day she visits the bus stop to see the same couple having the same argument, but rather than walking away she offers her help. This begins a cycle for the lady, and viewers begin to see a pattern forming as she continues to visit the bus stop, giving out help and advice. It soon becomes her sanctuary, and it is not until a girl ask why she isn’t getting on the bus, that she thinks about what

she has been doing, causing her to panic. Back at home she finds the event invitation she received and, now feeling more confident, she heads off to it. The films shows the journey of the lady going from being scared and introverted to interacting with lots of people, which builds her confidence and improves her wellbeing, helpful in her recovery.

Speaking about how she came up with the idea for the film, Donna said: “I was sat at the bus stop one day, listening in to people’s conversations as they passed by and thinking how I had heard pieces of them but never heard the full story. I thought it would be interesting to develop a film about a lady who goes to the bus stop and gets involved with the different stories and helps others out.

“It was a great experience making the film, I’ve had a huge amount of support and am so pleased that it’s been received so well. I have been involved in many different community groups in the past that have helped me through my difficult periods and I’ve found it really interesting joining ‘Film to change’ and using a new media to express my creativity. Everyone

in the group has been really supportive and helped to make my idea on paper come to life as a film. We all support each other’s projects, I directed and filmed whilst others helped by being actors and runners.

I would encourage everyone to have a go at making a film, it’s a great way of expressing yourself and a really enjoyable experience. Any type of art therapy such as painting is really good but most people watch films and I’m sure they would love the chance to make their own. When you see your film on the big screen, it’s incredibly rewarding.

So what does the future hold for Donna? “I have a couple of ideas to develop next year. They’ll be along the same theme as I want to help break down the stigma that surrounds mental health. I hope to make films that get people thinking about mental health and challenge any preformed ideas they have about people who have experienced mental ill health.

Donna Coleman To check out Donna’s film, search for ‘The Bus Stop’ in Arts and Mind section on YouTube.www.artsandmindsnetwork.org.uk

After spending much of her time producing paintings, Donna decided to try a new media and turned her hand to making short films.

Suggested by Arts and Minds,

Donna joined the group ‘Film to Change’ last year and went on to develop ‘The Bus Stop’, a fantastic 10 minute film which gets people thinking about mental ill-health in a new and different light. After its premiere at the Leeds Film Festival in October 2011, Donna received a great

response and, the film has since been picked up by other groups who wish to fight the stigma surrounding mental health, including Young Minds who showed it at Hyde Park Picture House this year.

‘The Bus Stop’ tells the story of a

“Film to Changehas helped me express my creativity’’


“It was a great experience making the

film, I’ve had a huge amount of support and am so pleased that

it’s been received so well”.

Donna Coleman

At Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, our purpose is to improve the health and lives of the 2000 people who use our services every day.

Our Sharing Stories campaign for 2013 is all about making connections, creating shared experiences, decreasing stigma around mental health and learning disabilities and also tapping in to our imaginative side.

Over the next year look out for ways to share your story, hear other people’s experience, get involved in raising awareness and attend some exciting and engaging events.

Just a few of the interesting things taking place next year include:

Readathon In March, we’ll be hosting a fundraising readathon to mark World Book Day and we want as many people as possible to get involved in the challenge.

Love Arts festival Back for a third year, the 2013 festival will focus on storytelling with lots of exhibitions, performances and events for you to participate in.

Book of the Month We’ll be promoting a book each month that focuses on wellbeing in partnership with Leeds Waterstones, Leeds City College and Leeds Libraries. We are currently exploring partnerships in York.

Funds raised through the campaign will be donated to the Trust’s charitable funds, which will then be used to provide experiences to people using our services that go beyond what the NHS can offer.

For all the latest updates

Follow us on Twitter @leedsandyorkpft

Or ‘like’ our Facebook page Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Or check out the campaigns section at www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk

In 2009, the Bootham Park Hospital welcomed the opening of Umbrella Café, a training project supported by the Trust and City of York Council, which offers people who use our services the opportunity work at the café to gain skills and training to help with their recovery.

One of the trainees who has been there from the start is Gemma Walker. Here’s her story about working at the café.

“I first started at the café three years ago after it was recommended to me by the Recovery Team in York. To begin with I was really nervous; I would barely look anyone in the eye and wouldn’t speak. It was just a small team to start with, but I found it comforting to be around people who had similar mental health issues.

For a short time between the ages of 16 and 18 I was in employment after leaving school, but at 19 years old I was diagnosed with

Schizophrenia and then spent time in services in York. It wasn’t until I was 24 that I began my trainee role at the café, first doing a few hours volunteering before increasing my time.

The role has given me the opportunity to learn a bank of skills that will definitely help with my future and recovery. All of the trainees are taught in the different areas, from serving customers to

preparing food on the deli, which is my favourite job.

As well as working at the Umbrella Café, I also take a lead role at the Parasol Café, a smaller sister café based at Sycamore House. Over the past three years I have gained so much experience and am now able to support other trainees and help them develop in the same way I have. I’m a pretty busy lady as I also work at a day centre for the elderly, which was suggested to me by the Recovery Team.

Whilst there I get involved in fun activities such as helping the staff with games. I really enjoy my time there and hope to do more of this in the future. Without the support of the team and the confidence I have grown through working at the cafes, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now. Alongside my medication, being a trainee has definitely helped my recovery. It has given me something to get up for.

If I could give some advice based on my experience, I would say keep going and things will definitely get easier.

Gemma Walker

“Working at the Umbrella Cafédefinitely helped my recovery”


I experience depression. This means there are times when I feel useless, guilty, ashamed and think that no-one likes me or wants to know me. I have suffered from physical health problems but none to me are more damaging than depression.

I am also one of the lucky people who have depression, in that the medication works without side effects and I have a lot of friends, family and work colleagues who support me when I am feeling really bad. When I feel depressed though I want to cry and feel horrible inside. This may seem to be a strange way to introduce an article about a Recovery Group, to tell you, as a reader, about my own mental health problems.

The group was formed after being asked for by people who use Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust services and carers, who were attending a course about depression. This group has been running for about a year and anyone who has an interest in recovery can come along. We start with introductions and then share with each other good news that has happened in

our lives. This can be anything from ‘I am a grandmother’ to ‘I feel better than I did last time I was here’. We then move on to an activity, one example I can think of is doing a recovery star. Usually, there is a break and this is my favourite part of the session because people sit around and chat with each other.

It feels to me there is little distinction between worker, service user and carer; I think we talk to each other as human beings and share our thoughts and feelings in a relaxed and informal way. The group may then come back together and do some relaxation, but we may not depending on what is happening in the group and whether people want to. I really like this group because, to me, it feels relaxed and caring. I enjoy going to the group and mixing with the people who are there, quite often we have a lot of laughter.

The group feels hopeful and there is a belief in the group that we can recover. Below is some guidance for attending the group, which has been agreed and written by the group. To me it sums up why I enjoy this group so much and why when I am feeling low, this group can be so helpful.

About the group This is a group with a positive focus and a common purpose: to learn and bring together people who have an interest in recovery.

• Anyone can come to the group who has an interest in recovery

• Group should lead and set their own agenda

• Group should have fun and keep it simple

• People have a chance to share positive experiences and learn from each other

• People can gain insight into the different things recovery means to people

• Learn different ways of coping and understand others experience

• Comments made should not be personally critically to others there.

Elaine Wilkes

Time to Change Leeds are supporting England’s most ambitious programme to end stigma and discrimination faced by people who experience mental health problems.

Not only is it England’s biggest ever attempt to end stigma and discrimination and improve wellbeing, it is also a world first.

We would like to encourage as many people in Leeds to become involved in the project as possible. The more support we have to tackle one of the nation’s last lingering taboos, the better

If you would like to be involved contact:[email protected] 305661207577770972

“The recovery group helps us feel hopeful”


in Leeds

Recovery and Social Inclusion Workers


Recovery and Social Inclusion

TeamWho are we?The Recovery and Social Inclusion Team work across the Trust.The team have a wide range of experience and skills of working alongside staff and people who use our services in a variety of settings. Each member of the team has personal experience of recovery.

What do we do?Our role is to work with staff and people who use our services to:• Promoterecoveryandsocialinclusionineverydaypractice• Takealeadoninvolvingandconsultingwithpeoplewhouseour services in order to improve and develop services• Representserviceuser’sexperienceandtherecoveryandsocial inclusion agenda across the Trust.

Some examples of the types of activities the team are involved in are: • FacilitatingtheTrustwideServiceUserNetwork• RecoveryGroups• TraininginRecovery• Facilitatingfocusgroupsaspartofserviceimprovementprojects• ClinicalGovernancerepresentation• Involvingpeoplewhouseourservicesinrecruitmentandother activities and events.

For further information contact the team on:( 0113 3056755/8/9 8 [email protected]* Becklin Centre, Alma Street, Leeds, LS9 7BE

Tell us your story…Next year we will be running a campaign called ‘Sharing stories’ and we would love you to tell is your story.

Why not leave your story for the next person to read? You don’t need to reveal your identity.

If you would like to put forward your story to be included in our next edition of Your Stories, please email [email protected] or call 0113 30 55989



Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is a confidential and free service to guide you through the different services available at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.Monday - Friday (9am-5pm)Freephone: 0800 0525 790E-mail: [email protected]

Samaritans08457 90 90 [email protected] hours, seven days a weekConfidential and non-judgemental emotional support whenever you need someone to talk to.

NHS Direct0845 4647Available 24 hours, seven days a weekNHS Direct provides advice and information about health and the NHS so that people are better able to care for themselves and their families. The service aims to provide clinical advice to support self-care and appropriate self-referral to NHS services, as well as access to more general advice and information. 24 Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline0808 2000 247Available 24hrsRun in partnership between Women’s Aid and Refuge. To offer support, help and

information to women who are experiencing, or who have experienced, domestic violence. Drinkline0800 917 8282Available 24 hours, seven days a week.Drinkline is a national alcohol helpline providing counselling, support, advice and information. Beating Eating Disorders Adult Helpline0845 634 1414Available Mon – Fri 10:30am – 8:30pm and Sat 1:00pm – 4:00pm. Closed on Sundays.Adult helpine for UK residents who wish to talk about eating disorders and obtain information about help available in their locality for themselves, their friends, or their relatives. Learning Disability Helpline0808 808 1111Available 9am - 5pmThe helpline provides information and advice on learning disability issues to callers including people with learning disabilities, their families and carers, and professionals working in the field.

UsefulContacts

20 Your Stories Issue 1


SUN Service User Network

If you have used our services for over six months, why not come along to one of our meetings on the following dates:

Inkwell Creative Minds, 31 Potternewton Lane, Leeds LS7 3LW

Please contact Anne Perry on ☎ 0113 30 56759RASI 8 [email protected] (recovery & social inclusion team) [email protected]

• Wednesday2January• Wednesday6February• Wednesday6March• Wednesday3April• Wednesday1May• Wednesday5June

• Wednesday3July• Wednesday7August• Wednesday4September• Wednesday2October• Wednesday6November• Wednesday4December

YOUwillbegiventheopportunitytohearthevoices of many people who access services and help us raise issues of concern.

YOUwillbeabletopromoteyourideasimprove.

We’d like to hear about your experience of using our services. What was it like for you? Did you feel involved in your care? What was good? Could anything have been better?

Whether it was life changing, frustrating, or a mixture of both, Patient Opinion offers you the chance to anonymously share your story and have it read and personally responded to by senior managers.

Simply visit www.patientopinion.org.uk or call 0845 122 3135 to share and help us make our Trust better.

Patient Opinion is a social enterprise run for the benefit of people that use services, patients and staff.

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