When Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust introduced We Can Talk training, it was part of a wider commitment to improving how staff support people attending hospital due to their mental health.
The result? A trust-wide boost in staff confidence—and a new innovation that’s gaining attention across the system.
Beth Duncalf, mental health and learning disability practice educator at the trust, used the We Can Talk platform as a foundation to co-design a tool that helps staff support patients in crisis in practical, compassionate ways. That project—the mental health toolbox—has now been presented at the European Academy of Paediatric Societies in Vienna and shared with trust leadership during quality rounds.
Turning knowledge into action
Since launching We Can Talk, nearly 300 staff across Alder Hey have completed the training, logging over 800 hours of learning. That investment in capability created the conditions for something more.
Beth led a quality improvement project alongside We Can Talk’s lived experience advisors—people who know what it’s like to attend hospital in crisis. Together, they developed a simple, structured resource that helps patients navigate difficult moments and helps staff respond with confidence.
The toolbox includes both a physical kit and a user-friendly booklet, built around four types of support:
• Physical – drawing, eating, games
• Calming – mindfulness, breathing, sensory ideas
• Distraction – films, music, writing prompts
• Letterbox – space to write to staff when talking feels too hard
Designed to be flexible, it supports both guided use and independent exploration—making it useful even when staff are stretched for time.
“Before the training, many staff avoided these conversations—not because they didn’t care, but because they didn’t feel confident. The toolbox gave them a way in. A starting point.” – Beth Duncalf
Leading by example
This is what We Can Talk is designed to do: give staff the confidence to use the skills they already have—and turn that confidence into action.
The training provided the shared language, practical tools and cultural shift. Beth and the team built on that to create something lasting—an example other trusts can learn from as they embed the programme more deeply.
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