One of our nurses is taking on a different role as part of the Occupational Health Team that could play a big part in looking after the health of our colleagues.
Stephanie Barry has been a qualified nurse for 21 years, joining DHU as a District Nurse nine years ago. She also has four years’ experience as a Practice Nurse and has been part of the palliative car service, providing palliative care in people’s homes, since it was introduced around three years ago.
It’s this varied breadth of nursing experience that has given Stephanie the skills needed to become part of DHU’s fledgling Occupational Health Service.
Stephanie said: “I’ve worked in the community for many years and have an in depth knowledge of DHU so I know the organisation, I know the systems, I know the people and what they do. From my background I have the general nursing skills but also, as a Practice Nurse, I have learnt more holistic methods of teaching people how to manage long term or chronic conditions and to diagnose and help people before a condition becomes more serious.
“As part of the Occupational Health Team the emphasis will be as much on mental health as physical health, sometimes they go hand in hand with stress and anxiety resulting in physical conditions. It’s been a stressful time and having a service like this one, to be able to talk to someone who knows what you have been through can be a great help and that’s what we’re hoping to achieve.
“The referral process comes through a line manager or HR and we’re able to assess the reasons for referral and signpost accordingly. For example, we may be able to summarise a condition in a letter that they can take to their GP, perhaps help or give advice for healthier lifestyle choices as part of weight management or mental health or make a GP referral for a check-up.
“For me, it’s about making that first step more accessible and as a nurse it’s a natural thing to want to help people. It might not be patients but looking after the people who look after people is essential work and we don’t always do that. I work in palliative care which is very demanding, emotional work and it can be tough. To know that there’s someone within a team that I can speak to and who cares, understands how I might be feeling; it’s important to know so I hope people realise that we’re here to help them in a very practical way.”
The Occupational Health Team will be available to take referrals via HR or your line manager and will also hold a number of clinics for you to drop in at a number of different locations. Please keep an eye on the staff briefings via email or the Closed Staff Facebook Group where the details will be posted.
Thanks to Stephanie for telling us about her experience within DHU and keep your eyes peeled for DHU’s next #WhatDoYouDo.
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