Minutes of the VSS Health and Wellbeing Committee

Wednesday 12th November 2025

MS Teams

 

 

HWB Committee Members Present:

Sandra Horley (SH)                        VSS Board Member & Committee Chair

Catriona MacArthur (CMcA)           VSS Board Member

Elaine Pollock (EP)                        Independent Committee Member

 

 

VSS Officers in Attendance

Nicola Nugent (NN)                         VSS Head of Health and Wellbeing

Tara Lewsley (TL)                           VSS Head of Learning & Growth

Karen Morgan (KM)                      VSS Health & Wellbeing Case Manager

Deirdre Scullion (DS)                      VSS Health & Wellbeing Case Manager

Rosalyn Jones (RJ)                         VSS Human Resources Manager

Maria McKeown (MMcK)               VSS Service Development & Reporting Manager

 

 

A      Welcome

          Apologies

Carol Carmichael (CC)                      VSS Community Partnership Manager

 

B       Minutes of Previous Meetings

The minutes of the previous Health and Wellbeing Committee (HWC) meeting held on 11th September 2025 were agreed.

 

C       Action Points

Two action points which had been carried forward from previous meetings are now closed.

 

D      Clinical Governance (Verbal update KM)

1.      Trauma-Informed Practice Policy – the policy has been introduced to outline and support VSS’s commitment to embed the six trauma-informed principles across everything it does, including governance, training, recruitment etc. Almost everyone in the organisation has attended trauma awareness training, Modules 1 & 2, apart from a small number who are due to attend a mop-up session shortly; short refresher sessions are currently being planned.

 

SH said she felt it was an excellent policy and referenced a common misconception that being trauma-informed is all about training. It is a philosophy and way of being. Training is the first step in a transformation process which then extends into compassionate interaction with others.  It takes time and commitment, humility and preparedness for change at all levels, including staff and board.  

CMcA highlighted the importance of staff understanding what it means to be trauma-informed and noted that this approach should not prevent robust discussions, such as those relating to performance management. RJ acknowledged the need to strike the right balance between applying HR policy and doing so in a trauma-informed manner. TL reiterated that business needs will remain the priority and emphasised that the Trauma-Informed (TI) policy serves as a key communication tool to help staff understand its meaning both organisationally and individually.

          SH agreed that it was fundamental to everything VSS does.

2.      Client Risk Reporting (KM) – Q2 (July 25- September 25) No individuals on client risk register. No safeguarding incidents were reported. No Serious Adverse Incidents (SAIs).

 

3.      No issues by exception – next clinical governance checks to take place in 2026

 

E       Review of Progress Against Delivery (MMcK)

 

Target 5 – VSS Pulse Project (INRs): Green/Amber – slower progress than planned due to 1.5 vacant HWB caseworker posts. Performance is expected to improve as recruitment is finalised. This will be monitored closely.

Target 7 – HIA Complementary Therapy: Amber – uptake has been lower than expected (30 vs 90 target). The target has been revised to 60 in response to current trend and stakeholder feedback.

·         Strategic Outcome 2: Improved Opportunities for Learning & Development

Target 15 - T/c Education & Training: Amber. Progress is less than planned due to lower-than-expected uptake. This will continue to be actively monitored.  Consideration is being given to reallocating funding to address emerging or unmet needs in other areas.

Target 17 & 19 – HIA & MBMLW: Personal & Professional Development – Green/Amber

Service delivery by the community partner organisation was always scheduled for Q3. Needs have now been scoped for both HIA and MBMLW individuals, and delivery is on course in Quarter 3. Delivery partner is confident that both targets will be achieved.

Target 16 – VSS PULSE: Work Force Training & Development - Green/Amber

Courses are scheduled for now through to January, with training needs analysis underway. This analysis will inform tailored courses for February – March 2025 delivery. The project team remains confident that the annual target of 440 will be achieved.

·         Strategic Outcome 4: Victims and Survivors, and their families, are supported to engage in legacy issues, information recovery and redress processes

Target 28 - VSS Pulse: Advocacy Support Individual Needs Reviews (INR’s) – Green/amber

Two advocacy support worker posts remain vacant, and newly appointed advocacy workers are still completing onboarding and training. Performance is expected to improve as recruitment is finalised and new team members become fully operational. We are monitoring progress closely.

Review of outcomes overview by Programme

CORENET – refers to Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation, widely used system for measuring psychological therapy outcomes across 4 domains: Wellbeing, Problems, Functioning & Risk.

MYMOP – Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile.  MYMOP is used for Complementary Therapy outcomes. Clients complete a brief questionnaire pre- and post-intervention, scoring their own symptoms and wellbeing to track change.


WSAS – Work and Social Adjustment Scale.  This is an outcomes tool used for INP complex frameworks. A 5-question tool completed pre- and post-intervention, assessing ability to manage work, home responsibilities, social and leisure activities.  MMcK noted that it is currently being reconsidered as an appropriate outcomes measurement tool, with actions agreed to review data integrity & methodologies, particularly for (HIA) cases.

 

Troubles-Related (T/C)

·           Talking Therapy: CORENET.  MMcK reporting that Q2 outcomes currently at 58% at October month-end, with an upward trend as dataset grows, and baseline target of 60% likely to be achieved.

·           Complementary Therapy Performance – Target 80%, Q2 Achievement: 86% Current performance indicates strong improvement in self-reported symptom relief and quality of life, reinforcing the value of personalised interventions.

 

·           INP – WSAS (Work and Social Adjustment Scale): Target 65%, currently 62%, showing positive improvement. Monitoring will continue as dataset grows.

 

 

Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA)

·         Talking Therapy: Q2 outcomes at 63%, October month-end 65%, currently exceeding the baseline target of 60%, indicating positive engagement and progress in therapeutic interventions.

MMcK noted from the qualitative feedback that there have been positive changes that are not reflected in main outcome measures, such as reduced anxiety, improved sleep post-treatment and better nighttime rest.  VSS will work with community partners to investigate reasons and use findings to inform future co-design of HIA services.

INP – WSAS: Target 60%, current 46% improvement – current methodologies of WSAS score data capture to be reviewed.

Mother & Baby / Magdalene Laundries (MBMLW)

·           Talking Therapy: Q2 outcomes at 50%, improving to 56% in October as dataset grows.

·           Complementary Therapy: Target 80%, Q2 achievement 87%, exceeding the target and demonstrating positive outcomes for individuals supported.

·           INP – WSAS (Work and Social Adjustment Scale): Target 60–65%, current 79%, showing significant improvement well above target, smaller sample size and will likely fluctuate

A review of WSAS methodology and timing of score data collection is planned, the findings will be reported and corrective actions implemented within Q3, ahead of impact reporting in Q4.

VSS will collaborate with the community partner to investigate low complementary therapy outcomes and use findings to inform future co-design of HIA services.

 

F       2024/25 Self-Assessment – Actions Arising (TL)

 

  TL confirmed that this was circulated to members who were in position at the time. Key actions arising were discussed and this will form a standing agenda item for future meetings. Members noted that the ToR were reviewed in February 2025,  and so will be reviewed again in 2026.

 

 

 

 

 

G      Service Development Update (TL)

The VSP call opened on 1st September, with a closing date of 6th November.  VSS received 44 applications – with 39 of those 44 organisations already having LoO. Stage 1 of the assessment process has taken place with organisations notified of the outcome.  Successful applicants now move to Stage 2: Scoring process.

 

H       Training and Development (RJ)

          RJ gave an update on PEACEPLUS Workforce Development Training, on behalf of CC. Between July – Sept 25, the following training took place:

×   Keeping Adults Safe (Volunteer Now) – 46 participants

×   Introduction to Psychological Trauma (WAVE) – 13 participants

×   Mental Health First Aid (CiNi) – 15 participants 

 

The following training is planned for Oct – Dec 25:

×     GDPR Training (SureSkills)

×     Social Media Training (Digital TwentyFour)

×     Personal Safety for Lone Workers (Safety Systems)

×     Introduction to Psychological Trauma (Wave)

×     VSS Mandatory Training

 

In terms of internal VSS training, the Trauma Awareness (Module 1 and 2) have been rolled out to all staff, apart from a small number who will be captured in a mop-up session in January.

Two more staff have received Mental Health First Aid training, and another is due to attend training in January. Several more staff have been trained in (physical) First Aid in recent months to ensure we have enough First Aiders for the office.

          Quality Mark update (KM)

Information and evidence gathering is ongoing for the Gold Trauma-Informed Accreditation (through One Small Thing), and actions have been allocated to owners and a workplan drafted.

 

I         Employee Wellbeing (RJ – verbal update)                                            

A very successful Macmillan Coffee morning was held on 8th October, with over £200 raised for Macmillan Cancer Support, allowing staff to show off their baking skills and connect in person. Karen led a lunch time Colour Breathing session for those who wanted to attend after the Coffee Morning, which was a chance for some time out and relaxation.

Employee Wellbeing now has a greater feature in our recently re-branded staff newsletter VSS Connect – along with a new group identity and logo. The newsletter features great staff profiles, and photos of different events and activities that have taken place throughout the month.  We continue to recognise key dates surrounding wellness, such as Stress Awareness Day and International Men’s Day. TL shared the latest version of VSS Connect for Committee members.

The Employee Wellbeing Group, along with HWB and HR support, are re-introducing the Self-Care Plan, which was first introduced during Covid and is still used by staff today.  We want to ensure everyone has access to a Self-Care Plan, and that managers know how to discuss this with their staff.  It’s part of a suite of support offered to staff including – a structured induction, clinical and reflective supervision, the Employee Assistance Programme and the Employee Wellbeing Activity Plan.

We have a Staff Planning Day in the diary for 12th December – followed by a Christmas Dinner.

RJ is currently reviewing and updating HR policies, e.g. Absence Management policies, to amend the language of the policies to be more trauma-informed.

EP shared an initiative that takes place at the Trust that has been very successful – a celebration of long service.

 

J       AOB

            

 

Date of next meeting – scheduling of meetings to precede the VSS Board meetings in line with ARC meetings (quarterly)

 

Next HWB Committee meeting to take place on 11th February 2026 via MS Teams.