2016 DIMH Awards Dinner


Bob Wills and Alison Jordan receive the Service-User Experience Award from Frank Bruno and Teal LifeCare MD, Paul Goodall.


me involved in other spheres outside boxing; Terry Lawless, for example, got me involved in tap dancing, pantomime, and the Royal Variety Show, wisely advising me that, since boxing would not last for ever, I would need something else to bring some money in and keep me occupied.” Today, he explained, his activities included theatre shows, pantomimes, after- dinner speaking, and counselling/mentoring.


‘ROCKING’ MIKE TYSON Returning to his fighting career, and among his most memorable fights had been his 1989 Las Vegas encounter with the (comparatively) diminutive Mike Tyson, who famously ‘rocked’ when the English boxer delivered a huge blow and, as David Davies put it, ‘the whole country thought Mike Tyson would be defeated’; in fact he went on to win the fight. Frank Bruno recalled: “When that first big punch landed, I thought ‘I have really upset him now’, and indeed he really came after me after that. I tried to finish him, but sadly wasn’t good enough on the night.” ‘Coming back stronger’, however, he later defeated Oliver McCall to become world heavyweight champion – ‘a fantastic feeling, because my dream since the age of 8 had been to win the title’. Shortly after a second Mike Tyson fight in


1996, he retired, ‘feeling worn out, having started boxing at the age of eight’. He said: “I was really tired by this stage, and had to retire to give myself a rest.” Asked about any obvious precursors to his


bipolar disorder diagnosis and first ‘breakdown’, in 2003, Frank Bruno said his divorce had had a major impact on his health – he was initially left with a large house, no children, and on his own. “However,” he told the audience, “that was yesterday. Today I am single man, a free man, and probably the happiest man in this room.”


MIXED EXPERIENCE OF CARE David Davies asked about his first few days in a psychiatric hospital. He said: “My experience was distinctly mixed, with excellent treatment from some staff, but outright rudeness from others. I think the mental healthcare profession was a little quick to section me; I was neither a threat to myself nor anyone else. They could have given


1 4 THE NE TWORK J u l y 2 0 1 6


The 2016 Design Champion Award was presented by architect, Rosemary Jenssen (left), to Alison Jordan and Bob Wills, who received it on behalf of the winner, Beatrice Fraenkel (inset).


me much of the medication to take home and recover there. Now, however, I am trying to move forward with happiness with my life. Some of the most understanding staff have been previous sufferers. I also know – from my own experience – that recovery requires a careful balance between good care and not over-medicating.” The former boxer went on to explain that, to


prevent him spiralling into depression, he still regularly visits the gym, swims, eats well, and generally takes care of his physical health – a way of living he strongly advocates for those of all ages, but especially to those suffering with mental illness. The ‘Q&A’ session included humour


throughout, and, in a final aside, his agent asked the former WBC champion in all the fights he had had, who had hit him the hardest? Frank Bruno replied: “I’d have to say the taxman!” David Davies then opened the awards


ceremony by thanking all the judges for their efforts. Frank Bruno would now introduce awards in seven categories. David Davies said: “Tonight’s winners have demonstrated some of the best in innovation, creativity, technical advancements, and practice in mental health.”


SERVICE-USER EXPERIENCE The first award, for Service-User Experience – sponsored by Teal HealthCare and LifeCare – was presented by Teal LifeCare managing director, Paul Goodall, to Alison Jordan, director of Estates at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, and Bob Wills of Medical Architecture, for the new 80-bedded inpatient facility, Clock View Hospital, on the site of the former Walton Hospital on Merseyside (The Network – October 2015). Throughout the journey from planning


Cath Lake of P+HS Architects picked up the Refurbishment Project of the Year Award – for Endcliffe – a new PICU within the existing Longley Centre at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital – from Anti-Ligature Shop MD, Carl Need.


The Endcliffe PICU at the Longley Centre at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital.


to delivery, the judges said service-users had been integral to the project’s success. A service- user and carer assembly had high-level input, while workshops, engagement sessions, arts and design groups, and participating networks, had reached ‘hundreds of service-users’, carers, and volunteers. The judges described Clock View as ‘a beacon, a shining light in what can be achieved by meaningful engagement with service-users, and a worthy winner of this award’.


David Davies said that Beatrice Fraenkel, chair of the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, had been described as ‘a tour de force, an ambassador, and an inspiration to staff and service-users alike’


CHAMPIONING DESIGN The second award presented, for Design Champion, goes to ‘an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to delivering excellence, and sustained improvement, in the quality and design of mental healthcare facilities, providing significant benefit to service- users, staff, and carers’. The 2016 Design Champion Award was presented by architect, Rosemary Jenssen, to Alison Jordan and Bob Wills, who received it on behalf of the winner, Beatrice Fraenkel, chair of the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. David Davies said the recipient had been described as ‘a tour de force, an ambassador, and an inspiration to staff and service-users alike’. The judges said she recognised ‘the value of beautiful healing environments for better care’, had a contagious enthusiasm which helped ‘to re-evaluate and overcome any obstacles in the way’, and was an ‘articulate and passionate advocate of good design for improving outcomes’.


Photo courtesy of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.


Photo courtesy of P+HS Architects.


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