Rihanna and Claire are Mental Health Practitioners for PCNs in Ramsgate and Canterbury.

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I am Rihanna and I am a Mental Health Practitioner for Ramsgate Primary Care Network (PCN). I am Claire and I am a Senior Mental Health Practitioner in Canterbury.
What is your career journey?
Rihanna: I finished my qualification in 2019 and starting working on the wards during the covid pandemic. After a year and a half, I moved into a developmental band 5 role in A&E Liasion. After working there for 2 years, I moved into Primary Care.
Claire: I started my career as a Mental Health Nurse, then studied for two Masters qualifications, I am currently finishing my second, which is Advanced Clinical Practice.
What motivated you to work in Primary Care?
Rihanna: When I was in A&E Liasion, I noticed there was a similar pathway to primary care, in terms of assessments and referalls. I also noticed that there were people from primary care that weren't being seen as quickly as they should have been and there were gaps in care and support, which if dealt with, could have prevented admission into Secondary Care.
Claire: The reason why I joined Primary Care was because I really enjoy the preventative work. I think it is good that we can prevent problems from moving into Secondary Care. We feel that we save the GPs lots of time and can give the patients that extra time and make them feel valued.
What does your role entail?
Rihanna: Initially, I will assess and create a follow-up plan if needed. Potentially I would triage a patient to see what the initial issues are to see if I need to do something immediately, before they have an assessment. During the triage process I look at immediate risk to see if I need to send someone any support numbers out and I will look at other risks, such as any danger or whether Primary Care is suitable. During the assessment, I will book the patient in for an appointment with me to go over other options and support. If they need further sessions, I can offer three more sessions and then may need to refer on if need be.
Claire: My day-to-day role includes the GP booking patients straight into my diary, I then assess the patient and signpost any services that are required. We work differently with each patient dependent on the need, some may need more sessions. We always work to ensure patients do not fall through the gap.
How does your role benefit the practice and patients?
Rihanna: Across the five practices I work in we have noticed that before, a GP may assess and automatically refer the patient to a Secondary service or the patient may be sent a self referral and have never been referred. However, we are able to make that referral ourselves, therefore it is much more likely that there is care in place before a breakdown situation happens.
Claire: Part of my job role is that I make monthly reports and I looked at the figures from October to December 2022 and we found that we saved GPs 3107 appointments in that period. Patients feel listened to and supported and are responded to within 2 weeks.
How well supported are you at your practice?
Rihanna: Really well supported. I am very lucky, all five surgeries are brilliant, as mentors and colleagues. Whatever my issues may be, I am always supported and if they do not know they will refer to someone who does. I also have support from my own trust and Clinical Leads.
Claire: I feel very well supported, I have an increased respect for Primary Care they work incredibly hard and everyone in Canterbury is really supportive. They respond quickly no matter the issues, whether that be about patient feedback or complex cases. Also we have clinical supervision, which is helpful and they are always open to training and additional support.
How did you find the New to Practice Programme?
Rihanna: I was completely new to Primary Care and was used to the Secondary Care ways of working, so I was coming into a new team with new processes, it was really helpful to learn peoples different perspective on how they work and what they were doing. Personally, being able to see people face to face and engage with people was a breath of fresh air. The venues were great and the professionals involved were really good too.
Claire: I found the programme really beneficial as there was so much involved in the programme and it was good to network with other people who were new to Primary Care. Being face to face was really nice.
What are your future career plans?
Rihanna: I would like to apply for my Masters, it is a bit of a challenge for me as I also have other needs and barriers. I will get there, it is about finding the right programme for me, which in terms of the New to Practice Programme, it is helpful as the coaching sessions can help guide you in the right direction.
Claire: I am currently completing my Advanced Clinical Practitioner course and I should be finished in March 2023. That is the protectory I am going in, to become more clinically specialised.

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