Successful Collaboration between Highland Hospice and Highland Council to be highlighted at national conference
A successful collaboration with the Highland Hospice through their ECHO project and The Highland Council will be highlighted at today’s session of the TEC Scotland Digifest.
The ECHO project run by Highland Hospice is a digital project which is not just limited to palliative care but has the long term aim of create a national training hub.
In response to the COVID19 pandemic, the Council recognises prioritising staff wellbeing and emotional health continues to be a priority. With this in mind, the council and The Echo Project has collaborated to host a series of virtual sessions to Health and Social Care staff on ‘Wellbeing and Resilience through Covid-19’. The aim of these opt-in sessions is to provide access to factual, accurate and at times fast-changing information about COVID-19 from specialist speakers using a more personal platform to connect to each other.
The first series ran during August and September, where four sessions were offered to Health and Social Care managers for 1 hour a week where they could choose to log in, through Microsoft Teams. Speakers ranged from a Consultant in Public Health, the Assistant Medical Director of NHS Highland as well as Team Lead for the Primary Mental Health Service, who all provided presentations in their relevant field. The second series expands on this, and includes speakers from Dan Johnson, Clinical Lead at Kibble Safe Centre and Dr Lindsay Chalton, Lead Psychologist, CAMHS Highland.
The nature and dynamic of these sessions allows for interactive engagement, promoting an ‘all teach, all learn’ ethos and includes a professional ‘hub’ of managers who provide clarity and feedback, as well as an opportunity to hear staff’s view on the issues raised. The sessions include opportunity for case-based learning with examples of good practice being shared. Discussions are generated in a forum that is safe to explore what and how services could learn from during these challenging times, such as the impact of moral injury, how to support children and young people with loss and change; and the impact of working from home.
Chair of the Council’s Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee, Councillor Linda Munro said: “We have been delighted to collaborate with The Echo Project, who have provided an invaluable service to us using this readymade methodology designed for online learning where the technology, format and training in delivery all work together interdependently. ECHO offers the model to create communities of practice in all areas of Health and Social Care to spread specialist knowledge quickly without having to move people which is important in the current climate.”
The ECHO Institute Founder Dr Sanjeev Arora will take part in a discussion with Highland Hospice CEO Kenny Steele and Dr Jeremy Keen that will be aired later today as part of the conference.
For further information on the ECHO project please visit www.highlandhospice.org/ECHO