I qualified as a paediatric nurse in 1996 and during my training I had a placement in mental health, which really interested me. I retrained as a mental health nurse and have worked as a matron for the inpatient wards at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust (CPFT). At CUH, I now support the provision of integrated mental and physical health care for patients staying in hospital, which is the vision of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital (opens in a new tab).
The number of children and young people coming to hospital with complex mental health issues is increasing.
Rob
At the daily Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) crisis team meetings, a patient each day or more is admitted across the hospitals in Cambridgeshire, each of whom require assessment. In 2022, there were twice as many patients making frequent visits to hospital (four times or more) than the previous year. These patients often have layers of need. The Integrated Care Board recognises this increase and is funding innovations that improve the care of children with mental health problems in acute settings. A vital aspect of our role is liaison and engagement with community health teams, social care, safeguarding at both CUH and CPFT, the police and the ambulance service to share a plan for a patient’s care. Some families need significant social care input and can be at their wits’ end.
Admitting a patient into hospital for mental health care can be challenging. Patients can be ambivalent about their treatment and therefore can either passively receive treatment or reject it. This is hard for staff, particularly nursing staff, whose role is help and care for them. I am currently completing a course to become a professional nurse advocate, to provide restorative clinical supervision for colleagues. This will provide a space for them to reflect on their practice as a group or individually. It aims to reduce burnout and encourage professional development. It will give them time to come up with new ideas for delivering care, which are often the best ones, the ones that come from the frontline. I have been fortunate to have clinical supervision in mental health settings and I am really passionate about this being offered at CUH, to empower colleagues and make them feel valued.