Tag Archives: University of South Wales

University of South Wales Training

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Ffion and Amy recently delivered lived experience training down at the University of South Wales 🎓✨ They did an amazing job sharing their personal experiences and helping students understand the importance of listening, communication, and treating people with respect and dignity 💙

Amy spoke about her experience with paramedics and going into hospital with a chest infection, while Ffion shared her experience following her knee accident and having Bell’s Palsy. The ladies also shared the experience of our volunteer Gethin and his annual health check 🩺 These real-life stories make such a difference and help future professionals learn directly from people with lived experience 🙌 Well done Ffion and Amy, you represented Caerphilly People First brilliantly 👏😊 Thank you to everyone at USW for having us — we always enjoy working together!

✨ Another Fantastic Day at USW in the Simulation Suite! ✨

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Yesterday we visited the University of South Wales for another brilliant session with the TRAC team.

🎭 Hannah took on the role of Geraldine, who is non-verbal, has a learning disability and Williams syndrome.
🧡 Christy played the role of Geraldine’s support staff.
💥 Nat played a patient who had a fit and knocked herself out, bruising and cutting her head.

The students were amazing! 👏 They asked thoughtful questions about the best ways to communicate with someone who is non-verbal and explored what medical checks and support Geraldine would need for her constipation. They also worked brilliantly as a team supporting Nat’s scenario. The feedback was fantastic — it’s wonderful that TRAC students get the chance to teach, share real-life experiences, and help future nurses learn in such a meaningful way. 🌟 Well done everyone! 🌟

TRAC members at the University of South Wales

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Friday’s session was all about midwifery 👩‍⚕️💛 Ffion played the role of someone who was 9 weeks pregnant and did a fantastic job in her role. Christy played her mam, and the student nurses interacted brilliantly — speaking directly to Ffion, explaining everything clearly, and taking their time.

We also had a Learning Disability Nurse on hand 👩‍⚕️💙 who clarified things with Ffion and offered easy-read information, making sure she understood everything in a way that suited her needs. LD nurses are so important, especially when someone with a learning disability is pregnant. All fields of nursing should practice the same approach — clear communication, patience, and respect. It makes a huge difference. ❤️

Meanwhile, Gethin and Nat had just come home from the hospital with their new baby 👶🍼 And yes… believe it or not… they didn’t bicker for a change! 🤣 They were absolutely hilarious and kept everyone laughing.

A huge well done to everyone — our TRAC members and the students. ⭐ We’re already looking forward to the next session and working with you all again soon! 🙌💛

Midwifery Training at the University of South Wales

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✨ Yesterday Amy, Nat and Gethin visited the University of South Wales, Glyntaff working in the simulation suite with Year 3 Learning Disability and Midwifery students 👶🩺 Nat and Gethin played the fantastic role of new parents with a baby just a few days old, while Amy took on the role of a pregnant patient 🤰👏 These real-life scenarios helped future nurses better understand the experiences of adults with a learning disability.

💬 We talked about how everyone must work together to support adults with learning disabilities before, during and after pregnancy, ensuring parents are supported, cared for and understood, and giving families the best chance to raise a family together 💞 The students were amazing 👏 They learned not only from the “patients” but from each other, working across different fields.

Key topics included:
📄 Easy Read information
🗣️ Clear communication — no jargon
📘 Health profiles and why they are so important

This session highlighted the crucial role of all nurses, especially Learning Disability nurses, in delivering inclusive, person-centred care ❤️ 🎓 Interested in becoming a Learning Disability Nurse? You can enrol at universities like USW and make a real difference supporting people with learning disabilities and their families every day 💙 Another successful visit with so much learned by everyone — thank you USW Treforest! 👏✨

Eye Care Research

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Last week our members attended a fantastic workshop at the University of South Wales (in Glyntaff), joining other People First groups and TRAC members 👏 The session was led by Edward Oloidi, who is carrying out important research into 👀 eye care for people with a learning disability. Some people also joined online 💻, making sure everyone had the chance to be involved 🙌 We had really meaningful discussions about:

🗣️ What works well
⚠️ What doesn’t work
💡 How services can be improved

Our members shared powerful lived experiences, helping to shape better and more inclusive eye care services. Eye tests are so important for everyone, but they must be accessible, understanding, and inclusive so people with a learning disability feel comfortable and supported when attending appointments. A big THANK YOU to all our members who attended, shared their voices, and made the day so valuable 🙏✨

University of South Wales Role Play

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Yesterday morning we visited the simulation suite at the University of South Wales to take part in patient role play scenarios 🏥😊 The student nurses did an amazing job and worked so hard throughout the sessions 👏💙 These training situations make a real difference, helping students experience what it can be like working on a busy ward under pressure while supporting patients with care and compassion 🌟

A huge well done to all our TRAC members for taking part and helping with the training today 🙌 You were all fantastic! 💛 This was session 1 of 2, and we’re looking forward to more training and teamwork in session 2! 😊✨

University of South Wales Simulation

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Another fantastic morning last week down at the University of South Wales simulation suite with the student nurses 👏🏥💙 Gethin played a patient with an injured shoulder, Hannah played a patient whose knee had popped out, both attending minor injuries, and Nat played Geraldine, a patient suffering with constipation. 🩺🦵💊

The student nurses gave amazing care throughout the scenarios and showed great communication skills, kindness and professionalism 🌟 They asked important questions about each person’s health profile and made reasonable adjustments to make sure everyone felt comfortable and supported ❤️

A health profile is a document that gives important information about a person’s health needs, communication, medication, likes, dislikes and the best ways to support them. This helps healthcare staff give the right care and understand the person better 📋😊 Everyone did a really great job and the sessions were not only educational but lots of fun too 😄🎭 We really enjoy taking part in the simulation suite sessions and helping future nurses gain valuable experience 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️Well done everyone! 👏💙

💙 Lived Experience Training at USW 💙

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On Thursday Ffion and Amy went to the University of South Wales 🎓 to talk to student nurses 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️. They shared their own stories about using health services 🏥 and what is important to them when seeing doctors or nurses. They said it helps when:

🗣️ People use easy words
⏰ We get longer appointments if we need them
👀 Staff talk to me, not just my carer or support worker
💡 We are told what will happen before our appointment

They also talked about:

✅ Reasonable adjustments – small changes that make things easier
❤️ Person-centred care – treating everyone as an individual and listening to what matters to them

The students asked great questions 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ and learned how to make health care fair and friendly for everyone 🌈 👏 A big thank you to Amy and Ffion for doing a brilliant job and representing Caerphilly People First! 🌟💙

Last week at TRAC — lovely to see you all!

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Last week we had an online TRAC meeting with Stacey Rees and friends from Cwm Taff People First. It was lovely to see everyone. 💻❤️

What we talked about:

Training and research. 📚🔍Some members will be trained and paid to become researchers. 💷🧑‍🔬
TRAC members will teach Year 1, 2 and 3 students. 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️🎓
Teaching will happen in the simulation suite at USW. 🏥➡️🎓
Students will practise real life situations. This gives them hands-on experience. 🤝🩺
Why this matters:
It helps students learn from real lived experience. 🗣️❤️
It makes learning more realistic and safe. ✅
LD nurses are very important. They keep people safe teaching them helps them to learn how to give the right care. 👩‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️💙
People with lived experience teach students things you can’t read in a book. 📘❌➡️✅

Big thanks to members who joined the meeting. Well done! 👏🎉