Preparing for change

Some tips and guidance for staff involved in Community Mental Health Transformation in Leeds

By Alex Booth, Staff Engagement Lead for Community Mental Health Transformation

Every morning my Nana used to go swimming at the local pool. Wind or rain, summer and winter, she would turn up at that pool and swim. The pool gradually started to reduce their opening times and ultimately it shut. Nana could no longer go swimming, something she’d done for many years and enjoyed.  This forced her to do something none of us like doing… change.

Change can bring along with it many different emotions and feelings. We have to adapt and be flexible. Things that we all struggle with at different times in life.

Throughout the month of March we will be rolling out a new transformed community mental health service across the city. This is an exciting moment for the mental health service in Leeds and continues towards our collective goal of providing the best mental health care for those we serve in our city. How this will look in practice will be made clear at the induction days which are coming up in March and April.

But how will we deal with different ways of working, be that new meetings or a slight change in the way we do things? Below are three things to think about which may help…

  1. Control the controllables

    In times of change it can feel difficult to be in control. We can feel like things are being done to us, as opposed to with us. This can bring up feelings of anxiety and sadness. One tactic to help with these feelings is to think about what we can influence and control and do our best with what we have. We can put ourselves in a positive mindset before new meetings or be the first to welcome new colleagues at the induction days. Being prepared, confirming your attendance at your local induction day, knowing where you’re going and what meetings you need to attend will all help with feeling more of a sense of control.

  2. Seek support

    Troy and Gabriella famously sang ‘we’re all in this together’ in the popular 2006 Disney musical. Everyone within our services is going through change. You’re not on your own with this. If you need to then find a colleague to share your thoughts with or ask them to support you in those initial few weeks following the citywide rollout. If you’re in one of the early implementer sites and are more comfortable with change then maybe you offer up some of your time to other colleagues to support them at this time.

  3. Celebrate the positives

    Sometimes it’s the small wins which are the best ones. In a case of change it’s important not to lose sight of these. It might be that service user who you had struggled to get any support can now access the support they need. Or that you had a really productive conversation with a colleague after a multi-disciplinary team meeting (MDT) who told you about a grantholder who has a group which could really help one of your service users. Telling other colleagues and the transformation team about these wins is a great way to share them across all services.

Change is a reality of life. How we choose to respond will determine what the outcome of the change is. We hope these changes that are coming in will have a positive response for our service users and for our city!

Preparing for induction:

  • Know when your induction day is and where it is.
  • Know where you’re going to be working and who you’ll be working with.
  • Embrace new meetings – MDTs, professionals and clinical formulation and discussion meetings.

First few weeks:

  • May initially be a bit messy but bear with it!
  • Be open to working in a slightly different way (if your roles requires it)
  • Be friendly and open with colleagues who you may not know, but will now be part of your team.