VISION 2020 UK Counselling and Emotional Support Services Group Meeting

Notes from the second meeting of the VISION 2020 UK Counselling and Emotional Support Services Group held at Midday on 30th March 2015 to Midday on the 31st March 2015 at Apex Waterloo Place Hotel, 23-27 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3BH

30/03/2015

Preliminary Items

13.00

1. Welcome, Introductions and Apologies for Absence

Attendees

Chair: Mhairi Thurston University of Abertay MT

Amanda Hawkins RNIB AH

Andrew Miller Focus Birmingham AM

Catherine Dennison TPT CD

David Galloway RNIB NI DG Joined at 14.40 30/03

Jo Pybis BACOP JP

John Legg RNIB Scotland JL

Lorna Marquès-Brocksopp Guide Dogs LMB Had to leave am 31/03

Martin Thomas SeeAbility MT

Matt Broom VISION 2020 (UK) Ltd MB

Mo Colvin RNIB Scotland (Youth Engagement) MC

Rebecca Colclough RNIB Cymru RC

Tina Stanton Consultant TS

Apologies

Hazel Russell NBCS

Stevie Johnson RNIB (ECLO lead)

13.10

2. Declarations of Interest

None

13.15

3. Minutes of the Last Meeting

Minutes of the last meeting approved

13.20

4. Matters Arising

AH: The RNIB Counselling service now called ‘Counselling for Sight Loss’ Works with over 700 people countrywide

But up to 1900 people need the service

Bidding to get £50 Million for research into needs through a client informed model

MT: British Journal of Vision Impairment. Mhairi Thurston, John McLeod, and Allen Thurston, May 2013; vol. 31, 2: pp. 102-122.

Counselling for sight loss: Using systematic case study research to build a client informed practice model http://jvi.sagepub.com/content/31/2/102.abstract

JL: The RNIB Scotland ‘Welfare and Rights’ exercise takes case studies it’s part of the ‘Being there’ initiative. Counselling needs to come through and from various means.

ACTION: MJ to contact Andy Bell re working with him on Long term Conditions (http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/andy-bell )

JL: Hazel Mcfarlane looked at linking the Adult sight loss pathway (http://www.vision2020uk.org.uk/library.asp?libraryID=5955&section=000100050005 ) to the mental health pathway (http://www.icptoolkit.org/adult_and_older_pathways.aspx ) in. Ayrshire

ACTION: JL to send information to MB

ACTION: MJ to speak to Katherine Raven and Amanda re an RCGP link

CD: reported that Waqaar Shah (RCGP) is interested.

MT: there is work for us here on the normalisation of emotional support within the sight loss pathway but as other delegates have pointed out : Who pays? What resources are actually available?

RC: ECLO’s (eye clinic liaison officers) are mentioned in every Welsh sight care plan. No money or resources but it is mentioned

JL: The objective should be to embed counselling within optometry.

MT: Is there a possibility of joining up with a large high street provider?

AH: RNIB did come work on this and Boots were interested but not sure of the practicalities of offering this.

AM: We need to look at support services in the round not just counselling services.

AH: We are looking at training generic counsellors in VI issues and badge them ‘RNIB approved’

CD: One of the main things that came out of the York research showed that emotional support was not covered http://www.vision2020uk.org.uk/news.asp?newsID=5901&section=000100050006

MC: Children and Young people and transitions to young adults alos need to be considered

MT: As well as people with additional needs such as learning disabilities

ACTION: MB to add emotional support to the next V2020UK Learning Disabilities group agenda.

Questions re the RNIB tiers of service http://www.vision2020uk.org.uk/library.asp?libraryID=3764&section=000100050005

And

DEPVIT http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/12/57

LMB reported that there was nothing published as yet in connection with DEPVIT

13.30

5. Discussion Subjects

·  Audit of national emotional support provision

MT provided a paper

ACTION MT to send electronic version of paper to MB

Discussion on the mapping of Counselling and Emotional support services over the UK. (ie a physical map showing the various services in the 4 countries of the UK) No one round the table had the resources to do this.

ACTION AH and JL to look into whether RNIB marketing dept could do this.

The dissemination of the completed paper was discussed and the possibility of making it into a press release for specific areas using local case studies was mooted.

ACTION: JL to ask Ian about doing a precis for local press releases.

ACTIONS: completed paper to be submitted to a journal (MT?)

(to target professionals so nursing times, the eye etc were suggested)

Summary to Members of the CESS group.

Comms to do comms plan (MB to talk to Jess Brice or her successor)

MJ: pointed out that we need to agree key messages

2 possibles: ‘Funding is Insecure’ ‘There is not national framework so provision is very hotch-potch’

AM: noted that the graphs in the paper were confusing and did not help to show the information

JP: Suggested just using the peaks and maybe just use column 3 ‘Counselling and Emotional Support’

·  Strategic sector development

AH: We could use the BACP service accreditation as a base for establishing quality standards

ACTION: JP to check any areas that are under-represented.

·  The possibility of achieving NICE accreditation for counselling for sight loss

14.30

6. NICE Accreditation Workshop (Mercy)

MJ: provided a process manual (which had previously been sent out to all delegates) and the workshop went through this point by point

The Background of this is how to accredit the work of VISION 2020 UK

NICE produces guidance across clinical. Ophthalmic public health and social care.

NICE produces its own guidance but also accredits others guidance.

The idea of this is the development of guidance for models of counselling for professionals

The Chair of the group developing the guidance (Recommendations Development Committee RDC) would be independent and recruited through V2020UK networks.

Separate standards need to be developed for specific guidance (Children, young people, Learning disabilities etc.)

MT: We’re aiming at a task list based on what people want in counselling for sight loss. A lot of the evidence for this will come with the Large RNIB study of 50+ case studies but that is still some time off from completion.

CD: re 4.2 The potential for intervention to do harm needs to be asked earlier in the manual as well as here.

MT: There needs to be buy in from the large charities and professional organisations dealing with sight and sight loss

MJ: We are looking to work with the RCOphth, the CoO as well as the major chairities

JL: SIGN http://www.sign.ac.uk/ (equiv of NICE) in Scotland does not allow outside accreditation but the work still very important for all 4 countries

Reached point 7 of the manual

17.00 Meeting finishes

31/03/2015

Meeting begins 09.00

7. NICE accreditation

MJ Carried on from point 7 of the process manual

MJ: Openness and transparency need to be central to all consultations.

Non unanimity is acceptable but needs to be reported.

DG: Should there be a minimum consultation period? i.e ‘The consultation should be no less than 1 month’ to save rushing.

MJ: Any comments and responses should be publically available (and publicised) on the V2020UK website to allow for challenge and comment.

AM: We need to allow people to say ‘I do not want to be identified’ with their comments so comments can be semi anonymised but allow for a rough sources, optometry, ophthalmology, lay etc.

DG: We could advertise the accreditation mid development. To call for evidence on the website to allow input.

AM: We need to get very good robust and clear reasons for non-publication or lack of approval.

MB: The appeals process would be to the V2020UK trustees and chair.

MT: who would put the document together? We need someone very good at policy writing. The skill set of the independent chair needs to include this.

CD: Recommendations need to be worded in the meeting to save time and energy.

1 person needs to own the document produced so versioning is consistent and an audit trail is kept.

MJ: The admin/writer role within V2020UK possibly with a technical editor for clarity

JL: Could a template be put together to make the procedure generic and allow options to be easily slotted into place. This would give consistency to all V2020UK’s work on this.

AM: The main objection to setting standards is not being too proscriptive and effectively outlawing services which already exist.

AH: The recommendation should be that counsellors are based placed to deal with xxxx issues

MT: When assessing evidence we should be looking at what the implications for service delivery and what the unintended consequences might be.

Extra therapeutic events (i.e. things outside counselling) will be looked at in the big RNIB study but possibly another piece of work needs to be done on other support and its effectiveness (Peer support etc.)

JL: Have we done a proper mapping exercise like the alzheimers soc study? http://www.alzscot.org/campaigning/eight_pillars_model_of_community_support

MJ: The Recommendation could be when offering a service to be really clear what you are offering

AH: If you’re offering counselling counsellors have to be BACP registered.

MJ: The next stage for me is taking the process manual to NICE to check it is acceptable and look for funding for Independent chair, admin, tech support and bringing people together.

ACTION MJ to look into tasks anbove and into recruiting an independent chair

Project Plan attached to these notes

MJ: Reviews of accreditations could be very quick or a major re-write due to new evidence.

Funding could be an issue especially after the initial 2 year period.

MJ: The Recommendation Development Committee (RDC) would be a sub group of CESS and will contain members of the CESS committee but the chair will be independent.

Agreeing the draft scope could be done virtually and need to come back as recommendations to the RDC.

ACTIONS: MJ will format a funding plan (to be sent to CESS Committee) (Part of the V2020UK business plan)

Form Project plan (attached)

Group to all consider Lay member options

Group to look at and share evidence

Group to draft scope questions

Recommendations for counselling for sight loss

DG: ‘What is it that you need to have in place in order to claim to have a counselling service?’

MT: thanked everyone for attending and for their excellent contributions and hard work

10. Any Other Business

None

11. Date of Next Meeting

TBC

12.00 Meeting Finishes