Volunteering: my experience as a Governor

1-12 June is Volunteers’ Week. We have lots of different types of volunteers in our Trust – one which you might not think about is the role of Governor. We asked Natalie Jennings, who is new to the role of staff Governor, about her experience so far.

I put myself forward for the Governor role (nursing) within the Trust, as I am a passionate nurse who is keen to understand how as a workforce decisions are made which involve such a large group of people.

I am an inquisitive person and enthusiastic about being part of the future of nursing, and how we can shape and support our workforce through challenging times. As I am dual qualified with a broad range of nursing experience, I feel I can represent the views of others.

Improving oral health in Zimbabwe

Monica Zendera, a Dental Therapist within the Trust’s Salaried Dental Service, recently travelled to Zimbabwe with Dentaid to provide treatment for local residents. 

The trip had an extra special meaning for Monica though, as she explains here.

I was born and raised in Zimbabwe before I moved to the UK in 2003, when I was 15. I first heard about Dentaid at a dentistry conference. The charity had only visited Zimbabwe once before. As soon as I heard about their second visit, I knew I had to get involved. It was my time to give back and help the people of Zimbabwe. 

I started fundraising and, with the help of friends, family, colleagues and well-wishers, I raised over £2,000 to fund my trip.

A poem for World No Tobacco Day

31 May is World No Tobacco Day. To celebrate, we're sharing a poem from a service user who has given up smoking. The poem below was written by Shelly, a patient at The Wells Road Centre.

Smoking

I gave up smoking

As I started choking 

My cravings are kicking in

But I’m going to win

No more fags for me

I will live, just wait and see

People around me are having a drag

On their life threatening fag, 

I wish people would learn, 

That smoking causes their arteries to burn 

Think about those you love, 

Think how they will feel when you’re sent above, 

Smoking causes death too quick

So use this time to quit. 

Our Trust is going Smokefree from October 2016. This means that smoking will not be allowed in our buildings or grounds. To find out more, visit www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/smokefree.

Seeds of hope at Highbury

Preparations to open an allotment garden at Highbury are well underway, so we caught up with Suzanne Foulk from The Live Project to find out more.

There’s been a lot happening on the Come Grow With Me @ Highbury allotment garden recently, in preparation for our official opening on the 16 June at our Summer Fayre.

47 years working at Rampton Hospital

Jan Wilkinson worked at Rampton Hospital for 47 years before retiring last week. Before she left, we asked Jan to reflect on her time there and the changes she has seen over the years.

Of course, Rampton Hospital was different in 1969 when I started working here. There were less than 30 staff on the administration side of the workforce, and if I remember correctly the hospital employed a total of approximately 600 staff (there are now 1500). At that time the hospital housed 1200 or so patients, whereas today there are around 350.

What's it like to be a mental health nurse?

12 May is International Nurses' Day. We’re all familiar with the role of physical health nurses, but you might not know as much about psychiatric nurses. We spoke to Steven Daykin, who is a Ward Manager at Highbury Hospital, about what a psychiatric nurse does and what being a nurse means to him.

I got into psychiatric nursing because I had been around mental illness from a young age. My Grandma had Alzheimer’s, and from around the age of 10 I spent many a day in a psychiatric hospital in Derby. I was around very ill people, who didn’t know who they were and who were saying quite strange things. They were often emotional or sad, and this became a normal everyday environment for me.

The A Word: fact or fiction?

The A Word is a BBC One drama about a family struggling to come to terms with 5 year old Joe being diagnosed with autism. We asked Autism Spectrum Disorder Nurse Consultant Jacqueline Dziewanowska, who works with adults with autism, what she thought to the programme.

Feeling on the outside

I often hear stories of childhood experiences very similar to those shown in the programme. The parent’s experience of inviting the whole class to a birthday party and their child never being invited to other children’s parties. The experience of other adults judging when the child has a meltdown, people staring in supermarkets and the parent feeling a failure because their child is different.

What was portrayed sensitively was when Joe’s mum stays outside and watches Joe in the playground. The pain she feels as Joe stands by himself against the wall in the playground is a scene that both parents and the person with autism can often remember well.