Charlene Hales has worked for Camden and Islington NHS foundation trust, providing mental health services to the local community, for five years. She is a manager for the Islington crisis team, which works to support people at home as an alternative to hospital admission.
It’s one of the trust’s largest teams, with 27 staff, and it often deals with high-risk situations. As a result, Hales has some hefty responsibilities: providing clinical leadership, maintaining the roster, ensuring staff training is up to date, and having an overview of the caseload.
Alongside the challenges, however, there are plenty of rewards and opportunities for learning. The trust has three strategic priorities that inform its decision-making: early and effective intervention, helping people to live well, and research and innovation. The latter includes collaboration with University College London on research projects relating, for example, to Alzheimer’s treatment.
A CQC report published earlier this year, which gave the trust an overall rating of “good”, praised the organisation’s efforts in this area, noting that it “promoted the use of research to improve the care and treatment of patients”. It also singled out the practice of giving patient carers access to psychological therapies that “improved their ability to cope with the challenges of supporting a relative with dementia”. In addition, the report drew attention to projects such as placing mental health staff in GP premises to “deliver joined-up care within a primary care setting”.
To help keep the trust’s work patient-focused, service users are consulted about changes that will have an impact on them. In some cases, they are invited to steering group meetings to have their say. Muazzam Khokher, resourcing and HR operations manager, says: “We make sure we value their opinion and keep them at the heart of our decisions.”
These efforts are underpinned by four cultural pillars: valuing each other, being empowered, keeping things simple, and being connected. These pillars enable staff at the trust to focus on providing the best care for service users, rather than becoming bogged down in paperwork or being restricted by artificial boundaries.
What’s more, Camden and Islington offers employees extensive training and opportunities for promotion. Mary Ibude joined the trust two years ago as a charge nurse and found herself promoted quickly to modern matron, moving from band six to band eight on the pay scale. Her role involves supporting teams with clinical expertise, handling complaints promptly, and ensuring allocation of beds quickly for patients who need admission to hospital for mental health treatment with Camden and Islington. She supports her teams to develop high care standards; this includes collaborative care plans, helping them build strategies to cope with challenges, meeting with families and listening to their views, as well as directing them to the right agencies or support networks in the community.
For the first time in her career, Ibude says, she feels that the qualities she brings to her work are appreciated. “The organisation recognised my knowledge, skills and expertise. I was supported by senior management offering me coaching sessions to develop myself into this role. I have supervision regularly and when I applied for training, both internally and externally, the trust supported me in going for it, as well as attending workshops and conferences.”
Hales agrees that the development opportunities for capable staff are excellent. A psychology graduate, she took an accelerated master’s course in nursing and jumped straight in as a band five nurse, moving to band six in less than a year. She worked as a clinical specialist for three years before being promoted into management. One of the things she enjoys most is that no two days are the same. “There’s a constant element of learning and that definitely keeps people in the job.”
Lorraine Mazwi joined the trust as a clinical nurse specialist and is now a clinical team manager, with responsibilities that include dealing with complaints, managing budgets and handling recruitment. “The environment is very calm,” says Mazwi. “Everyone is very supportive, hard-working, driven and focused on providing the best care to our service users. It makes it easy when you’re working around like-minded people and the support as well from senior management is there.” She has seen this first-hand during difficult times and says the trust is accommodating in making necessary workplace adjustments and providing compassionate leave or referrals to occupational health. Other types of help are available for professionals dealing with high-risk situations, such as in the Islington crisis team, where psychologists provide support sessions to staff.
It’s important to the trust that all employees, from whatever background, feel that their role is valued. There are plans to improve the representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) staff at the highest levels – from 3% at bands eight and nine to 15%. Camden and Islington takes part in the government’s Disability Confident scheme to recruit and retain disabled employees, and a disability staff network is working with the trust to improve inclusion policies and make necessary workplace adjustments, alongside other networks, such as a network for change and an LGBT network.
The trust also has substance misuse services, giving you the opportunity specialise in the areas of drugs and alcohol. As well as the two main boroughs, Camden and Islington also provides substance misuse, primary care, and mental health services in the Royal Borough of Kingston.
A career in the trust has other advantages too. This part of London is particularly vibrant and multicultural, with a huge diversity of shops, restaurants, theatres and open spaces. It’s also easily accessible. Many of the trust’s staff live outside London and travel in: the area is extremely well connected for public transport, with King’s Cross, St Pancras, Euston and Paddington all nearby. A commute from Kent or Cambridge can be quicker than a journey from some other parts of the city. The trust offers staff season ticket loans on their travel costs and the opportunity for flexible working.
Mary Ibude, for one, says she loves working with Camden and Islington and wants others to join the trust and support the great work it does. “Coming here has given me the hope I was looking for. It has opened my eyes to what is available in terms of my development.”
Camden and Islington NHS foundation trust will be holding a recruitment open day on 17 November at St Pancras Hospital and another on 24 November at Highgate Mental Health Centre. When you’ve booked a place, visit the sites and learn more about the roles on offer, with the opportunity to be interviewed on the day
