My role at Northern Healthcare is Team Leader. I got the role around 7 months ago after a position became available and a few of my colleagues suggested I go for it.
I’ve always wanted to work in mental health but never was sure of what sort of role. When I saw the position for Northern Healthcare advertised and saw the work the company does with people, I knew that this was the role I was looking for.
I enjoy making and seeing differences in people’s lives, this can sometimes be the smallest thing like making somebody smile when they’re having a bad day or seeing somebody come full circle from when they moved in with us to then moving out independently
I think sometimes we are so focused on helping and supporting our residents with their mental health that we can forget that we need to take care of ourselves. I feel like it can sometimes feel difficult to do this for yourself after putting your all into doing it for others. In saying that, Northern Healthcare is always promoting different ways to look after our own mental health and has always been vocal about how they are not only there to support the residents but staff too.
I feel as a team, small gestures can make a big difference! Whether that is sitting and having a brew and a chat at the beginning of the shift or recognising somebody for work they have done. I feel motivating one other is a great way of supporting each other and this can be done through praising each other, even though we don’t do our job to be praised I feel telling someone they’ve done good or recognising something they have done well goes a long way. I think praise is like the sun – it helps things grow and in the same way, when we are praising each other, we are supporting one another to grow and become more confident in what we do.
The company value for Northern Healthcare is Proud and even though this does stand for 5 different values, the company itself is constantly showing how proud they are of residents and staff members. Whether this is through their social media pages, newsletters, emails, face-to-face visits or in passing. There is always a reflection of their PRIDE.
One of many for me is when we did the March for Men which was a walk to raise money for men with prostate cancer. We had residents and families donate in the upcoming weeks to the march and some donations on the day, it was lovely to see how eager the residents were to be doing the event. Which we have seen in numerous charity events we have participated in. On the day of the March, the residents pushed through to complete the walk and along with the staff had a really good day.
I would say from my personal experience that this is a great company to join after not working in mental health previously as you are given all the key training and support to become a confident support worker.
I really enjoyed the NHC awards ceremony, and it was miles above my expectations of how the day was going to be. I enjoyed being able to meet staff members in the Northern Healthcare company that I wouldn’t normally mix with due to our different roles. It was lovely to see everyone coming together and celebrating one another.
I enjoyed a glass of wine and takeaway when I got home. I also put on a facemask out of my NHC awards goody bag. And finally, I received some lovely flowers from my mum.
We’re always looking for great talent to join our team here at Northern Healthcare.
Find out more about working for Northern Healthcare, and view our current vacancies here.
