Hayley Bridges

• As Reception Administrator I helped maintain a friendly and supportive reception service, operate the University's switchboard, and manage a range of administrative tasks that kept the campus running smoothly. Unfortunately due to the requirement to cut a substantial amount of staff from the University and restructure in a cost cutting exercise, all staff were encouraged to consider voluntary redundancy or face job losses. Due to this I decided to take voluntary redundancy.
• Key responsibilities of the role are outlined below:-
• First Point of Contact: Greeting and assisting visitors, students, and staff, providing a welcoming and professional experience.
• Switchboard Operation: Managing the University's switchboard, directing calls and taking messages.
• Enquiry Management: Responding to enquiry's via phone, email, and in person, providing information and resolving issues, or directing them to the appropriate department.
• Administrative Tasks: Processing smartcard and parking permit applications, logging maintenance requests, and supporting campus events.
• Security: Assisting with building security by issuing ,checking and collecting badges, and door keys as necessary and maintaining logs. Monitored access into building, contributing to overall safety measures.
• Maintaining Reception Area: Ensuring the reception area is tidy and presentable and to maintain a safe environment.
• Maintaining Records: Accurately recording information and maintaining relevant records. Handled sensitive information with discretion to maintain confidentiality.
• Collaboration: Contributed to the smooth running of the reception team through flexible approach and willingness to assist colleagues, when needed.

• Following leaving my permanent role in CNWL Single Point of Access for just over a year to travel abroad, I then rejoined the Single Point of Access Team employed as a Band 6 RMN on a temporary basis via CNWL Staff Bank. I worked exclusively within SPA whilst employed as Bank Staff.
• Worked closely with fellow nurses, doctors and clinicians for consistent communication and continued best care practices.
• Assessed and evaluated patient needs, supporting accurate diagnosis and care planning.
• Quickly responded to mental health crisis emergencies, working calmly and professionally under pressure.
• Prioritised health problems to assist patients in complex, urgent or emergency situations.
• Maintained accurate, up-to-date patient records, maximising data accuracy.
• Stayed up-to-date on the latest nursing developments to provide best patient care.
• Upheld patient trust and confidentiality by managing information with discretion, in accordance with data protection laws.

• Employed full time as a Band 6 Mental Health Nurse in CNWL NHS Trust Single Point of Access Team. The Single Point of Access is a 24 Hour, 365 days a year service providing telephone crisis support and intervention and general mental health advice, guidance and signposting to service users, their families and care givers. My role also comprised of carrying out comprehensive mental health triage assessments, risk assessments and facilitating appropriate onward referrals depending on presenting needs and level of of presenting risk.
• Liaising with Police, Paramedics and A&E staff in situations where service users required intervention from emergency services.
• Liaising with Health Based Place of Safety staff in incidences where a person has been placed under Section 136 by by the Police.
• As a Clinician within SPA I was also actively involved in a pilot project within the Single Point of Access to take over the handling of calls related to mental health for NHS 111. This was a successful project and has now been implemented within the service on a permanent basis.
• In addition my clinical role encompassed screening incoming mental health referrals to decide on the most appropriate pathway and urgency of the referral as part of the MDT.
• A key responsibility in my clinical role was regularly acting as Shift Co-ordinator which involved facilitating MDT handover meetings, allocating tasks to Clinicians and Administrators within the team and providing support and clinical leadership on a designated shift.

My role as a Dementia Practitioner in KCW Memory Clinic encompassed the following responsibilities:-

• To actively contribute to increasing the number of patients with a diagnosis of dementia in line with CCG targets.
• To work with a group of GP practices with the aim of identifying patients who have an undiagnosed cognitive impairment. To assess and establish care and intervention plans for those patients in line with Memory Service procedures and protocols for assessing cognitive impairment including formal cognitive screening, full history taking, social needs assessment, carer assessments and risk assessment.
• To carry out holistic mental health, physical and cognitive assessments within health and social care frameworks, to formulate diagnosis as part of MDT, to explain and give information re diagnosis to service users and their family/care-givers.
• Provided informal pre-diagnostic and post-diagnostic counselling and support to service users and their family/care-givers.
• Monitored and recorded prescribed anti-dementia medications following recommendations and guidelines.
• Collaborated with a a wide range of health and social care professionals to provide holistic care and achieve desired patient outcomes.
• Assessing, planning and short-term intervention for a caseload of service users and their carer's working in partnership with other care providers.
• To deliver clinically effective, efficient and high quality nursing care to patients with complex needs that is both evidence based and reflected most current best practice to improve outcomes.
• collaborated with clinical leads in dementia care planning, monitoring and implementing clinical service policies and appropriate care pathways in conjunction with the Memory Service.
• Encouraged patients to keep feelings of independence and self-esteem by ensuring that the patient is at the heart of decision making about their care and support.
• Sound working knowledge of The Mental Capacity Act, The Mental Health Act, and DOLS.
• To be actively involved in developing and delivering teaching and training programmes to improve the dementia care knowledge and skills of staff within the GP practices.

• My role as a Community Mental Health Nurse (Band 6) in K&C Home Treatment Team for Older Adults comprised of the following responsibilities:
• Managed a caseload of service users and supporting them through the acute phase of mental illness. Providing intensive, time limited mental health support to service users experiencing mental health crisis in order to mitigate the need for inpatient admission or to facilitate safe discharge from hospital.
• Carried out initial assessments, dementia screening and capacity assessments.
• Attended MHA Assessments.
• MDT working and supporting and supervising junior staff.
• Care planning and risk assessing depending on individual need.
• Communicated and collaborated with service users and their family/care-givers to plan, assess and evaluate effective care programmes.
• Liaising with general hospital and psychiatric liaison services as well as social care and primary care teams.
• Completed accurate, detailed patient records to carefully monitor progress and improvements.
• Consulted with Psychiatrists and other health and social care colleagues in designing appropriate treatment/support plans for clients.

• My role as a Community Mental Heath Nurse within the Community Mental Heath Team for Older People was a Care Co-ordinator role providing specialist mental health assessment, care and support , including administering and monitoring psychotropic medication for a designated caseload of service users living with severe and enduring mental illness in the community. This involved liaising closely with health and social care partners and third sector organisations to ensure identified needs were appropriately met. Latterly, I changed role within the team and was employed as a Dementia Nurse in the Memory Clinic carrying out comprehensive mental health , physical and cognitive assessment for the purpose of the diagnosis of dementia. In addition, my role encompassed discussing and implementing appropriate medication treatment and therapeutic support post dementia diagnosis and provided informal pre and post diagnosis counselling and emotional support supporting patient's and their families/care givers through the diagnostic process and ensuring that they were signposted to appropriate support beyond this.

• Worked as a Day Care Support Officer in a Day Centre for individuals living with severe and enduring mental illness.

• Devised individualised support plans and provided key worker support to a caseload of clients to assist them to engage in meaningful activity with aim of supporting engagement and community inclusion. This included planning and facilitating group activities.