Meriden Family Programme

National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) Positive Practice Award

The Meriden Family Intervention Programme has been announced as joint winner of one of the first ‘Positive Practice Awards’ presented by NIMHE. The award category was ‘Modernising Mental Health Services’. The criteria for the entry under this award category was for the project or service to show how it had translated evidence into clinical practice. This seemed to fit exactly what the Meriden Programme has been attempting to achieve for the past five years.

We were delighted to win such a prestigious award and were invited to the award ceremony on 11 June 2004 in London. Gráinne, Marie and a representative from Carers in Partnership, Peter Woodhams attended the ceremony. It was fantastic to hear about all the projects and service developments happening across the country where staff, service users and carers were working together with the common goal of improving mental health services for all.

It was also an honour to represent the programme. The ‘real’ winners are all the committed managers, trainers, therapists, carers and service users across the West Midlands who have continued enthusiasm for working with families, and we congratulate them, as without them the Meriden Programme would not exist.

Health & Social Care Awards 2005

From left to right: Mr Darren Jordan (BBC newsreader), Dr Gráinne Fadden (Manager, The Meriden Programme), Mrs Marie Crofts (Senior Project Worker, The Meriden Programme), Ms Sue Turner (Chief Executive, Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust), Mr Chris Mansell (Project Worker, The Meriden Programme), Mr Robert Strawford (Family Member). Mrs Val Strawford (Family Member)

We are delighted to announce that, on the 6th July 2005, the Meriden West Midlands Family Programme won the Social Care Award in the Health & Social Care Awards 2005 - Midlands and East Region.

Sponsored by the Department of Health and the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, the aim of the awards is to bring public recognition to the hundreds of outstanding examples of dedication, innovation and success at the frontline of both health & social care.

There were over 2000 entries received from the Midlands & East Region, with 15 categories within the awards and we were one of three finalists for the Social Care Award. As the winner, we now go forward into the National final, being held at The ExCel Centre, Docklands on 13 th December 2005.

The award is a great recognition of the achievements and value of the programme. Dr Gráinne Fadden and the Meriden team want to thank the 13 Trusts across the West Midlands who fund the programme, the trainers (now 120), therapists (now 1800), co-ordinators and managers in each Trust, families, carers, and service users who support the programme and make this valuable work happen.

In terms of teamwork, it must be one of the biggest around, and we should all be very proud of the work we are doing together, and the difference it is making. Well done everyone!