60 seconds with Lee Wing, Associate Director of Operations for the Adult Inpatient and Urgent Care Division
1. What inspired you to start working in the NHS and what roles have you had since?
Back in 1999, when I had my son Owen, I had never thought about nursing as a career and was working around the country as a restaurant manager with a business degree. Owen was born with lots of complications, including severe learning disability and autism. This threw me into an unknown world of health appointments and completely changed my perspective on what I wanted to do as a career. I was fortunate to be offered an opportunity to complete my mental health nurse training and absolutely loved it.
I worked in most areas of LPFT during my four years of training and when I finished, I worked as a staff nurse on Doddington Ward, which is now The Fens. During my 15 years with the Trust, I have also worked as a Substance Misuse Nurse, Service Manager for Healthy Minds Lincolnshire (supporting children and young people's emotional wellbeing), Service Manager for Adult Eating Disorders, Service Manager for the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) and various leadership roles within the Specialist Services management team.
2. What attracted you to your new role?
I wanted to work more directly with mental health services again. I really enjoy working with people, both staff and patients and for the last few years, I found myself working mainly on a computer and rarely seeing anyone except on a screen. This role was an exciting opportunity to work with a passionate and experienced leadership team who work very closely with frontline services.
3. What do you hope to achieve in this role?
My passion is for service development and improvement, and I hope that once I have engaged with the teams and fully understand the different service needs within inpatient and urgent care, that I can support the services to improve our offer across the county. I want to make sure the views of our patients continue to be heard and our staff are enabled to deliver the best quality care.
Amazing fundraising for Lincolnshire NHS Charity
We are so proud to have our Lincolnshire NHS Charity, that we run jointly with Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust. If you would like to learn more about the charity and how you can support visit www.lpft.nhs.uk/our-charity
Here is just some of the amazing fundraising people have been doing over the last few months.
Well done, Lee Wing
Lee Wing, Associate Director of Operations for the Adult Inpatient and Urgent Care Division, ran her first marathon in York to raise money for the Lincolnshire NHS Charity and support the Trust’s Sexual Assault and Referral Centre, Spring Lodge.
Lee said: “This is a fantastic service with lots of ambitions to be creative and support clients.”
She raised over £200 which will go towards holding an open day to raise awareness for victims of sexual violence.
London Landmarks Half Marathon 2024
Ten staff runners from Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust and LPFT have been confirmed for the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which is taking place on Sunday 7 April next year. There was a great response from staff members wanting to represent Lincolnshire NHS Charity, with a ballot used to pick the names at random.
Lincolnshire Talking Therapies
Did you know steps2change is now known as Lincolnshire Talking Therapies?
Sandra Townsend’s 24-hour ‘dance-a-thon’ for Join Dementia Research
Congratulations to Sandra Townsend, a Research Support Officer in the LPFT Research Team, who completed a 24-hour ‘dance-a-thon’ to raise awareness for Join Dementia Research, in the hope of attracting volunteers to register their interest and take part.
Sandra streamed the event, and was supported by family and friends, including her Research Team colleagues and the Regional Fundraising Officer for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Sandra’s efforts were incredibly successful with 26 people signing up for Join Dementia Research, in addition to raising £915 for Alzheimer’s Research.
Sandra said: “The support from my family, friends and colleagues in the LPFT Research Team was amazing and we smashed our targets, so I am really happy and proud.”
Join Dementia Research pools together a range of studies nationally and locally that aim to advance care, diagnosis and treatment. It also offers people the opportunity to sign up and be matched to studies to take part in.
The LPFT Research Team actively raises awareness of Join Dementia Research, with many members of the team signing up as advocates to further spread the word.
Find out more about Join Dementia Research on the LPFT website.
New courses co-produced at Lincolnshire Recovery College
Recovery Colleges operate with co-production at their heart, bringing together people with different expertise, experiences, skills and viewpoints in a process of shared decision making. The college timetable is shaped by feedback from students and stakeholders and this is where ideas for new courses come from and how we ensure the college meets the needs of and benefits those who wish to access it.
We are proud that all our courses are co-produced, are focused on recovery and education with clear learning goals, incorporate the ethos of hope, control and opportunity, and include suggestions for students to explore to help them (or the people they are supporting) to live well despite any wellbeing challenges they may have.
Keep an eye out for these courses coming soon:
- A course for veterans, working together with Help for Heroes, Lincolnshire Recovery College and the Op COURAGE service.
- A course for those who care for or support people with a cancer diagnosis, working together with the Macmillan Information Support Centre, the living well with cancer programme, and carer groups.
- A co-production workshop, working together with the Mental Health Transformation Team, the Co-production Network, peer support workers, and other recovery colleges.
Read more about the college and book your courses on the webpage.
Celebrating our volunteers
It was fantastic to see volunteers once again recognised at this year’s Team LPFT Values Awards.
Congratulations to Vanessa Herdzina who was crowned Volunteer of the Year, for her incredible work on the Wolds helping to transform the garden areas.
A big well done also to Chris Dabbs and Sash Bazley, who would also have been worthy winners for the amazing contribution they make by giving up their free time.
Meanwhile, the volunteering family has been extended and we’ve been happy to welcome new volunteers including Sophie, who will be starting a role on Langworth Ward.
Volunteers Coordinator, Jacky Secker, continues to promote the many opportunities available at the Trust and would welcome anyone interested in volunteering to get in touch by emailling lpft.VolunteerServices@nhs.net.
Our work towards a greener NHS
Our Energy, Environment and Sustainability Team are consistently engaging with staff and stakeholders to support our ambition to reach national and local Net Zero targets.
As part of this important work, the Trust recently showcased some of the great work LPFT has been involved in to the National NHS Estates and Facilities Net Zero Team. This was a fantastic opportunity to discuss future aspirations and our plans to reach these goals.
We are dedicated to ensuring all Trust sites become more energy efficient, which will help to reduce our carbon footprint, as well as cost and we continue to invest in our buildings, for example by installing loft insulation, LED lighting, heating controls and electricity generating solar panels.
In collaboration with the Trust’s network of Green Champions, we have also been working to change the behaviour of staff, by reducing energy wastage and switching electrical items off instead of leaving them on standby.
To find out more about the Trust’s commitment to tackling climate change and becoming more sustainable, please read our Green Plan.
