I have many years experience working as a Paediatric Nurse /Health Visitor in Public Health and have worked as a Public Health Team Leader for the last 9 years with the Great Western Hospitals Foundation Trust for 5 years in the field of Community Care and the last 4 years with Virgincare(Wiltshire), a fantastic company to work for and proud to be part of it. I am specifically interested in working in the field of emotional well-being in staff.

I initiated a programme of restorative clinical supervision to staff in Wiltshire a few years ago now after 20 staff being trained by South Warwickshire Foundation Trust in Wiltshire and after 8 months participating in the restorative supervision programme we are now all trained supervisors which I am the Clinical Lead for in Wiltshire and now keen to start this for staff in BaNES which is work in progress.

This type of supervision enables staff to stop, reflect and talk through any issues they have regarding their overwhelming child protection caseloads, personal problems affecting their work or just want ‘time out’ or a ‘space’ to talk through what is making them feel stressed,. The supervisor listens, restores their capacity to ‘think ‘ using the Solihull Approach framework, and Motivational Interviewing techniques , asking open ended questions again to initiate the discussions . This supervision supports staff through difficult circumstances and helps them on their way. It helps them manage their work, reduces sickness and increases their self esteem. We are not trained mental health experts just supervisors who care about our colleagues and gave skills to provide this.

I am really keen to look at job opportunities where workplaces would like this emotional work packages for their staff in the NHS or private companies, to make a difference to staff’s morale and well-being.