Our changing working lives

My introduction to the Trust was in 1989, as a service user aged 17 years. I was told I would likely not work again, and statistically I was more likely to die by suicide by the age of 45 than get a job. Ten years later, I made it my life’s mission to help people with significant mental health challenges into meaningful employment. When I look back at that 17-year-old me, I never thought that work and mental health would become my life’s purpose and that it would impact people around the world. Imagine what it feels like to have the honour of helping people rebuild their working lives, hopes and dreams. To meet people at their lowest and most devastated points in life, and to help guide them on their path to recovery. Paul Dorrington

When I joined the junior doctor training scheme at Springfield in 1990, I was living in Islington but my first job was at the Netherne Hospital in Coulsdon, a long way to travel! The hospital Trust at that time had a fleet of ‘Crown Cars’ for staff. I was loaned a red Ford Fiesta to drive to work!

Anna Graham

At the age of 14, I came to Springfield Hospital for work experience. I had a tour of the hospital and remember visiting a department where patients and staff were communicating in sign language. Many years later, I started working for the Deaf Adult Community Team where I am still based today.

Claudette Lewis

The shop in the Main Building used to sell baguettes and sandwiches. In the early 2000s you would get all the ingredients in a bag, for example a roll, ham, butter and a little tub of Branston, and you’d make it yourself. A bit later they made the sandwiches and the chicken tikka was always sold out. You’d have to race there at 11.45 to beat the queue for the best sandwich filling.

Joanne Simmons

I was 17 when I started in 1981, the youngest of the porters, and it was my first time to mix with people of different cultures and all the different personalities – Portuguese, Jamaican, Indian and more. It was an eye opener for me. My first job as a porter was assisting the postman Alfred Sunny, from St Lucia, and I walked miles every day delivering post – I didn’t think I would last given the number of miles I covered every day!

Martin Nolan

It’s the people I remember. There used to be a very good patient and staff library in the old Daffodil Building. The librarian’s name was Emma. The shop was the centre of the hospital – a lady called June and her daughter ran it. It used to sell cigarettes, chocolates and sandwiches.

Bernadette McManus

We went to the Queen’s Jubilee Platinum Party. NHS workers from all over country were invited. It was cold but there was a lot of entertainment and we enjoyed meeting people from all over. It was Glastonbury without the mud!

Clive and Ray

I got to go to Buckingham Palace (actually inside) where I met the then HRH Prince Charles when I was nominated by the Trust for recognition of services to Mental Health Nursing.

Jayne Evans

I have very fond memories of the Jubilee Day Hospital for elderly people. I would take my guitar and play for them, and learned all the old songs of their generation. Now elderly patients in their eighties love music from the 1960s, like The Beatles. Music is a wonderful way of engaging with older people with dementia. I also played for patients on wards. It was very rewarding, I felt I could make a difference to people’s well-being. I’ll also never forget when we formed a band with service users. We had concerts and even recorded a CD!

David Heasman

I’ve been eighteen years with the Trust, and both my parents worked here in the 70s. My mother was a nurse on the Dahlia Ward, and my dad was an ambulance driver. My mother tells me nurses wore a green uniform with a white apron and hat, and they used to carry keys to open and lock up the doors as they passed through. They always had two nurses to give medications as no one was allowed in the patient’s room by themselves. The locked wards were connected by tunnels accessed via the basement, so going down there was always a highlight, especially on night shift! Melissa Heath

I worked as a Medical Secretary in the Drug Dependency Unit for 15 years. It was definitely not a run-of-the-mill secretarial job. Daily, I was face-to-face with the effect of drug abuse, and saw how it can destroy people’s lives, as well as the domino effect on family and loved ones, who also share their anguish and suffering in their battle - and sadly, sometimes losing that battle. Professor Ghodse, for whom I worked, knew the devastating effects of substance abuse and was passionate about finding ways to help people. He helped shape policies on addiction and substance misuse all over the world. Ghodse Building 17, where Sycamore Ward was once situated, has been named after him. Claudette Lewis

In the 1980s I became assistant to Dee, the Cashier. Within the first few weeks, we had an armed robbery. No one was hurt. Luckily the robbery was on a Wednesday. If they’d come a day later they would have got all our wages!

Martin Nolan

I remember our first CQC visit in 2014 – we were one of the first mental health trusts to have a visit and we received a ‘Good’ rating. People said they felt invigorated – it encouraged them to reflect on what they do and value it more, and everyone pulled together to support the visit. One colleague said he’d never been so proud of the Trust.

Michael Hever

When I came on site for my interview I lost my way. I encountered one of the nurses and a policeman who appeared to be walking in the right direction. They told me to follow them as they thought it was around the next corner, only to find it was a dead end! I found myself being questioned intently by the officer. It occurred to me he probably suspected I was a patient attempting to abscond from the hospital. At that moment I remember thinking “Wow! This job is going to be quite exciting!”

Marilyn Edward

In 1983, after my A levels, I got a job in Springfield as an Occupational Therapist Helper. It had the vibe of a Victorian asylum which was quite eerie for an 18-year-old, but poignant when I came back 15 years later and it had left behind so much of the ‘institutional’ feel.

David Heasman

I was a switchboard operator – a very stressful job - especially trying to work with what was, at the time, a very historic piece of telecommunication equipment: A PMX switchboard. This is the kind with cords you plugged in and when someone finished a call, the light would go out and you would take the line out. There were hundreds of lines to connect, and the cords were all different colours so you could see what you were connecting. Eventually we could only get one colour replacements so all the cords were the same colour - what a nightmare! Martin Nolan

Good riddance paper files! I remember some case notes were 18 inches thick! What a nightmare - the clumsy binders, trying to keep everything in order, the missing notes, trying to decipher illegible handwriting. Liberation! Computers and email for one communication to many people at the same time! No more photocopying meeting minutes! The copy-and-paste miracle! Goodbye Tippex and guidance notes on when to use it to correct mistakes! Can you tell I was an enthusiastic embracer of technology? Yes, we have exploding inboxes now, but what a sea change of efficiency compared to before.

David Heasman

Everyone had their own filing cabinets which took up so much space - when you opened a drawer you could smell the card and dust. We used to print agendas and papers for all attendees at meetings. It was the bane of my life!

Theresa Pardey

In 1998 the Exec had a vision – Microsoft Mail and an intranet to share information. At first only the senior managers had PCs and e-mail. As we rolled them out, we soon realised that having one person on the helpdesk wasn’t enough - everyone forgot their passwords – and this is still the most common call.

Dave Dowsett

I remember using the old adding machines. Two people would add the invoice totals and they had to match before they could be put forward for payment. No spreadsheets or complicated systems then, but a lot more staff!

Jackie Harwood

There was one glitch in the electronic payroll implementation – there were no bank payments! I remember my finance colleagues and I had to go to the bank, withdraw cash for the payroll, and then we went personally to all the banks to pay in everyone’s weekly pay. It took an entire day – and everyone was paid on time!

Dave Dowsett

Not everyone embraced technology. Some still wanted to use paper and didn’t trust the computer calculations. They would check hundreds of figures – taking way more time than before!

Mike Wheeler