Gethin & Nat Join TRAC Discussion Online

Gethin and Nat recently joined other TRAC members via Teams for an important research discussion led by Professor Steven Walden. TRAC (Teaching, Research, Advisory, and Committee) is a group that brings together people with learning disabilities to work alongside professionals, providing valuable insight into health and social care.

The session covered:

Research discussions on key topics
Training and teaching student nurses
The importance of cervical screening for health and well-being

Stacey Rees led an insightful discussion on teaching and training, helping members understand the role they can play in educating future healthcare professionals.

TRAC at the University of South Wales

Last Thursday our amazing members, Amy Jones and Natalie King, attended a TRAC meeting at the University of South Wales. The morning kicked off with a productive discussion alongside Tracy Drew and two representatives from Public Health Wales to consult on an exciting new initiative — a lung screening service that will be available in the future. Lung screening is a vital health check designed to detect early signs of lung disease or cancer before symptoms appear. This often involves a low-dose CT scan, enabling healthcare professionals to identify and address issues early, significantly improving outcomes.

We also discussed teaching interviewing and research skills and even the possibility of some members becoming researchers—an exciting opportunity for personal and professional growth. It was lovely to see members from other People First groups and connect with everyone working towards making a difference! Advocacy and participation like this truly make an impact.

Student Nurse Training

On the 2nd March, Ffion Poole and Amy Jones—supported by Christy Taylor—attended the University of South Wales to talk to the student nurses about what it’s like living with a learning disability and how difficult it can be.

As part of the training, everyone watched a video about how nurses should interact with people with learning disabilities.  We then went into groups with the students and discussed our lives and what things are difficult for us.  The students will use this information to design a poster which will be marked by us at the end of May.

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TRAC at the University of South Wales

On Thursday 27th January 2020, Ffion and Hannah – supported by Christy – attended the first TRAC (Teaching Research Advisory Committee) meeting of 2020 at the University of South Wales. TRAC members have decided that the group needs to have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and at the next meeting we will split into groups and start working on our social media pages. The group have also decided to produce a TRAC logo and a leaflet explaining the work the group does. It was also decided that TRAC would create an email address which all People First groups involved with TRAC will have the login details for, in order to access information and paperwork. The next meeting will be held on Thursday 26th March 2020.

TRAC Meetings & Training

Caerphilly People First has been very closely involved with TRAC (Teaching and Research Advisory Committee), which is based at the University of South Wales.  At the end of October the members attended a TRAC meeting at the University where members of TRAC delivered a presentation on communication.  After the presentation we spent an hour chatting in groups with the student nurses about our lives and personal experiences.  Each student will now design a poster based on the comments of individuals from the People First groups, which people will read and rate for accuracy.

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There was a further meeting in November where TRAC members talked about delivering training in 2020/2021, and discussed the new curriculum.  The group also talked about the modules for year 3 students.  TRAC has yet to have any involvement with year 3 students and look forward to helping them with their ‘Communication and Complex Needs’ module.

Also in November, Ffion and Kath were at the simulation ward in the University of South Wales, helping to train year 2 students.  Kath played the part of a patient with asthma who needed to learn how to use the asthma pump.  Also on the ward were people playing other roles, including someone having a panic attack and someone suffering from dementia.

TRAC (Teaching and Research Advisory Committee) Meeting

It was lovely to catch up with members of other People First groups at the first TRAC meeting of the term at the University of South Wales, at the end of September.

The team is excited about delivering training to student nurses and although it’s going to be very busy we are very much looking forward to the coming weeks.

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