NHS Foundations – Passion Making a Difference

Support our fundraising effort, on behalf of our Clinical Team Manager (North Yorkshire Horizons), Karen Jordan, for York Teaching Hospital Charity. Karen has been sadly diagnosed with cancer and is being cared for by the Hospital’s Magnolia Centre. An ambitious relay was organised across North Yorkshire to fundraise for the Centre – you can still donate through the justgiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nyhorizons-fundraiser

My mother is of the Windrush generation. Recruited to the NHS from Kingston Jamaica in the early 60’s and, after training at Colchester School of Nursing, settled in Nottinghamshire where she completed 30 years continuous service as a mental health nurse, choosing to work nights for her whole career which enabled her to bring up a family.

She loved her job.

Mental health nursing care has seen huge strides since that time but the bedrock of care – Making time for people, active listening, multidisciplinary team working, and involving families and communities in a person’s recovery – are the things that remain constant and they inspired me to see medicine and community services in particular, as a chosen career for myself.

It’s immensely satisfying that in the week of the NHS 70th birthday that my own son, who has graduated as a physiotherapist, has just got his first job with the NHS on the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust rotation. He is just starting out but seems proud, excited and committed to the NHS Future.

Young people joining our workforce with a sense of pride and enthusiasm for what the institution can deliver and a commitment to care must be a great recipe for sustainability.

Linda Harris, Chief Executive, Spectrum Community Health CIC

Recollections by a retired GP whose father was a pre NHS doctor tells us of the inability of people to pay for their care and how to save money patients would ask the same doctor to perform dental extractions at the weekend.

It really was a different world in the 1930s as the great depression and wartime economy meant very few could afford their healthcare. GPs too would usually operate out of single room in their homes serving the community in which they lived.

With transport and telephony not yet available to all, patients would often drag themselves to the GPs home or relatives would call round asking for a home visit on behalf of the patient.

It really was the dawn of a healthier future for all of us at the birth of the NHS, as long queues stretching out into the streets to register with GP surgeries would demonstrate. A full account of a local GPs reflections can be read here>>> on the NHS England website.

Dr. Richard Sloan, was a GP in Cheltenham and then in Airedale, Castleford until he retired in 2005

As a primary care nurse fairly new to the prison setting. I very soon became aware of the enormity of prisoners who were substance dependent and how this affected their lives and that of others. At that time there was no structured clinical support in place and detox consisted of a DHC reducing regime. I came across a particular prisoner whose life had been devastated by his drug addiction. This had been the cause of his imprisonment, poor health, broken relationships and much more. This man was very hard to reach, constantly found under the influence of substances, accumulated a large amount of debt in prison and as a result was often involved in altercations with staff and other prisoners.

Through perseverance and building a trusting supportive relationship with this man I was eventually able to work with him on a one to one basis in an aim to reduce his substance misuse. There was many times both he and I were tempted to give up, but somehow we both found the determination to carry on and after taking one step forward and two steps back on many occasions, eventually got to a point where this man was no longer using illicit substances or unprescribed medication and began to engage both with myself as his advocate and what was then the CARATS team for therapeutic support.

When I last saw this man he was absolutely elated as he had gained his category C status (he began as a category A prisoner) and was moving to another prison where I understand he made good progress, which I can only hope continued until and beyond his release.

Prior to his transfer he left me a card thanking me for taking the time to support and believe in him when he felt everyone else had written him off as a failure, he described me as an angel (not sure about that one)! But I would like to think my support and work gave him a chance to change his future.

Because whilst this man still had a long way to go on his road to recovery for the first time he had hope that with support he could manage his addiction and there was an opportunity for him to progress, be released from prison and make something of his life in the community.

A feeling of pride and satisfaction that I had played a small part in giving someone opportunity to make a difference to their future.

Sue Thornley, Head of Healthcare