Meet our Humber Centre team

#HelloHumber

 

The Humber Centre is located at our Willerby Hill location and the teams based within the centre deliver a variety of Forensic Services. The multi-disciplinary team is a group of clinicians from different professional backgrounds, including Nurses, Doctors, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Social Workers and more.

We recently spoke to several members of the teams based at Humber Centre to get to know more about what they do, what they love about working there and what they would say to others aspiring to work in forensic mental health.

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Mark, Advanced Nurse Practitioner

What is your favourite thing about working at the Humber Centre?

The opportunity to make a real difference to our patients physical and whole health care through both our primary care team and being part of the integrated hospital team. Oh, and working with my amazing team mates!

What does being an Advanced Nurse Practitioner mean to you?

To me, the role of an Advanced Nurse Practitioner is about blending clinical, nursing and leadership skills to provide compassionate and patient-centred care, in order to support the patient in optimising their individual potentials and in meeting their ambitions and goals.

The Advanced Nurse Practitioner also has an important role to play in facilitating the development of the clinical work force and the service as a whole.

How has your job changed during the pandemic?

The main change was the opportunity to better utilise my clinical role across a broader range of clinical scenarios, from utilising basic nursing skills, to clinical assessment and prescribing for Covid-positive patients.

During this time, I have been lucky enough to work with an amazing group of MDT clinicians, support workers and domestic staff who collectively delivered high quality and compassionate care that I feel privileged to have been a small part of.

What inspired you to become an Advanced Nurse Practitioner?

The opportunity to blend clinical skill sets and practice in some areas traditionally associated with medicine, whilst working autonomously and maintaining my identity as a nurse.

What would you say to others aspiring to work in mental health?

As a general nurse myself now working in a mental health environment, I would say to all general nurses, allied health professionals/care support staff and those considering a career in the NHS – give it a go! You will have the opportunity to promote the notion of whole health care whereby physical, mental, psychological and all aspects of care are provided together.

 

Lois, Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

What is your favourite thing about working at the Humber Centre?

I enjoy seeing the commitment from patients to learn and develop, and I enjoy cultivating working relationships with patients. When you see someone achieve something they previously doubted, it almost feels like something magical has occurred! One of my favourite things about my job, hands down, is creating the unit magazine, Streamlines, with the patients. I really enjoy how the patients work on creating articles for it, and then seeing them respond when they see it in print. 

What does being a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant mean to you?

Being an SLTA in forensics enables me to work outside the box. I look at my role as a way of developing creative communication with patients. 

How has your job changed during the pandemic?

It has enabled me to be hugely inspired; the weight of living through a pandemic has allowed staff and patients a way of going through something shared, so I have seen relationships develop and the patience from the patients has been incredible. 

What inspired you to become a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant?

I saw the advert, and even though my background is education, I loved the sound of it. When I was successful at my interview, I knew that I was being given a real opportunity for something exciting and a life-long career to develop within mental health services. 

What would you say to others aspiring to work in mental health?

Do it! It’s so worth it. As long as you are willing to be enthusiastic, open, and genuine, you’ll reap the rewards in so many ways. I had no idea that work could be so fulfilling. That’s not to say it isn’t hard, or draining at times, but the support from the disciplines around you keep you going. 

 

Craig, Associate Practitioner Occupational Therapy

What is your favourite thing about working at the Humber Centre?

For me, it's working with a team that's trying to achieve the same goals for patients. I also enjoy leading on some of the physical health exercise groups as it's something I personally enjoy.

How has your job changed during the pandemic?

It has changed in many ways. I have been able to develop and adapt my sessions to ensure that patients still have access to activities and interventions, despite being different to how they were before.

What inspired me to become an Associate Practitioner?

I started my career as a healthcare assistant and always wanted to join in the activities so I naturally developed into the role of Activity Co-ordinator. However, I then found that I wanted to educate myself as to why activities and interventions are important and the processes behind it.

To delve into this further, I met with one of the Occupational Therapists on our team and expressed my feelings and aspirations. Luckily they were supportive and actually she ended up being my supervisor! She has taught me a lot and her passion for Occupational Therapy is inspiring.

As time went by, I got to understand more about the role and put my learnings into practice, and it was at this point that I was 100% sure this was the right role for me.

What would you say to others aspiring to work in mental health?

Simple, do it! It's hard work but can be one of, if not the most rewarding job. Not many people can say they go to work and enjoy their job but working in this area I can happily say I do.

 

Emily, Staff Nurse

What does working as a Nurse in the Humber Centre mean to you? 

Working within this setting and especially within a specialist area of Personality Disorder, being a nurse means making a difference to someone’s life. This to me is not always about leaps and bounds, but it’s the small progress that you can offer within someone’s life.

To me, mental health nursing is about autonomously and collaboratively providing safety, stability and consistency. Working with a trauma informed care model allows me to appreciate the small difference we can make by the minutest of actions.

In a nutshell, being a nurse to me means caring for every aspect of an individual, providing them with the highest standards of care during the times they need it most.

What is your favourite thing about being a MH Nurse? 

My favourite thing about being within the nursing profession is the sense of community and teamwork. This does not just spread within the team I work in, but within the whole hospital setting. Without a team approach, and the support of other individuals, professionals and even those I care for, my job would not only be harder but would not be as enjoyable. In short, nursing is about not only about supporting our patients, but supporting each other to ensure our jobs can be done to the best of our abilities.  

How has your job changed during the pandemic? 

Throughout the pandemic we have faced strains that we never knew were possible. Patients have understandably become more restricted through these times and additional support has been essential to their wellbeing. Not only has the pandemic increased our workload, but I have also found myself offering more supervision to my peers and staff team. 

You cannot fully acknowledge the impact this pandemic has had until working on the frontline. However, the support we have received from others has helped us through this time and I am proud to have continued to offer high quality patient care as a result.

What inspired you to become a MH Nurse?  

To become any nurse I feel it is essential to have that drive and desire to make changes for the better to someone’s life.

What inspired me to become a nurse was when I was young at primary school, I was friends with a young boy who was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. It was evident that he was lonely and didn’t have a friendship group, so I wanted to make him happy. Throughout school we became best friends and the change in his personality was amazing, this really inspired me to help people. Throughout my training and professional practice, I have taken great amounts of inspiration from my amazing mentors and colleagues to shape and mould my approach to the nursing care I provide.  

What would you say to others aspiring to work in mental health?  

Go with your goal. Be determined, show courage and look for the little wins. It will be hard, but that is why it takes someone special to do this job. Nursing, providing care and changing people’s life is the biggest privilege you will ever have. 

 

Shannon, Ward Clerk

What is your favourite thing about working at the Humber Centre?

Every day is different and this makes the job enjoyable, but my favourite thing about working here is the privilege of being able to assist the staff members in fulfilling patient administration needs.

What does being a Ward Clerk mean to you?

It means that I have a huge responsibility to ensure that all things ‘admin’ run smoothly. Not just for staff members but also for the patients. I’m easily recognised throughout the unit as the one with the things you need, phrases I hear a lot are ‘can you print this in colour please’ or ‘if you need any stationery, ask Shannon’. 

How has your job changed during the pandemic?

My job role has changed immensely. In the beginning, myself and my colleagues hit the ground running to ensure the ward could continue running as smoothly as possible. Together, we quickly managed to put together a PPE stock cupboard for emergencies, re-arrange the way scrubs were distributed and create a system around the ordering and distribution of new uniform. The list could go on really…  

What inspired you to become a Ward Clerk?

I’ve worked within an admin and customer service role for years and I wanted to have a change of scenery, learn more skills and work within a more challenging environment. Working within a Forensic Psychiatry Unit has certainly achieved that.   

What would you say to others aspiring to work in mental health?

Just go for it - you’ll surprise yourself!

 

Jack, Associate Social Work Practitioner

What is your favourite thing about working at the Humber Centre?

The people. I love working alongside colleagues who share the same passion for helping others. The most rewarding part of my job though is seeing the patients we support progress through their recovery journey. It makes it all worth it.

What does being an Associate Practitioner in Social Work mean to you?

I think that the role of Social Work within the multi-disciplinary team is crucial in making sure that our patients have the best possible opportunity to progress through their recovery journey.

We offer a different professional perspective that compliments the rest of the disciplines; my position gives me the opportunity to play a key role in that journey for lots of different people. At present, I support the qualified Social Workers in my role to deliver our service and my ambition is to also gain my Social Work qualification in the future.

What is your favourite thing about being a part of the team?

My colleagues – they are inspiring and intelligent people, it’s a pleasure to work alongside them and we all work well together.

How has your job changed during the pandemic?

In terms of the support we offer our patients, I think things have been business as usual and everyone has done a fantastic job in difficult and unfamiliar circumstances. The biggest change and challenge for me personally, has been adapting to meeting with people digitally via MS Teams more often than in person. We’ve got used to it over time, but in the beginning it was a learning curve.

What inspired you to get involved in Social Work?

For as long as I can remember, I have always known that I want to work with people in some capacity and help them as best I can. When I was younger I volunteered for the mental health charity, Mind, and it was this experience that led me to pursue a career in Social Work.

What would you say to others aspiring to get involved in mental health in the future?

There are lots of organisations out there who need the support of volunteers to continue to thrive and I think that it’s a great way to get experience that will also give you a good grounding. It will also give you the opportunity to meet many experienced people who have worked in this field for a long time. They have a wealth of knowledge that they can share with you.