Ian Thorpe
Nurse Consultant, Forensic Intellectual Disability Pathway,
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
I currently work as a Nurse Consultant in the Forensic Intellectual Disability Pathway but began my nursing career in 1990, working as a nursing assistant on a ward caring for people with a learning disability before I entered my nurse training. I qualified as a RNMH in 1993.
I was quite used to spending time with people with a learning disability as my mother was a domestic assistant and then a nursing assistant at the local learning disability hospital when I was growing up, however it wasn’t until I embarked upon some volunteer work within the sports department at that hospital that I started to consider a career in learning disability nursing.
Throughout my nursing career I have mainly worked within inpatient forensic learning disability services, including nine years as a ward manager. Although I enjoyed my time as a ward manager I have always preferred the clinical aspects of nursing rather than the managerial side. I first applied for the role of the Nurse Consultant, Intellectual Disability Pathway in 2013; although unsuccessful I used the positive feedback to review my future nursing career. I still decided that I wanted to pursue a senior clinical role and identified that I needed to be more aware of wider Trust and particularly community services and developments. Over the year I fulfilled a number of secondment opportunities across a range of different areas. Looking back, I believe it was these opportunities that showed me the range of services that learning disability nurses can successfully work in. Throughout this period I also completed my Masters in Mental Health Law.
In 2014 I was successfully appointed as Nurse Consultant and in 2017 I gained approval to undertake the role of the Approved Clinician. I am currently Responsible Clinician for 14 patients across community and in-patient services.
I am thankful that throughout my career I have worked with some fantastic learning disability nurses and other healthcare professionals who have not only supported me but provided excellent role models in providing patient centred care of the highest standards. I have also learnt so much from the many patients who have passed through our services and are now living successfully in the community.
In my role as a nurse consultant there are 4 key areas:
Expert clinical practice within the service for at least 60% of the post;
Professional leadership and consultancy, including clinical supervision;
Education, training and development of Forensic staff, and a range of other agencies, statutory and non-statutory in management and treatment services for people with intellectual disabilities who have offended or likely to offend; and
Research into various aspects of service provision and service evaluation which involves service users and their families.
My main aim as a nurse consultant is to continue to serve the people I work with in creating lifestyles less compatible with offending, reducing the health inequalities for people with a learning disability and to use my role in influencing and developing a dedicated nursing workforce. I would strongly recommend a career as a learning disability nurse.
Rebecca Graham
Nurse Consultant: Newcastle/ Gateshead Community Team Learning Disability
I always knew I wanted to be a nurse, coming from a family of nurses it was always destined to be.
I left school and stepped into the world of being a student learning disability nurse in 1999. I qualified in 2002 and was successful in becoming a ‘D Grade Nurse’, then came along agenda for change and my first post was working In secure male and female forensic units supporting those patients who had come into contact with the criminal justice system and had been diagnosed with a learning disability.
After being asked by friends and family if I worked in crime scenes I would explain my role as someone a nurse who plays a vital role working with and improving or maintaining a person’s physical and mental health. Reducing barriers to support them to live an independent life, supporting the person to live a quality of life they deserve
As we are at the time of writing this well into celebrating over 100 years of learning disability nursing. Now twenty years on, I am honoured and privileged to be a Learning disability Nurse Consultant. I currently work in an adult community learning disability team in the North East and have been in post for around two years. The post is new and constantly under review and I am lucky enough to work in an established Multi disciplinary team. I see the care that we provide as an honour and feel fortunate to offer specialist healthcare and support to people with a learning disability and their families.