We caught up with Laura Massey Williams- one of our Clinical Managers who works at Delfryn Lodge
Laura has worked at Cygnet for over 12 years. First as a Support Worker, then as a Mental Health and Senior Mental Health Nurse and since February 2023, as a Clinical Manager.
Laura started her career in care as a Support Worker for the NHS and joined Cygnet in 2011.
What attracted you to Cygnet
I have 2 young children and one with severe health needs so I needed to work close to home.
I also knew some people that worked at Cygnet already.
I joined working on their female unit ward and was so lucky to join a long-standing team at that time – most of whom had been there since the site opened in 2005.
I was so lucky to get their knowledge, a brilliant induction and an understanding of their humanist approach to caring for people with mental health needs.
In your 12 years, have Cynet been a supportive employer?
From the start, if I had any concerns or felt overwhelmed, I’ve always been very supported. I’ve a real interest in pharmacy and medication in this setting and trying to understand how things work and why.
I’ve always had a lot of questions and wanted to keep learning and be privy to many physical observations and this has always been encouraged.
In 2015 I went back to education - to study at University as a mature student. In 2018 I got my MH nursing degree qualification.
I managed to keep working at Delfryn Lodge throughout Uni -working night shifts. When I qualified, I joined the Male Unit at Delfryn.
As a female and a newly qualified Mental Health Nurse – how did you find working on the Male Unit?
I got more out of it than I’d expected. I think I had the wrong perception of how it would be working with males who are severely unwell.
Obviously there can be some uncomfortable situations and you can sometime be exposed to aggressive behaviors but I’ve been surprised how much more you can get out of working with men, as they can open up more, if given the time and encouragement.
I had a patient who had been with us for over 4 years and we’ve been able to have open and honest chats about when / why he’s felt he could relapse into drugs. Recently, he contacted me as he was being discharged back into the community.
After being under supervision for over a decade by various medical organizations, I asked him what had made a difference in finally getting him ready to go back into the community and to learn new skills to allow him to start again.
He told me that we’ve treated him and spoken to him like a human.
I think sometimes there can be so much clinical speak within mental health and the medical professions supporting service users, we forget how to interact and communicate with them ‘normally’.
At Delfryn Lodge – we have a real humanistic approach and as a Clinical Manager now, I know how to support my Nursing team to be able to build better rapport and communication with our patients and to support the Team in turn, while they support patients.
How has it been transitioning from Senior Nurse to Clinical Manager – is your day very different?
I try to balance staying up to date with nursing skills and being visible on the wards a couple of times a day, with the new managerial aspects of my role which include:
Safeguarding, audits, working with business units, patient referrals, complaints, staffing and alarms.
It’s full-time and you have to make sure you finish on time (as a working Mum) and make lists for everything - you have to know how to prioritize and move tasks to the next day if more urgent work takes priority. You can’t always get everything done and you do sometimes need to work out of hours if any incidents come up.
As someone who has worked in a Nursing role – I want to make sure my staff as well as our patients are taken care of and supported.
If I have to come in on annual leave then I do.
My support comes from the Hospital Ward Manager and the other Clinical Managers at the two other Delfryn sites – female and step-down.
What has been one of your proudest moments working for Cygnet?
I had the pleasure of working with the most amazing, dynamic and supportive Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Hina Tahseen. She was always encouraging nurses to expand their knowledge and often shared hers.
In 2021 I created a Quality Improvement Program - an in-house nurses audit, to help reduce medical errors with patients medication.
I created a poster using quantitative and qualitative data which Nurses could do weekly, to encourage and foster best practice and procedures, which if followed resulted in a reduction of errors. RS Psych published my work at their Rehabilitation Conference in November 2021.
If you are a Mental Health Nurse or like Laura, have a desire to work helping within the mental health space, then apply today at join.cygnetgroup.com/nursing-jobs
