Service Manager Stuart tell us about his impressive experience working within ABI services, his expertise and his plan to bring person-centred and outcome-focused care and rehabilitation to more people at Hunters Moor.
Stuart has a good history of compliance with the CQC and strives for outstanding outcomes in all domains. ‘With brain injuries, I have lots of experience in building upon daily living skills, activities, and enriching people’s lives with personal care packages. After beginning to integrate service users again socially, our Head of Nursing Alison Hickman and the clinical team, supply physical and cognitive rehabilitation which we combine with a whole package to include the social side. At Hunters Moor we work on the ethics that we are, not a hospital but a home. We want people to improve physically, build on the local community and connections with family, and make sure all cultural needs are met.’
Tell us a bit about you, Stu.
“After fifteen years, I decided it was time for a complete career change into a more rewarding job role, so I applied to be a support worker back in 2007. This led to three years working for a brain injury and mental health service, before being promoted in 2013 as a Home Manager for mixed brain injury, autism, and mental health service for five years. For the last three and a half years, I’ve been working as a Regional Manager across ABI and mental health. Since joining Hunters Moor as Service Manager on the 1st of February, I have been putting plans into action to bring my high levels of stability and quality into the service.”
What’s the team like at Hunters Moor?
“We have a great team here at Hunters Moor. Our Nursing team on site is led by Head of Nursing Alison Hickman, and we are also grateful to now have Dr Waheed, a full-time doctor, on board. This is really progressive because it gives Alison and our nurses added support and works to make the place a lot safer. As well as a full nursing team, we have on-site clinical directors, neuro-rehab consultants, psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and rehab assistants. We are currently working on upskilling all our nurses in clinical skills to broaden the diagnosis and needs so that we can begin admitting more people with varying conditions.
How does the team work together when a new resident is referred to Hunters Moor?
Our team works together from the start of a resident journey, all the way until the end. Once a potential resident is referred to us, our Clinical Psychologist in Neuro-Rehabilitation Jyoti Evans will come up with a proposal of support, meeting with the nursing team to ensure we meet health needs such as catering for diabetes, etc. Then, Jyoti will devise a therapy plan which will then be utilised for our occupational therapists and psychologists to help the resident cope emotionally with their brain injury; this support can also be extended to family. The resident will always be assigned a key nurse who will support with medication management, personal needs, and care plans. Then, our physiotherapists will help with mobility, daily living skills, and building up independence for the individual. The residents progress will then be reviewed regularly every Thursday, and the therapy input can be adapted if necessary until individual goals for the individual are met. As for the staff team, we have meetings every day to re-emphasise our values and maintain a positive work culture.”
What do you like most about working at Hunters Moor?
“Apart from our incredible staff team, I enjoy working with our residents and improving their quality of life from our advanced rehabilitation journey, personal care packages and upholding individual moral values. Something unique to Hunters Moor is our therapy kitchen. In here, our occupational therapists are able to host breakfast clubs and cooking sessions for residents. The benefits of a therapy kitchen can be great for residents participating in daily routines, independence in cooking, everyday movements such as spreading butter on toast, and even help to reinstate memory. For one of our residents, it has also been an amazing way to integrate his Asian culture for all to enjoy in Hunters Moor. We assist in preparing food from his culture, as well as supporting him to get the right ingredients for his recipes which he thoroughly enjoys doing and has undeniably helped him to settle in and build upon his independence. We maintain a culturally appropriate environment here, helping our staff and residents alike keep up religious or spiritual practises, such as supporting our residents with attending mosque, and even having our own prayer room on-site for those who wish to use it. I have an open-door policy with all residents – making it easy for everyone to communicate their personal wishes and preferences with me at any time and for them to feel heard.”
And finally, what do you like to do outside of work?
“I’m a big music fan so when I have free time, I do enjoy attending concerts or gigs. I have four boys also, which keeps me rather busy. One of my son’s is a professional gamer, so I tend to watch a lot of gaming and get involved myself.”
