Rothbury Ward – Sycamore at Northgate Park – Brochure

Rothbury is one of two national medium secure inpatient wards
on the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway. The OPD
pathway is commissioned by NHS England and HM Prison and
Probation Service (HMPPS) for the assessment and treatment of
personality difficulties.
Rothbury has 12 inpatient beds. There is a multi-disciplinary team attached
to the ward.
The treatment model of Rothbury is a psychologically informed adaptive
therapeutic environment in which the multi-disciplinary team helps to
engage a diverse group of patients – with a variety of offence histories –
to initially stabilise their mental health and risk related behaviours.
The service is equity-focused, providing fair and tailored support so all
individuals are treated with dignity and respect.
A primary goal of admission to Rothbury is the development of a shared
formulation of both care and offending behaviour needs and risks. This
helps to inform focused treatment and interventions to assist the service
user progress through their custodial sentence.

The OPD pathway is not a single entity, but a
series of connected interventions and activities.
All services follow the same principles and work
toward the overarching OPD pathway aims but
provide different functions to support people
through their sentence and according to their
intervention and management needs.
The Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway
The Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway is a set of psychologically informed
services operating across criminal justice and health, underpinned by a set of
principles and quality standards. Using evidence-based relational and environmental
approaches, it aims to reduce risk associated with serious reoffending and improve
mental health within a high-risk, high-harm cohort likely to meet the clinical
threshold for a diagnosis of ‘personality disorder’.
The OPD Pathway is a jointly funded partnership between His Majesty’s Prison and
Probation Service (HMPPS) and NHS England.
Services for people identified are provided in prisons, adult secure mental health
services and the community. The OPD pathway provides the framework that
underpins the commissioning of these services and enables health and criminal justice
agencies to provide a single service offer. It also provides specialist training and
support for staff.

OPD pathway co-commissioners will work with Rotbury service
to ensure that they are able to continue to support the wider
OPD pathway while remaining aligned to the NHS-led provider
collaborative arrangements.

The service is led by a Consultant in Forensic Psychiatry and Psychoanalytic
Psychotherapist. The unit operates 24/7, supported by a full nursing team
led by the Nursing Ward Manager.
Our core multidisciplinary team includes:
• Specialty Doctor in Forensic Psychiatry
• Senior Clinical and Forensic Psychologist
• Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist
• Senior Occupational Therapist
• Speech and Language Therapist
• Nurse Ward Manager
• Specialist Nurse
• Senior Probation Service Representative
• Service Administrator
We are further supported by:
• Higher Assistant Psychologist
• Social Worker
• Dietician
• General Practitioner and Pharmacy
• Additional Occupational Therapy staff
• Sports, Art and Music Therapists
• Peer Supporter
• Recovery College (with opportunities for co-production, lived-experience input,
and vocational support)
In addition, the service benefits from regular input from a Chaplain, offering holistic
support to help individuals reflect, build resilience, and sustain hope for the future.

We work with individuals in prison who are assessed as high or very
high risk, where there is a clear link between personality difficulties
and offending behaviour.

Typically, these individuals are located in Category B or lower security prisons.

In some cases, a medium secure hospital environment may not be appropriate.
This includes situations where there is:
• Severe and acute co-morbid mental illness
• A learning disability
• An acquired brain injury
• Moderate to severe neurodevelopmental difficulties
In such circumstances, alternative pathways of care may be required.

We welcome enquiries prior to a referral.
Please contact us at: [email protected]

When you arrive you will be welcomed by a member of the care team. They will explain what will happen during your stay and give you information. You will have time to settle in and have a look around your ward.

Please come to Rothbury, you are not insane.
Here, you clear away the mist and fog out from in your brain.
Making your life brighter and full of positivity, instead of a
storm with turbulence and rain.
Trust me, I was hard to persuade.
I felt like I was risking my mental state assigning myself to that
mental patient fate.
But please believe, that was a big mistake.
There’s nothing dodgy here, and you’ll find no-one fake; The
people here want to help you before it’s too late.
And you’ve resigned to dying behind a prison gate. So now
you’ve read this, don’t wait.
Get word to Ravi and his team, believe me they’re great.
Because now I look to my future and see a positive fate!
Now I know, waiting so long to apply was my biggest mistake.

You will get your own bedroom on the unit. Each ward has shared areas, including a dayroom with colour TV and stereo, kitchen, quiet room and internal courtyards which can be enjoyed under supervision.

There are a number of groups at Rothbury that you will be expected to attend. Staff will explain this to you when you arrive.

During your assessment, you will work alongside your care team to collect information about your strengths and needs. Once your assessment period has finished, your team will work with you to create a treatment plan that is right for you.

Your treatment may include group work and/or 1-1 sessions with members of your care team.

In-reach and Consultation Services
• Support and understand relational communications between Health and HM
Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)
• Consider barriers to Progression
• Consider OPD Pathway and risk management plan
Specialist Personality Disorder Medium Secure Unit
• 6 – 9 months Care plus extension to undertake focused intervention
• Relational risk management
• Stabilisation and Dimensional Diagnostic Formulation
• Focus aimed at clinical resilience and hope
• Reduce risk of ‘harm’ and recidivism
Planned progression
• Prison PIPE, ongoing Prison Treatment, Re-Categorisation, Parole Board
• Community resilience – Occupational and Housing Support
• ‘User’ Expert by Experience
Out-reach and Transition Service
• Active Communication and OPD Pathway ‘Scaffolding’ intervention

Rothbury promotes Enabling Environment, the aim is to promote a
safe, positive and empowering environment, effective functioning
and relationships, and reduce the potential and need for risk and
offending behaviour as ways of coping and relating.

We aim to do this by upholding the ten standards of an enabling environment
allowing for a safe, supportive and enabling environment for all who live and
work on Rothbury.
The ten standards which outline the core values of a healthy environment are:
1. Involvement
Staff and residents share responsibility for the environment.
2. Boundaries
There are expectations of behaviour and processes to maintain and review them.
3.Structure
Engagement and purposeful activity is actively encouraged.
4.Belonging
The nature and quality of relationships are of primary importance.
5.Safety
Support is available for both staff and residents.
6.Openness
External relationships are sought and validated.
7.Communication
It is recognised that people communicate in different ways.
8.Development
There are opportunities to be spontaneous and try new things.
9.Leadership
Leadership takes responsibility for the environment being enabling.
10.Empowerment
Power and authority are open to discussion.

Our multidisciplinary team delivers a range of evidence-based
interventions, tailored to each individual’s needs and level of risk.

These include both individual sessions and graded group-based work. A key focus
of the service is to provide a relational environment in which individuals can:
• Explore and reflect on their difficulties
• Develop an understanding of how their personality impacts behaviour
• Work towards reducing the risk of serious harm and re-offending

Creating a safe and therapeutic space
At Rothbury, we provide a safe and supportive therapeutic environment where
patients and staff can work together.
We place great importance on creating a space that enables:
• The building of strong therapeutic relationships
• Exploration and reflection on past and present difficulties
• Understanding the impact of trauma and its links to risk
Our approach is grounded in evidence-based practice and includes:
• Sports and physical activity sessions
• Creative groups and art psychotherapy
• Social and educational opportunities through the Recovery College
Former patients have successfully developed structured themed projects, with several
achieving recognition through Koestler Awards for creative achievement.

Our dedicated sports instructors deliver a wide range of
exercise groups, sports, and physical activities tailored to
individual needs.
Physical health and wellbeing
Working closely with the multidisciplinary team, they ensure patients receive the right
level of support while promoting a culture of physical activity.
The Sycamore site offers excellent indoor and outdoor facilities designed to improve
both physical health and emotional wellbeing, while team sports provide valuable
opportunities to build relationships, develop trust, strengthen teamwork skills, and
foster a sense of belonging.
The Sports Team creates a positive and supportive environment, enabling individuals
to:
• Build confidence
• Manage emotions safely
• Boost mood and improve sleep
• Address underlying physical health conditions

Sycamore is a state-of-the-art secure facility which looks after men
with a mental illness, learning disability or personality disorder
and who have come into contact with the criminal justice system.
Sycamore at Northgate Park
The unit has been carefully designed to the highest standards, equipped with
cutting-edge technology and a variety of spaces to ensure that patients receive
the best possible care. These purpose-built spaces including an education suite,
art rooms, sport and exercise facilities, a workshop for woodwork, and gardens.
The unit contains 72 beds across six wards.
• Alwinton
• Berwick
• Elsdon
• Harthope
• Linhope
• Rothbury

Contact Traveline Tel: 0871 200 22 33
Website: www.traveline.info/

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:
– talk to the people directly involved in your care
– ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust
website www.cntw.nhs.uk/contact/complaints/
– telephone the Complaints Department Tel: 0191 245 6672
– email [email protected]

Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk

We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention.

You can provide feedback in the following ways:
– the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at www.cntw.nhs.uk/poy
– complete a Points of You survey, available on wards, reception areas or from
staff
– other options for sharing your feedback and experience

www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourfeedback

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns that you may have about any aspect of your or your loved ones care.

We act independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers and, where appropriate, relevant organisations, to negotiate prompt solutions. If necessary, we can also refer patients and families to specific local or national-based support agencies.

North of Tyne
Tel: 0800 032 0202
Email: [email protected]
Post: FREEPOST PALS

9.00 am – 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday
An answerphone is available at all times for you to leave a message. A member of the PALS team will aim to return your call as soon as possible.

Rothbury
Sycamore at Northgate Park
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 3BP
Tel: 01670 394 680

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre Tel: 0191 246 7288

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2023 Copyright, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Ref, PIC/178/1123 November 2023 V6

www.cntw.nhs.uk Tel: 0191 246 7288

Review date 2026