I qualified as a registered nurse in 1991 in South Africa majoring in General Nursing, Primary Health Care, Psychiatric Nursing and Midwifery. After qualifying I worked in intensive care completing a diploma in Intensive Nursing Science working with patients with various conditions including Traumatic Brain Injury. I thereafter transferred to the Trauma unit gaining further experience in acute brain injury.
In 1996 I moved to England and worked in various ICU’s across London, including three years at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in surgical ICU.
I left to work as community nurse for the Intermediate Care Team moving onto the Disability Assessment and Rehabilitation Team (DART) as a Liaison nurse. This was a specialist community-based team for clients with neurological conditions including Acquired Brain Injury. Through accumulative experience I developed skills in communication, coordinating of services and goal planning and developed a particular interest in working with brain-injured individuals over the long term.
Current Work
Having worked at Head First since April 2007 I have gained experience of working with a wide range of clients, many of whom have been young brain-injured adults. I have experience of coordinating rehabilitation teams; supporting the transition into independent living; recruiting and managing large support worker teams; working with inpatient rehabilitation facilities; supporting clients with the purchase of properties; to go on holidays with support; working closely with families, deputies, solicitors and health care professionals; and providing detailed assessments and other clinical documentation, such as risk assessments, support worker guidance, rehabilitation plans, progress reports, as required.
Additional Responsibilities
I am part of the senior team at Head First providing clinical supervision to Case Managers.
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