Tees Valley health and social care careers

Wendy Concannon is a health and wellbeing coach in GP practices across the Stockton South Primary Care Network.

Health and wellbeing coaches support people to increase their motivation levels and commitment to change their lifestyle as well as their ability to self-manage.

Wendy ran her own wellbeing business – before events during the pandemic made her take a career move into a role in NHS health service.

She said: “I moved into the NHS because I wanted to make a difference to anyone who needed it.

“Health and wellbeing is something someone should have access to, they should not be alone.

“Working with me, I help them to overcome those barriers, educate and empower. And they go off on their way having achieved their goals.

“This is why I love what I do – seeing people change, have that transformation, they feel happier and more confident in themselves, that’s why I am here.”

The role

My role is to help the patient with a whole range of issues. I spend six to eight sessions with them as part of this, helping people with issues such as obesity, mental health and loneliness.

We help signpost these people into areas that may be able to help, as well as offer holistic approaches which may help them. We also help set short and long term goals for people.

Myself and the team help guide our patients in the right direction.

This can involve face to face appointments, phone appointments or even going to patient’s own home to offer that support.

We see ourselves as the middle person – we can spend that extra time with the patient, show them how they can achieve their goals or signpost them into a treatment that will help them.

Your background

I came from a personal trainer background, I didn’t know about the job until my partner saw it online.

I was looking for something to help people in a different – I wanted to help more people, including ones without the financial resources there to get help. 

Qualities needed for the role

In this role you need a good work ethic, good personal skills and be able to manage a workload. I have a higher education qualification to understand the science related benefits to it.

Wellness walks

The walks involve meeting in the community as a group with a health and wellbeing coach or social prescriber to meet and greet.

No one needs to feel they need to talk or open up, it is merely a chance to get out into the community, be around people who are going through similar situations as you, get exercise and get some fresh air. From there we can help signpost these people to other areas and help them get the help they need.

Brief description of your job

No Wrong Door – Portfolio Lead for Physical and Emotional Health and Wellbeing within a Young Person’s residential home and working on an outreach basis with young people on the edge of care.

What qualifications are needed for the role?

Substantial experience of working with Young People aged 11-18 and their families.

Level 4 Children, Young Peoples and Families Practitioner.

How does the role link to people?

At No Wrong Door we work directly with the local authority’s most complex and vulnerable young people and their families. Our aim is to ensure that young people remain with their families equipping them with the tools to have a successful future. On occasions where young people are brought into care NWD aims to provide a holistic approach to reunification, ensuring that young people and their families are supported to make positive changes, communicate effectively with each other and professionals and to improve their family lives.

What do you enjoy about your job?

I love working with our young people – seeing the world through their lens, helping them to adjust and make positive changes, supporting them to develop their self-confidence and self-esteem and reach their full potential.

Has the role been what you expected it to be?

“I came for a change and because I liked the look of the job description and the No Wrong Door model, what NWD is aiming to achieve but I stayed because I truly believe that the young people we work with both residentially and through outreach are the future of today, if I can influence and support positive attitudinal change not just with young people and their families but through a multiagency working approach, then their futures will be so much brighter!”

Tom Reynolds has worked at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust for four years.

Having initially been introduced to the organisation by his mother who is a physiotherapist, he started a role as a therapy assistant.

Tom, who is 22 and lives in Darlington, heard about an opportunity to start an apprenticeship to train as a physiotherapist – meaning he could do the qualification while continuing to work at the Trust.

Tom said: “When I finished college I didn’t know what to do from there – my mother is a physio at North Tees and Hartlepool and she suggested about working as in a support worker role.

“I worked as a specialised therapy assistant, working alongside a therapist on the wards – gathering patients’ details to help with their care.

“I was surprised how much responsibility I was given – with supervision from experienced members of the team, I was able to do things such as helping patients with their exercises.

“I really enjoyed the role. It was my stepping stone into healthcare and helped me realise what I wanted to do with my career.”

Explaining the benefits that the apprenticeship has brought, Tom said: “I knew that a full time university course was not the way forward for me.

“This was an opportunity for me to continue working and doing something I enjoy as well as the financial advantages it has.

“I have been here four years now and consider myself quite an experienced member of the team.

“I was 18 when I started working here – I have grown personally and professionally. I am confident at looking after the patients I treat.”

Brief description of your job

I am a child and family intervention worker in the Redcar area. I work with children and families to complete interventions based around the family’s needs for example social and emotional wellbeing, learning and development, school attendance, and domestic abuse those are just a few issues we help with but there are a whole range of other issues we help and support with. We work with a number of different agencies to help support the family in the best way possible in the hope that the right services are involved so that we can work together to build a package of support and capture the information from all angles.

What qualifications are needed for the role?

Level 3 qualification in a subject relevant to working with children and families or be willing to work towards this.

Good level of education.

Good knowledge of issues affecting children and families in Redcar and Cleveland.

How does the role link to people?

We work with a range of different people every day from schools, parents, carers, CAMHS, counselling support and this gives us a good range of opportunities to connect with different services.

What do you enjoy about your job?

I love that each day is different, and you never know what the day might bring. I particularly enjoy getting to know my young people and families and working with the family to help and support them so that they have the tools and knowledge to manage on their own. It is lovely to see a family make positive changes on their journey and see the end results when a family no longer needs us. This job also offers great work life balance with the flexibility to work within the office or at home and there is no pressure to work out of your working hours. I enjoy working with a great team of people who are always there to offer support and helping hand when needed.

Has the role been what you expected it to be?

I came for a new challenge and to be able to help and support families build relationships and overcome their struggles, but I stayed for the fulfilment you get when you have worked with a family and you can see the positive changes.

Curtis has been a senior pharmacy technician for Omnicell for two years and has recently progressed further, to clinical pharmacy technician manager for trauma, orthopaedics and surgical services. Learn more about Curtis’s role as a senior pharmacy technician.at South Tees

How long have you worked in pharmacy?

I have been in my current role as clinical pharmacy technician manager since August 2023 and before that I was a systems manager for Omnicell medicine cabinets for two years. I started as an assistant technical officer in 2013 and have been in pharmacy ever since!

What qualifications did you need and where did you receive them?

A level three qualification in the principals and practices for pharmacy technicians.

This qualification is currently done as a mixture of in-house training and one day a week at college, done remotely.

This qualification is for two years after which you are eligible to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council as a pharmacy technician.

There are other routes to become a pharmacy technician such as the Buttercups programme, but the in-house course is the one I completed.

Tell us something about your role people might not be aware of

Pharmacy Technicians, like pharmacists, are registered healthcare professionals. After the two-year qualification we register with the General Pharmaceutical Council and are given professional status.

The role of a pharmacy technician has advanced significantly at South Tees in recent years to more specialist roles. My previous role of Omnicell Pharmacy Technician is a perfect example of this, alongside roles such as specialist antimicrobial pharmacy technicians and EPMA pharmacy technicians.

In my current role I oversee the clinical pharmacy technicians on trauma, orthopaedics and surgery, whilst working to further advance and develop the roles of pharmacy technicians. I also carry out commonly known pharmacy technician duties, such as medicines reconciliation and accuracy checking of dispensed medication to support my teams.

In my previous role of Omnicell pharmacy technician I was the lead for managing accounts, training staff, doing reports and optimisation projects and project managing the next rollout of cabinets to another 31 areas across the trust.

What do you like about working at South Tees in pharmacy?

I love the variety of work that we do to make medicines safer for our patients, how our department has a keen interest in developing its staff and how we give people opportunities to progress and seek out personal development. For example, I have been very fortunate to be supported in developing myself and pushing myself through my career, from assistant technical officer with no prior pharmacy experience, to clinical pharmacy technician manager.

I like working in a multidisciplinary team on the ward including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and pharmacy ATOs/assistants.

At South Tees pharmacy I feel supported by my colleagues to do my work to the best of my ability and the positivity around patient safety promotes a fantastic working environment.

Brief description of your job as a Early Help/Intervention Key Worker.

I provide targeted intervention to children, young people and their families, including completing early help assessments and whole family plans in line with the signs of safety practice model when appropriate. Undertake direct work and interventions alongside lead practitioners from partner agencies and other specialist services, to support the completion of partner-led early help assessments and plans.

To empower young people and their families to positively contribute to their plans, to help them achieve their wellbeing goals and sustain positive changes.

What qualifications are needed for the role? 

Good level of general education

Level 3 qualification in a subject relevant to working with children and families, or willingness to work towards within a specific time frame.

Sound knowledge of the Council’s Safeguarding policies and procedures

Good knowledge of the issues affecting families in Redcar and Cleveland

Good knowledge and understanding of ethical and practice boundaries when working with families.

Knowledge of health and safety policies and procedures.

How does the role link to people?

To empower young people and their families to positively contribute to their plans, to help them achieve their wellbeing goals and sustain positive changes.

To actively promote and maintain positive working relationships with children, young people and their families, as well as a wide range of partner agencies. 

To support and encourage children and young people at risk of disengagement including poor school attendance, offending or anti-social behaviour; and to assist them through effective planning and target setting, to raise their aspirations.

To undertake home visits to assess the needs of the whole family using the signs of wellbeing practice framework; and identify outcomes in line with the Supporting Families Outcomes Plan, ensuring the voice of the child is integral to the assessment process.

To develop realistic and achievable action plans and trajectories, to measure the progress made by the child /young person towards their wellbeing goals.

To work collaboratively with children and parents to identify appropriate interventions and packages of support from internal and external services to meet the needs of the whole family, using the Team around the Family (TAF) approach when appropriate.

To take the lead role in convening and chairing TAF meetings, where appropriate.

To be responsible for maintaining accurate and up to date records on the EHM case management system.

To help partner agencies such as schools to complete Early Help Assessments and plans, offering practical hands-on/mentoring support to support them to capture information about the whole family, and identify wellbeing goals to achieve positive, sustainable outcomes, whilst championing the signs of wellbeing practice framework.

To be responsible for assessing risk and following current safeguarding procedures.

To complete return to home, ‘missing’ interviews for children and young people on their caseload as well as those not open to a social worker or another Early Help Lead Practitioner, within the agreed timescales.

What do you enjoy about your job?

Having lived in the local area all of my life I am fully aware of the negative impact that issues such as poverty, addiction, poor mental and physical health and unemployment can have on children, their families and the wider community. I have found that frequently children and families can be disengaged with professionals, outside agencies and the education system and often find it difficult to trust adults due to the trauma they have suffered from a young age. Conversely, I also believe that given the correct individual support, care and dedication that these children and families can develop and succeed in life.

Currently working as an Intervention Key worker and previous vast experience as a
Safeguarding and Pastoral Lead in the Secondary Education Sector in variable catchment areas for around fifteen years I have personally witnessed the impact that these issues have on families, as unfortunately they are all too common in the Redcar and Cleveland area.
The role has meant that I have worked with and supported many young, vulnerable people with often complex psychosocial needs and their families.
I feel that understanding these issues has helped me to successfully make a positive difference to the lives of these young people and that of their families.