Welcome to episode 77 [originally broadcast on Wednesday 19 January 2022] of #mhTV. This week Nicky Lambert and David Munday spoke with guests Ed Freshwater & Laura Daukintis about the upcoming 2022 #MHNursesDay.
LD - Qualifying as a Mental Health Nurse in January 2011, I began my career in Residential Rehabilitation for adults with enduring mental ill health. Here, I developed my core nursing skills and discovered an interest in substance misuse and forensic nursing. I then moved to HMP Nottingham to pursue my interests, where I worked as a Substance Misuse Nurse in the Prison setting, nursing offenders who were dependent on opiates and alcohol. I further developed my interest by undertaking BSc in Working with Addictive Behaviours and eventually moved into community Substance Misuse Services within the Criminal Justice Service where I worked for 6 years.
I went back to university and gained my Non-Medical Prescribing qualification in 2016 which allowed me to be better serve my patient population by giving them quicker and more efficient access to medications. I then transferred my skills to psychiatric outpatients in Derby where I worked as an Advanced Practitioner working alongside the medical team before moving back to Nottingham where I am now undertaking my MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice at Sheffield Hallam University. I pride myself in offering a holistic package of care for my patients, delivering person-centred nursing approach combined with all interventions tailored to the individual.
All throughout my career, I have maintained an interest in union representation, ensuring a fair working environment for all my nursing colleagues, as I hold the firm belief that well supported staff deliver better and safer patient care. I am also an accredited Steward and Learning Representative for the RCN. I have a special interest in supervision and I am active in promoting this in the workplace. I have been a member of the Mental Health Committee since 2019 and look forward to contributing to the task force alongside my colleagues.
Outside of work I run a support and social group for local parents who were effected during the pandemic to ensure they have access to services and a knowledge of activities available for them to engage in. I am pleased to be able to support the local community’s collective mental health.
EF - Ed started working in mental health services in 2009, first as an HCA then as a Band 5 RNMH in the community. He's been in forensics, CAMHS, perinatal, crisis and acute settings and is passionate about the therapeutic relationship, supervision, advocating for patients and colleagues, and not getting involved in doing the rota. He is a former chair of the RCN's Mental Health Forum, occasional political campaigner, fundraiser and home-schooler. #MHNursesDay is a hashtag usually run from his phone, which is never out of arm's reach.
Some links to follow:
There's more info about #MHNursesDay via https://mhnursesday.wordpress.com.
Some Twitter links to follow are:
NL - https://twitter.com/niadla
DM - https://twitter.com/davidamunday
LD - https://twitter.com/LauraEcob88
EF - https://twitter.com/edfreshwater
Credits:
Presenter: Nicky Lambert & David Munday
Guest: Laura Daukintis & Ed Freshwater
Theme music: Tony Gillam
Production & Editing: David Munday
