Hello my name is Amanda. I am Involvement and Experience Manager and this is my first job in the NHS. I am finding my new role to be very rewarding and diverse: ensuring that the voices of patients, service users, and carers are heard to bring about changes and improvements in services. Also, to ensure that patient, service user and carer involvement and experience is a key part of the culture of the Trust, my role is to work with colleagues to review plans and activities to develop and share good practice.
I am gaining great job satisfaction from seeing how patient feedback really does bring about changes and have learned that the smallest things really matter. My new mantra is, “Do sweat the small stuff”, because enabling small changes to happen can have such a positive impact on the life of an individual. So please have a look at Your Feedback Matters to see what we are doing or indeed leave your own story at Patient Opinion.
I have been interested in health-related issues for as long as I can remember and prior to my current role worked in Connexions and then the Local Authority, directly supporting young people and then managing diverse projects and teams with a focus on developing integrated practices, in partnership with a range of other professionals to support and help vulnerable families with a range of issues.
As for my life out of work, I am an arts graduate with a keen interest in art and fashion, with a particular passion for re-fashioning and re-cycling as well as street-style photography and how fashion is sourced from and displayed in non-traditional spaces. I also like raising money for various charities and travelling.
Dear Amanda, Welcome to your new job. I hope that you are very fulfilled and happy in the role. I was involved as a service users with the Involvement team from the day it started and played a large role and henceforth in the Trust. I have and continue to be ill with depression and hence have given up my work with the Trust. However if I can give any help to you then please just ask. I now spend most of my time working with three charities. The main one which I have been with since its start 3 years ago is Integritas Advocacy which gives free case management, care and help to complex and vulnerable people in Nottingham. This one is very apt for the Trust and its service users. The second is Broxtowe Homeless Youth which says it all. The third is PASAD Paranoia and Schizoid Affective Disorder self help group of which I’m Chair. Wishing you well. Michael.