Towards the end of September, Claire and Suzannah headed to CNTW (Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust)’s Annual General Meeting at the St Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth to share some information about our work, and to find out more about what the CNTW departments are getting up to.
Following the work carried out in our Trans Voices project, Suzannah was keen to speak to the CNTW team about our findings:
“As soon as we heard there were stalls available at CNTW’s AGM I made sure we had one booked. It’s important to be able to hear about the work being done by our local services, and for us to have the opportunity to share what we have been up to. We were especially keen to attend this time given that we had previously released our Trans Voices report. Our local NHS gender identity clinic, NRGDS (Norther Region Gender Dysphoria Service), is part of CNTW’s service. It was great to have the opportunity to speak to some of their staff”
-Suzannah, Projects and Communication Coordinator
The Healthwatch Cumberland team were able to discuss the findings of our Trans Voices project, along with information about our Youth Mental Health project with CNTW staff, and some other local organisations.
“We also had the opportunity to find out what other local organisations have been up to recently and I especially liked speaking to the team at WHIST (Women's Health In South Tyneside) about their work supporting local women, and some members of the Healthwatch Gateshead team.”
“I also enjoyed having the chance to hear about the work that CNTW has been doing, along with their priorities for the future.”
After the stalls had closed, the team attended a meeting to hear what the CNTW staff have been doing, and their future plans. The Trust’s future goals include five quality aims which were:
- A positive and safe culture
- Better psychological healthcare
- Less restrictive practice, violence and aggression
- Less self-harm
- Better care for people with severe and enduring mental illness
“Given that there is a large prevalence of suicide in our local area, and that our Trans Voices project identified a significant risk amongst trans and gender diverse people, it was really great to see the CNTW staff prioritising a reduction in self-harm and suicide.”
To find out more about the findings of our Trans Voices project, you can read our full report here: Trans Voices report.