We are the specialist NHS service offering individual and group psychological assessment, intervention and emotional support pathway advice to cancer, HIV, pain and psychosexual health patients in the Derby City area and South Derbyshire region. Some services also have satellite bases outside of Derbyshire (such as Staffordshire) depending on commissioning. We also offer consultation to health and social care professionals.
The psychology service is provided by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Trust psychological therapies department but clinical services are based at the Royal Derby Hospital, Florence Nightingale Hospital and satellite areas such as that surrounding Queen’s Hospital Burton.
Uttoxeter Road
DERBY
DE22 3NE
Main switchboard: 01332 340 131
Main contact: Dr Dominic Round (Service Lead) Consultant Clinical & Neuropsychologist. 07789 500381
Our current substantive staff are all registered with the HCPC:
- Dr Kirsty Williams - Psycho-oncology (Psychology Lead)
- Dr Sarah Shaw - Psycho-oncology
- Dr Sharon Wright - HIV psychology. (Psychology Lead)
- Dr Farah Nadeem - Pain psychology. (Psychology Lead)
- Dr Dominic Round - Specialist Psychology services management lead
What is specialist physical health psychology?
It is normal to react to experiencing a serious physical illness by feeling angry, sad or guilty. Similarly many people may initially deny the impact of the illness or feel ‘stuck’. There may be issues with pain, physical impairment or the impact of the illness on the wider family.
Our service focuses on addressing the thinking and behaviour around physical illness and explores the social factors that are associated with the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of illnesses. We may also involve healthcare providers, loved ones and our patients’ social support systems.
The team works with people across their physical health pathway, including at diagnosis, during treatment, transitioning to and throughout survivorship, and where appropriate, end-of-life.
What we offer
- Individual psychological assessment and rehabilitation advice.
- Individual and group therapy and support.
- Pre-illness and genetic assessment where appropriate
- Advice on pathways on to further mental health service support.
- Consultation and advice to professionals and teams in the region.
- Teaching and training in psychological aspects of rehabilitation, recovery and acceptance.
- Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust operate a 24/7 helpline. Contact: 0800 028 0077.
Accessing the service
Referrals to the physical health psychology services can be made via your G.P. , health care professional, hospital consultant or Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). The actual referral route depends on the service as some services only accept referrals from hospital sources. We do not accept self-referrals from new patients.
The professional worker you have regular contact with, such as those listed above should speak to you about the referral first and involve you in the decision. If you agree to be referred, this person will then contact us. We do not currently accept self-referrals.
A member of the team will review your referral and may contact the referrer for further discussion. If it seems that a psychology referral would be appropriate, we will send a letter to you with information about the referral.
What to expect
Psychological sessions occur in a safe setting and rely on clear boundaries of confidentiality. You will be offered an assessment with one of our team to gather your history and assess your psychological needs. This assessment may take place over a number of sessions, the psychologist will discuss whether this will take place face to face in clinic, on the ward, over the phone, over video messaging* or possibly at your home if mobility is a significant issue.
*Our trust uses encrypted Attend Anywhere software; you do not have to have installed it on your phone, tablet or computer and it is easy to use. Your psychologist will help you with this if you wish to use it.
The psychologist will be interested in your thoughts, emotions and experiences and will encourage you to talk freely. They will listen to you and gently challenge you to progress if they feel it is appropriate. Normally we will collaborate on a framework to understand your issues (we call this a ‘formulation’).
Some of the people who come to our service have had upsetting or traumatic experiences before or during their illness and recovery. As psychological therapy can involve looking at the past, it may make you think about these experiences again to challenge the feelings that they bring up. Your therapist will ensure that you understand this and discuss whether you feel able to undertake this aspect of the work.
Where necessary our psychologists may also help you to work with adaptation to the impact of a diagnosis or the effects of treatment. They may also work with incidences of recurrence and survivorship or incurable illness.
We also offer a mixture of advice, active listening, motivational work and challenging encouragement where required. You are also supported to come to your own conclusions about your difficulties over the course of the therapy. The therapist may share ideas or an interpretation of the issues you discuss, but we are committed to remaining client-focussed in our approach.
The approaches can include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), eye movement desensitisation reprogramming (EMDR), mindfulness, compassion focussed therapy (CFT) and psycho-education.
How do I make a comment or complaint?
If you are currently receiving treatment, you can speak with your psychologist. If you are unable to do so for any reason, you can contact the service lead Dr Dominic Round using the number above.
This is not staffed as an emergency service and so you should call 999 or 111 if you need urgent services.
If you would like to leave a compliment, comment or have a complaint about the service you can contact the Patient Experience Team on 01332 623700 (ext 33469) or email dhcft.patientexperience@nhs.net or contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) | UHDB Trust | University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS.
