OPAAL trainers unleashed in Dorset

Malcolm joined Dorset Macmillan Advocacy as a Peer Advocate early in 2015. With personal experience of cancer and of training people in a commercial environment, we were pleased to welcome him to the team.

When it came to looking for candidates to put forward for the OPAAL/Sanofi Train the Trainer project, Malcolm was a natural choice.

Here Malcolm relates his training and also his first experience of putting it into action when he attended a Macmillan Bitesize event at Dorchester County Hospital in November 2015.

“Initially as volunteers we were invited to a training session both to develop our skills in delivery and also to share our experiences of bereavement and cancer at first hand; both what you yourself had experienced and also the effects cancer had had on service users you had encountered whether on their health/wellbeing, employment, relationships and a new attitude to life in general.

Cancer had figured as a central issue to a particular client that I had been supporting; coming to terms with the treatments and after-effects and how relatives, friends and work colleagues viewed the client pre and post treatment.

The training aimed to prepare volunteers for speaking to health care professionals about both personal and client experiences of cancer and recovery.

The first event I attended as a Trainer was held on the 16th November 2015 at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.

The objective was to provide a group of health care staff with first-hand experience of the viewpoints of volunteers supporting advocacy partners.

I shared a story about an advocacy partner who was recovering from cancer and wanted to return to work. We spoke about how I worked with her to understand her requirements and what she would ideally prefer to do, as her work was a physical post. Together we produced a strategy that she was able to present to her employers.

The talk appeared to be well received by the audience, possibly providing them with food for thought.

Feedback gleaned from the event included positive comments about how useful it was to hear from previous patients and also to have heard the advocacy stories direct from the Peer Advocates themselves demonstrating how powerful it is to hear evidence from the people not only who have personal experience of cancer but who have come forward to support others using their own experience and skills.”

Advertisement

OPAAL welcomes new Development Officer, Kim

Kim Beresford takes up post today as OPAAL’s newest, and very welcome, member of staff.

Kim’s work will focus on the development of our new Department of Health funded Older People’s Cancer Voices project, and the Sanofi Patient Group Bursary Gold Award funded Train the Trainer project . Here Kim introduces herself:

Hello, I’m Kim Beresford and I joined OPAAL today as a Development Officer. My background is in management and advocacy, and for the last 14 years I’ve been employed as Chief Executive of Doncaster Advocacy, an organisation providing advocacy support to adults with learning disabilities.

I have worked with OPAAL in the past, on the Speaking up to Safeguard report; the Policy into Practice project, and more recently was involved in the initial stages of design of the framework for advocacy interventions to support older people with a diagnosis of cancer, which has developed into the Cancer Older People & Advocacy project.

Doncaster Advocacy was a member organisation of OPAAL and I have also been involved in their Partnership Development Hub meetings, which I believe offer a great deal of support, ideas and practical funding related opportunities to smaller local advocacy schemes, and which led of course to the Silver Dreams Lottery funding award.

Kim Beresford

I am excited about working with the OPAAL team alongside Kath, Marie, Anne and Tracey, Trustees and OPAAL’s member organisations. I am sure the job will offer both opportunities and challenges, and I intend to approach them all with commitment and enthusiasm!

OPAAL wins Sanofi UK Patient Group Bursary Gold Award

We are delighted to announce that Sanofi UK has awarded OPAAL the Gold Award in its 2014 Patient Group Bursary Scheme. The scheme supports initiatives across the UK that make a tangible difference to patient empowerment and education. By awarding a share of £50,000 to patient groups, the scheme aims to support organisations where promoting the needs and interests of patients is at the heart of their work.

The GOLD AWARD  of £25,000 will allow us to set up a Cancer Patient Train the Trainer Programme

We plan to offer a standalone Cancer Patient “Train the Trainer” programme. In essence we plan to recruit and train older people affected by cancer to become Trainers able to train both Healthcare professionals and social care professionals. The nature of the training to be delivered will be to raise awareness among these professionals of independent advocacy, what it is, what it is not, how it complements other forms of care and most importantly how it supports older people affected by cancer to better cope with their lives.

The Sanofi UK funding will enable us to raise the status of the patient voice to have a real impact on health and social care practice. There will be two referral pathways for prospective cancer patient volunteer trainers, from Macmillan’s Cancer Voices national volunteer database and from local volunteer referral pathways set up and managed by local Cancer, Older People and Advocacy delivery partners. OPAAL and her local partners Dorset Advocacy and Help and Care in Dorset, Beth Johnson Foundation in Staffordshire and Sefton Pensioners Advocacy Centre will recruit, train and supervise volunteer cancer patient trainers. Macmillan Cancer Support will adopt an information and advisory role for this project.

We’re very excited about this work which will complement the Cancer Older People and Advocacy project.

Baroness Neuberger DBE and Patient Group Bursary Scheme judge said:.”This year’s winners all demonstrated tremendous passion and commitment to the people they set out to support. The projects selected for bursary awards are all very different. However, whether it be improving advocacy for older cancer patients, establishing the first peer support network in the UK for people with TB or providing mentoring to develop local support groups for families affected by fundamental diseases, the judges strongly believe that all three projects have the potential to have a significant impact on the lives of patients and those who care for them. We wish the groups all the very best of luck with their projects.”

OPAAL’s Chief Executive Kath Parson said: “We are all absolutely delighted to be this years winners of the Sanofi UK Gold Award. This money will enable us to train older people affected by cancer to themselves become Trainers able to deliver advocacy training to local health and social care commissioners. We aim to improve commissioners knowledge and understanding of independent advocacy services by learning directly from service users.”

Dr Mark Toms, Medical Director of Sanofi UK and Ireland commented:“Advocacy groups play an important role in championing the needs of patients and Sanofi UK is committed to supporting groups who strive to improve care and empower patients through the Sanofi Patient Group Bursary Scheme. Now in its fourth consecutive year we still continue to be impressed by the passion and unrelenting tenacity of patient groups in delivering exceptional programmes that make a lasting difference to the lives of patients across the UK.”

Look out for further information as the project gets under way in the Autumn.

Marie McWilliams, OPAAL