‘A remarkable privilege’: Why a career in mental health is something special
REWARDING: Tracy Flanagan, Deputy Director of Nursing at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
A career in mental health work could be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do.
That’s the message from Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust ahead of national Mental Health Nurses Day tomorrow.
The day is used to highlight the incredible work done by NHS mental health nurses across the country and the importance of the profession.
Organised by the Royal College of Nursing’s Mental Health Forum, it is also now being used as a platform to attract talent to the speciality, with NHS Digital data from May 2019 showing the mental health nursing workforce had decreased by 10.6 per cent since 2009.
Tracy Flanagan, Deputy Director of Nursing at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, which provides a range of community, inpatient and GP services in Hull and the East Riding, said: “Fundamentally, becoming a mental health nurse felt like coming home, like I had finally found my place in the world.
“Making a human connection with people during their most extreme times of distress or fear has been very humbling.
“I love working with people and being a mental health nurse has provided a wide variety of opportunities to work with people from all backgrounds and in many different contexts.
“Seeing people recover, whatever that means for them, is a remarkable privilege.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Members of the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust team
A mental health nurse’s role is based on building effective relationships with service users and their families or carers. Many nurses are based in hospitals or specialist units and there are a variety of positions in the community, as well as residential settings.
Careers tend to be multi-disciplinary, working collaboratively with GPs, psychologists, therapists and healthcare assistants.
There is also room for development with careers in mental health, including into areas such as research and leadership.
The Humber trust provides many different health and social care services, including acute and forensic inpatient mental health services, community mental health services, primary care, child and adolescent mental health services, community services, substance misuse and learning disability services.
It is marking Mental Health Nurses Day by shining a light on a number of its nurses on its Twitter and Facebook platforms, @HumberNHSFT.
To find out more about working in mental health in Hull and the East Riding, and to view current vacancies, visit the Humbelievable website here.