Previously known as Lancashire Care, the Trust was established in April 2002 as a Mental Health and Learning Disability provider and authorised as a Foundation Trust on December 1 2007.

On June 1 2011, the Trust incorporated a range of community health and wellbeing services from neighbouring provider organisations, extending its portfolio to include a range of community based services.

On October 1, 2019, the Trust acquired mental health and learning disabilities services in South Cumbria from Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust and became Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft).

LSCft is a partner in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership which is a partnership of health and care organisations working together across Lancashire and South Cumbria to empower and support the 1.8 million people in our communities to have the best start in life, so they can live longer, healthier lives.

The services provided include, community nursing, health visiting and a range of therapy services. Wellbeing services provided include smoking cessation and healthy lifestyle services. The Trust specialises in secure, perinatal, inpatient and community mental health and learning disability services, including services for children and young people.

The Trust has four main localities:

  • South Cumbria/ The Bay
  • Fylde
  • Central and West
  • Pennine

In addition to the above, the Trust has a Specialist Network which compromises of a number of services including Dental, Eating Disorders, Learning Disabilities and Autism, and Secure Mental Health Wards, Perinatal - Ribblemere and Community Teams, Rehabilitation - Wesham and Community, Forensic Community, MAPPA and Veterans and Victims, CYPMH Inpatients and Community.

The Trust is supported by a number of Corporate Support Directorates including People and OD, Finance, Digital (I.T.), The Bed Hub, Business Strategy and Transformation, Medical Directorate, Compliance and Improvement including Company Secretary, Nursing and Quality, Estates and Facilities. The Trust Headquarters is based at Walton Summit, Walton-Le-Dale, and this building houses a number of staff from the above services.

Pendleview – Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH

Pendleview is a mental health unit made up of four Inpatient wards based at the Royal Blackburn Hospital. The unit provides 24 hour care for patients between the ages of 18 to 65 years old. 

The Inpatient Restart and Recovery Team work across all wards providing individualised recovery focussed treatment plans in collaboration with the patient.

The team provides a wide range of opportunities to participate in occupational activity both in a group or 1:1 setting. For some patients this may be a brief stay for intensive treatment and support, others who suffer from severe and enduring mental illness may require more frequent admissions.

Any requests for beds are made through the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team who provide a gatekeeping service to the wards.

Hillview – Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH

Hillview is based at the Royal Blackburn Hospital and contains two adult mental health inpatient wards.

Hurstwood Ward is 12 bedded Mixed Sex (six female, six male) Older Adult Functional Mental Health In-Patient Care, based within Hillview Unit Royall Blackburn Hospital.

Care is delivered on a needs led basis in the least restrictive way possible and is planned following a robust assessment of needs by a variety of professionals making up the Multi-Disciplinary Team involved in the patient's care. Therapeutic engagement is positively promoted in a safe environment by staff who receive support, development and training in the delivery of the services we provide. Families/carers and service users are actively encouraged and supported to be fully involved in the planning of the service user's recovery journey of which our service forms part of and in providing feedback as to how our services are responding to the required needs of our client group.

The wards form part of Step 5 services and well established interworking relationships with community teams and other agencies exist, which help facilitate care in the least restrictive environment for our service users and help with the facilitation of early discharge from the wards, to home or other appropriate service providers.

Guild Lodge - Guild Park, Whittingham Lane, Preston, PR3 2JH

Guild Lodge is a secure mental health hospital for men and women. The hospital is located in the grounds of Guild Park, about four miles north of the City of Preston in Lancashire. Guild Lodge is part of the Specialist Network of Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.

Guild Lodge provides secure inpatient and specialist forensic community mental health services. It has four Care Pathways:

  • Women’s Care Pathway
  • Male Care Pathway
  • Male Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Care Pathway
  • Forensic Community Services.

Guild Lodge has a total capacity of 164 beds incorporating medium, low and step-down provision.

Levels of Security

  • Medium secure: caters for a number of different client groups, including people stepping down from high security, service users referred from the courts and prisons, service users referred from general adult mental health services and those who have proved difficult to manage in low security
  • Low secure: caters similarly for a number of different client groups, including people stepping down from medium security, service users referred from general adult mental health services, and those referred from the courts and prisons
  • Step down: used exclusively for service users who have progressed through the secure care pathway and are in transition back to community services.

Across the sites the Trust has a number of opportunities / roles which include:

  • Senior Staff Nurse – Band 6

Our Senior Staff nurses assess the care needs of service users, they support to implement and monitor care plans, administer medication, and provide advice in specialist areas for service users.

They supervise and allocate staff, co-ordinate staff duty rotas and provide clear clinical leadership.

  • Staff Nurse – Band 5

Our Staff Nurses provide key hands on clinical care for our service users. They complete assessments, develop or implement programmes of care; provide advice in a variety of settings; and ensure that records are fully maintained.

They provide clinical supervision to other staff, and act as role models for our student nurses.

  • Occupational Therapist – Band 5

Our Occupational Therapists provide professional occupational therapy in a variety of settings. They assist with the direct care for our services users by completing assessments for a dedicated caseload. They also offer occupational therapy advice to other disciplines and are a key part of the provision of care for our service users.

  • Assistant Occupational Therapists – Band 4

Our Assistant Occupational Therapists plan and provide programmes of therapeutic activities tailored to client group e.g. those with mental health problems, within the framework laid down by our Occupational Therapists.

They support to evaluate delegated OT interventions for patients/clients in activities relating to their treatment programmes.

  • Healthcare Support Workers – Band 3

Our Healthcare Support Workers provide an excellent level of support to our service users, they undertake a range of duties, which can include supporting with personal care such as bathing, dressing etc, and meals alongside the general activities which would take place within inpatient wards.

  • Ward Clerks / Administrators – Band 3

Our administrative staff play a vital role in ensuring that records are maintained, supporting managers with day to day administrative work, dealing with first line enquiries e.g. from service users, relatives and staff.

Commitment to support training for LD Nurses

The skill-mix within forensic (secure) services at The Guild and network adult mental health wards and PICUs are supported and enhanced by RNLDs and HCSWs with experience in working with people with learning disabilities. As part of the nursing teams providing this care staff will be supported by Ward Managers and Matrons and in addition can access speciality support and supervision from the Trusts Learning Disabilities Teams (including Consultant Nurses and Intensive Support Teams). As well as being able to access to academic CPD relevant to their training needs the Trust provides:

•           Trust wide preceptorship programmes (open to all RNs, RNAs and AHPs)

•           Enhanced Care Certificate HCSW training – 5 day programme covering a wide range of mental health topics.

•           Support and training from Practice Development Nurses

Staff are supported in their career development from entry level to Director level.

Furthermore the Trust is currently developing bed based / inpatient services for people with learning disabilities who also suffer from mental health issues. As part of this exciting development there will be opportunities for the development of new roles and bespoke training packages.

Flexible Working

As a Trust we are committed to ways of working which support our staff to take care of their wellbeing and find a balance between their work and personal life. We will trial new ways of working and be open and transparent about flexible working options, actively promoting them to all of our staff. We are learning from initiatives we have implemented in our pilot sites and put in place processes and guidance to support and promote different forms of flexible working; championing individuals to make decisions that are right for them.

The Trust is committed to offering our staff the chance to work flexibly regardless of their role, grade, reason or circumstance in order to help them to achieve a greater balance between work and their personal lives. This is in line with the NHS People Plan which aims to encourage ‘flexibility by default.’ Where a specific working pattern cannot be accommodated across the Trust we will actively work with individuals to consider alternative options and support transitional arrangements.

 

Below you can find a template contract as well as a presentation shared by LSCFT:

Resources