Question: what do your jobs involve

Sheffield Psychiatry Ward Team answered on 24 Jan 2019:

Hi Jake!
Emma here 🙂

We work on Psychiatric wards working with mentally unwell adults. The patients we care for all have a serious mental illness and are too unwell to be looked after at home. They have conditions ranging from severe depression to bipolar disorder to schizophrenia. Sometimes people are admitted because we don’t know what is causing their illness so we need to observe and assess them. Some people may be too poorly to be able to agree to come into hospital, so they may be admitted under a law that enables mental health workers to admit them to keep themselves and others safe, also known as “Sectioning”. That law is called the Mental Health Act. We also look after patients that are able to agree to be admitted.

As doctors, Emma and Gemma assess people and with guidance from the Consultant might offer medication for their symptoms, or refer them to other members of the team such as psychology or occupational therapy. Doctors work closely with the nursing team on the ward, the ward managers, support workers, pharmacists, occupational therapists and many other professionals to help support patients to become well enough to go home. They also look after the patient’s physical health, such as doing blood tests or arranging scans if people develop an infection or are too unwell to eat and drink properly.

Both Edelle and Jennifer are trained mental health nurses. Jennifer, as a deputy ward manager, works both clinically looking after patients as well as as an assistant manager. Jennifer works on one of three wards in Sheffield for adults aged 18-65 with severe mental health problems.

Edelle, as a ward manager, has overall responsibility for our Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit. She manages the staff team and ensures that a high level of care is provided to patients. She also has lots of leadership responsibilities such as managing the ward budget and ensuring that staff are fully trained. She also makes sure that health and safety and infection control standards are set and that staff are working within local and national policies as well as working within the Mental health Act.