The Northern Lifetime
Associate Team
In my early nursing days, I worked with many vulnerable patients, providing palliative or end of life care and this cemented my interest in making a difference to all those I come into contact or work with.
Some years later I began working in neuro-rehabilitation and gravitated towards Case Management. One piece of advice I was told early on in case management was ‘whatever decisions you have to make, always keep the client at the centre’. This advice has been especially helpful during difficult times.
You have to be a good listener, so the client feels heard and supported. It’s so rewarding when a client achieves a goal, and you have been part of assisting them to achieve this. For me, a client reporting that they feel listened to and understood is everything.
Case management is so varied – I can be running around a cricket field chasing a client’s dog one day and attending a serious meeting with a litigation team the next – and everything in between.
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I had always wanted to be a nurse and to look after and care for people. This led me into domicialiary support work for the elderly, which I enjoyed. I then saw a position advertised for a support worker at a specialist educational college for children with complex needs, and so began working with brain injured children and their parents.
I remember my first day so clearly and knew I had come to the right job.
I was involved in setting up a team and found this bringing a group together and supporting them so appealing. It was like second nature for me. My approach is holistic and this experience taught me a lot about running complex care packages.
I've learnt a lot from colleagues along the way, most notably Akilah Akinola, who is CEO of Outreach community and Residential Services; and Christine Morren, who was the college nurse and really inspired me, not least with her sensitive use of language to promote dignity when supporting a client.
A good case manager needs to be a good listener for sure, and to be empathetic enough to understand how hard things can be for clients, and also for their families. I feel that honesty in managing expectations is extremely important, with both clients and their families, as is supporting parents in a non-judgemental way.
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