Sunny Bank Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services Staffing

Director

Cliff Freeman

Cliff worked at Prestwich Hospital within the psychiatric field for 18 years. He trained there and became a Registered Mental Nurse (R.M.N).  He became a Charge Nurse responsible for a 25-bed unit. This responsibility included students who were on the ward for training purposes.

From 1987 to 1988 as a Charge Nurse, Cliff successfully completed the full time English National Board Clinical Course 655 on "Behavioural Psychotherapy for Long Stay Patients in Residential Settings". With this qualification he then became a mentor for nurses training to become Behavioural Psychotherapists. His expertise was utilised directly within 2 units and he acted as advisor within the hospital.

During his training, Cliff has worked within all aspects of psychiatric care (from admissions to the elderly). However, the majority of his experience has been in the rehabilitation of medium and long stay patients. This concerned improving independence, whether in a hospital setting, or out in the community, where he was involved in the rehabilitation of patients moving into supervised living accommodation.

Director

Mary Freeman

Mary worked at Prestwich Hospital within the psychiatric field for 9 years from 1978 – 1987.  She became Head Occupational Therapist in the Adult Forensic Service in which she was responsible for an establishment of 12 staff, plus students in training.

At the same time she was also Deputy Head O.T for the Rehabilitation Service, and managed both Services on a full time basis for a year.  As a Head O.T she was often responsible for the entire O.T staff at Prestwich Hospital.  In these capacities, Mary was a member of each Service’s management team, and was Chair Person of the Forensic Management Team.

At Prestwich, Mary gained national recognition for her development of occupational therapy in the rehabilitation of patients within the Forensic Services, having spoken at several national conferences (e.g. Royal College of Psychiatrists) and had articles and research papers published (e.g. Nursing Times, and British Journal of Occupational Therapists).  She has also advised the British Association of Occupational Therapists, the Department of Health, the Special Hospital Service and other hospitals.

She served on various committees, etc. within the Hospital, and was one of the three national O.T representatives concerning the Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice. Mary established and evaluated a Leisure Information Service for patients, covering Bury, and the hospital’s catchment area. She has organised and run training courses for staff and students.

During recent years Mary has represented private mental health providers within the Bury area in a variety of settings. Such as the Mental Health sub group for the voluntary and independent sector for the Bury Mental Health Strategic Partnership.

Service Manager

Laraine Colbran

Laraine comes to us with a nursing background, having qualified as a State Registered Nurse in 1978. She has worked in a variety of local hospitals, namely the Northern, North Manchester General, and Bury General, and in 1993 moved into the private sector.

Since then Laraine has been Matron at The Shielings Nursing Home and Ashbourne House, Unit Manager (Nights) Rose Court, and most recently, Deputy Service Manager for United Response in Bury.

Laraine has achieved a Certificate (NVQ level 4) and Diploma (NVQ level 5) in Management, become an NVQ Assessor, and undertaken various ENB nursing qualifications, including teaching and assessing.  She has gained her BA in Nursing Studies and her Registered Manager’s Award. She has undergone training to be the lead person for the six steps programme at Sunny Bank.

Assistant Manager

Shelagh Stewart

Shelagh qualified as an RMN in 1986 and since that time has worked in several local hospitals, namely: Fairfield General Hospital, The Royal Oldham Hospital, and Birch Hill Hospital.

Shelagh's experience has been predominantly in the areas of acute psychiatry and rehabilitation. From 1986 until 1995 Shelagh worked for Sunny Bank PRS Ltd, she re-joined the team in August 2015.

Administration and Care/Support Co-Ordinator

Claire Hand is often the first person at Sunny Bank that people come into contact with via the telephone.

As the job title implies, she primarily deals with all aspects concerning the administration of the Service, and co-ordination of care with external agencies/facilities, in conjunction with the Directors and Service Manager.

Claire is supported in her role by Joan Healey who has worked in both the NHS and Social Services in an administration capacity, Joan also deals with our purchasing.

Senior Care/Support Assistants & Support Staff

• In comparison to many social care services we have a very low staff turnover.
• All staff have undergone a comprehensive induction programme.
• Senior, and care/support assistants collectively have a total of 200 years experience working within the social care field.  Staff  have a diversity of life experiences, ages and employment backgrounds both within and outside of the mental health Services.
  Consequently, each member of staff has developed their own particular interests in care/support, and have a wide range of skills and experience that can be directly related to client care/support.    
  These skills and interests, and the ability of staff to engage and motivate clients, together with their experience in promoting and encouraging independence, enhances the clients’ quality of life. All care/support staff are motivated towards developing their skills, and consequently attend and participate in a wide variety of training opportunities.
• We also employ a Senior Care/Support Assistant who used to work full time for us, but is now available on a sessional basis.
• Sunny Bank PRS employs house-keepers who have key roles in engaging clients within Sunny Bank PRS, eg domestic activities. They work with and encourage clients to maintain their rooms and shared areas within the house, and to actively participate with cooking/food preparation in terms of clients using and (re)learning practical independent living such as cooking, healthy eating, etc.
• In addition Sunny Bank PRS works with Bury Employment Support and Training (BEST) in employing three sessional support staff in the kitchen and office who have therapeutic employment.
• Students (e.g. occupational therapy, social work, social care courses) may also be on placement but only if it does not disrupt the clients’ lifestyles.