Mental Health Nurses’ Day 2024
Mental Health Nurses’ Day 2024
Wednesday 21 February 2024 marks the sixth annual Mental Health Nurses’ Day.
Founded by mental health nurses from across the UK, the purpose of the day is to celebrate the work of mental health nurses, and to promote working in mental health as a fantastic career choice for people of all ages and backgrounds.
To mark the day, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the highly experienced and skilled mental health nurses working at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) – read their thoughts below:
Mary Sleeman, Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Community Mental Health Team
"I qualified as a nurse in 2004 and have worked for GMMH since 2014.
"I enjoy coming to work every day and have a fabulous team of people around me to support me do my job.
"It’s an absolute pleasure to work with the people of Salford and every day there is something new."
Nadia Coggin, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Mental Health Liaison Team and Independent Nurse Prescriber
"I have been qualified as a nurse for 14 years and I work between two NHS Trusts - an acute hospital and GMMH. I have worked at GMMH for 10 years.
"The staff teams I am fortunate to work with are exceptional, inspirational and very caring individuals with a strong person-centred approach and a true advocate for our patients care and treatment.
"There are many things I enjoy about my role, including:
"The unique position of being able to engage clinical and operational colleagues surrounding the patient voice and patient safety narrative as well as operational performance.
"The ability to be highly clinical and visible, holding a key focus upon quality and service improvement.
"The variety of my role - this sees clinical, educational, leadership, service improvement and research considerations mapped in collaboration with staff teams to enhance care and clinical narratives.
"I am in a position to influence policy, procedure and changes as necessary which in itself is daunting, a privilege and exciting!"
Tracey Booth, Team Manager, Community Mental Health Team
"I have been a mental health nurse since 1998 and have worked at GMMH since 2001.
"I have been interested in mental health since as long as I can remember, for no particular reason, but when my nan became depressed after my father died, my interest was really piqued. After a couple of years doing bank nursing auxiliary work at Moorside in Trafford I started my nurse training.
"The privilege of being involved in people’s lives, being able to support people, families, facilitate recovery and help others to achieve their goals is a special thing.
"The ability to share knowledge and experiences with others, to learn from others, to create and be part of caring, supportive teams of professionals and to make a difference and learn every day is worth, overall, the stressors and worries that often come with the job in the NHS.
"The people I meet in this role - professionals, service users, carers, and families - show tenacity, strength and resilience and prove the power of working together.
"I won’t lie and say it’s not without its difficulties, but I’m still here 25 years later!"
If you are interested in becoming a mental health nurse, please visit our ‘vacancies’ webpage to find out about some of the exciting opportunities we have available at GMMH.
Find out more about Mental Health Nurses’ Day here: Welcome | Mental Health Nurses (mhnursesday.com).
Join in the conversation!
X (formally Twitter): @GMMH_NHS
Facebook: @GMMentalHealth
Instagram: @gmmh_nhs
Or search the hashtag #MHNursesDay
