Shane McLoughlin

• I worked in a 34 bedded Psychiatric unit attached to the adjoining General Hospital, catering for a population of 150k in the north west of Ireland
• I was assigned a caseload of service users daily and was responsible for their care.

My Responsibilities included:

• Checking mental health act forms with management when there is an involuntary admission and enacting holding power should this be necessary
• Admissions/Discharges of service users from the ward
• Informing next of kin of relevant information/updates
• Monitoring vital signs daily
• Administration of medication and observing effects/side effects
• Assisting service users with activities of daily living where required
• Preceptorship with student nurses
• Supervising meal times
• Spending 1:1 time with service users to build therapeutic relationship
• Attending and facilitating therapeutic recovery groups
• One to one observations with service users when prescribed by treating team
• Documenting care delivered in case notes
• Care planning at team meetings in coordination with other members of the clinical team as well as service user
• Care of service users in Seclusion/High Dependency unit
• Night checks
• Handover to next shift written and verbal.