14th August 2013

YA Section Timeline

  • 14/12/14

Its been a wonderful year for the Renal Young Adult Service! There have been many developments including a new facebook page, development of the mentor programme, a Wayfinding video created and produced by the young adults themselves, a national award for Managing Long Term Conditions awarded by the HSJ PSCA, the SRFT Jill Simpson Clinical Excellence Award, and importantly new friendships and growth of the number of young adults in the network group.

We highlighted some of the individual young adults’ contributions at our Christmas night out on 13/12/2014 where 36 of us enjoyed a wonderful night out. What happens on the YA night out stays on the night out!

Expect updates on the Meet and Greet mentor scheme which starts this week, upcoming events including a professional chef-created Renal Meal out and more network activities to come…!

  • 24th October 2014

Well done to the Renal Young Adult Clinical Team who won the ‘Jill Simpson Clinical Excellence Award’ at Salford Royal’s Annual Staff Awards.

  •  19th October 2014

Thank you to Bring Digital for sponsoring a fantastic day out for 30 of the young adults and carers to Alton Towers. Was wonderful to see all the new faces and there were many ‘Smilers’ by the end of the day!

Alton Towers

  • 16th July 2014

We are delighted to say we won a national health award in the Health Services Journal ‘Patient Care and Safety’ annual awards. Around 6000 groups/ individuals entered the awards and we won the ‘Managing Long Term Conditions’ Category. Well done to everyone for their hard work and we are sure this represents good things to come for the renal young adult clinic!

  • July 2014 updates

1. Emails have gone out to let you know the Patient Expert course dates have been changed from the 5/6/ July to the 12/ 13th July!!! It will still be 10 – 4pm at Salford Royal Seminar Room 3 in the Mayo. Would you mind still confirming you can make the revised date? Agenda to follow shortly.

2. We’ve secured money to fund 10 young adults through a media and filming programme! It will run over 5 days over a period of time to try suit everyone. This will give you inside knowledge of how to film/ edit/ produce videos for your own use plus will form the basis of the videos and art projects we are planning to put together for the young adult clinic. There is so much to tell you but rather than send a lengthy email, will give an outline to those of you on the Patient Expert Course on 12/13 July.

3. For those not on the Patient Expert Course, can we please meet on Thursday 17th July 12:00: – 1:30 in the coffee shop in the Mayo building at Salford to discuss how to take this project forward. This includes the art projects/ media projects/ making a proposal to Salford Uni’s arts and media design students etc etc. Let me know if you can make it.

  • June 2014 updates

A huge thanks to Vertical IT (http://www.verticalit.co.uk/contact/manchester/ ) who sponsored 12 of our young adults to attend a CV writing and Interview Tips Workshop. Everyone was allocated a mentor for ongoing support. The feedback was excellent and everyone enjoyed meeting each other too. We are very grateful to Vertical IT who are also raising money for the education fund of the Young Adult Clinic through their ‘dress down’ day at work!

  • May 2014 updates

Latest updates:

1. CV WRITING WORKSHOP AND INTERVIEW TIPS

Vertical IT are sponsoring 16 spaces to anyone who wants to work on their CV and interview skills to help prepare them for interviews. This is for anyone not currently in work, or who wants help changing jobs/ going for an interview/ how to phrase anything about having kidney disease. If you aren’t sure, get back to me.

Thursday 12th June at 10am – 2pm at their offices in Manchester City centre.

Sam will be in touch to confirm names. Could you please let me or Sam know if you are ‘new’ or ‘returning’ to the workplace. Also, let me know if you need any help with a lift/ transport.

2. WORK PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITY

There has been an offer from a very friendly and cool Northern Quarter hairdresser looking for an assistant! The idea is you would go on a 6 week placement with her where she will teach you about running a small business. You will get experience of front of house/ how to update the social media of her company/ handling clients both on phone and in person. The 6 weeks is unpaid. Whether you want to learn any hairdressing is optional, its more just helping her arrange her clients/ experience in how to run a small business admin side and person skills. If you enjoy the 6 week placement/ get on, she will look at offering you a paid contract to continue with her.

Here is Carmen’s website. Her shop is in a funky building in the northern quarter.

www.hairbycarmen.com

3. MENTOR PROGRAMME

Could anyone who would like to become a buddy/ mentor get in touch and I will send you more info? Also, if you would like to speak to a mentor, do let me know and I will hook you up. A mentor is another young person similar to you who has been through what you are going through/ about to go through. They can tell you about their experience/ what it was really like/ tips they have learnt along the way. This is a great support structure where you can speak to someone (either phone or in person) similar to you, who is independent, not a ‘friend’ and not a ‘counsellor’.

 

  • January 2014 updates

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year!

Hope you are well and good to see our group growing!

Some updates :

1. Have a look at all the great blogs on GMKIN:

Site-Wide Activity

2. CV WRITING AND INTERVIEW PRACTICE WORKSHOP

Vertical IT are sponsoring 16 places to attend a day workshop to help you prepare your CVs and practice for interviews on Thursday 6th March 10:30 am- 3pm. Please get in touch if you would like one of the places! This offer is open to EVERYBODY both new or returning to the workplace and a unique opportunity to have someone go through your CV on an individual basis and help you prepare for interviews. We will look at transport options if this is difficult for you.

3. GOOD NEWS FOR OUR MENTOR PROGRAMME

We have been awarded some money to further our mentor/ buddy programme and pay for interested mentors leadership/ development courses as well as team building events. Yay! Will be in touch.

4. INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN PATIENT FORUMS

Time to hear the patient voice!! We have been invited to take part in 2 seminars being run to improve patient care.

4a. The first one is by the group who have sponsored some money towards our Mentor Programme and they are keen to have any patients (particularly mentors) attend. Its called : ”Have your Information Systems got the P Factor session outline vers05“. Its at the Reebok Stadium 12th March 2014 Time: 09:30am to 4.00pm. Venue: Reebok Stadium, Lion of Vienna Suite, BL6 6SF. In particular, they are keen for a patient to be part of the panel at the 10:15am talk, where the discussion will be around the best way to engage with patients and carers.

4b. The second is called : ”Have your Information Systems got the ‘P’ factor? The benefits of designing H2014-01-24 SCNS Flyer PCPI Development Day.” Wednesday 19th March. Manchester Central (the old GMEX).

I am on a panel from 11- 12am, and they have asked for any patients to sit with me on this panel +- attend the patient engagement zone area at any point in the day.

Please get in touch if you would like to attend these, this is a perfect opportunity to have your say on things that matter to you as a young patient. Plus you can hear about the latest technologies/ IT in place to help patient centred care.

5. TIME TO GET ACTIVE!

Julie has posted some info on the GMKIN website regarding the Transplant Games that take place in Bolton in August. There is also an away weekend in April which is a good opportunity to meet other transplant patients, socialise and practice in your event. Have a look at GMKIN for info

Also, have you made a New Years resolution yet, how about climbing Ben Nevis? Have attached some info – The weekend of June 13th, a group of people will be aiming to climb Ben Nevis to support people with Kidney Disease.

That’s all for now!

Tina

 

  • 26 September 2013- Gig tickets for 6th October

One of the kidney patients has very kindly donated 20 gig tickets to the young adult network to see the Bootleg Festival!

This takes place on the 6th October at the Manchester Academy 2, 2 -12pm with a full line up of rock and indie cover bands.

http://www.manchesteracademy.net/Artiste%20Pages/bootlegfestival.html

And more info here : http://www.amiando.com/bootlegfestival.html

Please contact Dr Tina Chrysochou for tickets and info, there are plenty tickets still available. Email:  info@gmkin.org.uk 

 

  • 1st September 2013- The Launch of GMKIN at Media City

And so the GMKIN website was launched with our own Young Adult HKPA section on! Many thanks to Cristina for creating our web space.

The highlight of the day was Stephen’s brilliant and enormously touching original poem entitled ‘I am the patient’. This was based on the true stories of some of the young adults in our network. Salford University TV were on hand to capture the performance and interview Stephen.

After arriving literally 30 seconds prior to the talk due to work commitments, Cathy also introduced the young adult space on the website after catching her breath!

After lunch, the young adult group were taken on a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the media City recording studios. We were able to see the radio and video recording equipment and studios including how music videos and special effects are filmed. Channelling that inner Beyonce has never been as tempting!

  • August 2013 : Time for some social media

KINThis month, the KIN network went live with the special section for young adults included. The official launch party will be held at Media City on Sunday 1st September 11:30- 14:00.

The website is still in its infancy. At present there is information regarding different support groups and information points separated into areas across Greater Manchester. In time, we will have blog facilities.

Apps- The ‘MyKidneyCare’ app is now available to download on iphones and ipads free of charge from the app store. The is available for Android platforms as well check Google Play.

This app is a tool to support patients in managing their kidney care and has been developed by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Kidney Patient Association . All kidney patients or their carers, using mobile phones , could benefit from this app.

 

  • Friday 5th July 2013 : The first Young adult/ Transition clinic at Salford Royal Hospital

Today was the first young adult/ transition clinic at SRFT and it was a pleasure to welcome our first official transition patient to the service! We had met our young adult and family at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital prior to this. Sister Julie Gorton familiarized everyone with the ward layout and members of the ward team. We thereafter went to meet the dialysis unit staff and see the environment.

The first appointment at Salford Royal Hospital for patients transitioning from the pediatric services is more of a ‘meet and greet’ appointment and a contact list provided of all the new care-providers. After this point, we book another outpatient clinic appointment and get the ball rolling for inclusion within the adult hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or transplant service if applicable.

 

  • Wednesday 26 June 2013 : Focus group evening

th (1)Our first get together was held at La Vina in Manchester city centre, chatting over tapas, because this is how we roll!

The focus group meeting was held with some of the existing young adults in the clinic service. The idea was to brainstorm ideas regarding what would make for a good clinic service and also share experiences of all the good, bad and crazy with each other.

This turned out to be an enormously inspiring evening with everyone getting on like a house on fire. We certainly gained a lot of insight into what really matters to young adults. But more than that was the enthusiasm to set up a young adults network group for peer support and to further share info and experiences.

Some of the feedback after the evening included : ‘’Last night was fantastic as it was the first time that I – and for the majority of us as well – had ever had the opportunity to meet people our own age with CKD’’

And that the focus group evening ‘’ was the least alone and worried I have ever felt about my condition’’

Thank you to everyone for coming, and to HKPA for sponsoring it.

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