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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| I swapped community nursing for a baker's apron and a bag of flour | I swapped community nursing for a baker's apron and a bag of flour |
| (5 months later) | |
| It may sound strange, but swapping community nursing for a baker’s apron and a bag of flour helped me rediscover why I became a mental health professional. | It may sound strange, but swapping community nursing for a baker’s apron and a bag of flour helped me rediscover why I became a mental health professional. |
| I qualified as a registered mental health nurse in the 1980s and enjoyed helping people to recover from mental ill health and all the societal disadvantages that went with it. I worked for more than 25 years, in frontline nursing and management, and saw how challenging it was for people to survive. | I qualified as a registered mental health nurse in the 1980s and enjoyed helping people to recover from mental ill health and all the societal disadvantages that went with it. I worked for more than 25 years, in frontline nursing and management, and saw how challenging it was for people to survive. |
| During this time I saw caseloads double, with no reduction in paperwork or responsibility, rounds of redundancies and reorganisations. | During this time I saw caseloads double, with no reduction in paperwork or responsibility, rounds of redundancies and reorganisations. |
| Initially, my team visited clients living in their own homes up to five times a week, supporting them in any way so they stayed out of acute psychiatric beds. As cuts to services took their toll, the time we spent with people was dramatically reduced; snatched conversations and support were sandwiched between impossible amounts of paperwork. | Initially, my team visited clients living in their own homes up to five times a week, supporting them in any way so they stayed out of acute psychiatric beds. As cuts to services took their toll, the time we spent with people was dramatically reduced; snatched conversations and support were sandwiched between impossible amounts of paperwork. |
| The office base moved 20 minutes away from its original location, which had been in the middle of the area and the people it served. Before the move, emergencies could be reached quickly and support for staff was close at hand. The move had a massive impact on how the team worked. Instead of working in localities, the teams were restructured to artificially create two groups of clients, one with high needs and one with lower needs. Both teams covered each other’s areas, resulting in even more time shuttling to and from the office. People suffered, and it felt like the team had lost its purpose; it was firefighting and dashing from visit to visit, and admissions to acute wards increased. | The office base moved 20 minutes away from its original location, which had been in the middle of the area and the people it served. Before the move, emergencies could be reached quickly and support for staff was close at hand. The move had a massive impact on how the team worked. Instead of working in localities, the teams were restructured to artificially create two groups of clients, one with high needs and one with lower needs. Both teams covered each other’s areas, resulting in even more time shuttling to and from the office. People suffered, and it felt like the team had lost its purpose; it was firefighting and dashing from visit to visit, and admissions to acute wards increased. |
| The people I visited sat in their flats on their own for hours on end, smoking cigarettes, often drinking alcohol and/or taking drugs, and eating the poorest quality food. I was tired and disillusioned with my job and the NHS, struggling to see how I could continue doing this until I was 67, my then projected retirement age. I wanted to do something that had a tangible benefit. | The people I visited sat in their flats on their own for hours on end, smoking cigarettes, often drinking alcohol and/or taking drugs, and eating the poorest quality food. I was tired and disillusioned with my job and the NHS, struggling to see how I could continue doing this until I was 67, my then projected retirement age. I wanted to do something that had a tangible benefit. |
| It has proved to be an ingenious way of delivering English and maths | It has proved to be an ingenious way of delivering English and maths |
| It might seem quite a leap from mental health work to bread, but I had grown up with homemade bread and had dabbled with recipes over the years. | It might seem quite a leap from mental health work to bread, but I had grown up with homemade bread and had dabbled with recipes over the years. |
| I had heard about The School of Artisan Food and sent my partner on a one-day patisserie course as a present. She loved it and mentioned that they ran an advanced diploma in baking. I grabbed the opportunity to retrain there as an artisan bread baker and within a few months was kneading and shaping bread. I started to think about combining the satisfaction of producing bread with the people I had been working with, who needed independence skills, occupation and better quality food. | I had heard about The School of Artisan Food and sent my partner on a one-day patisserie course as a present. She loved it and mentioned that they ran an advanced diploma in baking. I grabbed the opportunity to retrain there as an artisan bread baker and within a few months was kneading and shaping bread. I started to think about combining the satisfaction of producing bread with the people I had been working with, who needed independence skills, occupation and better quality food. |
| When an opportunity to teach bread making to young adults with learning difficulties at a specialist further education college presented itself, I grabbed it with both hands. The look on students’ faces, perhaps particularly those without speech, when they took a loaf out of the oven was thrilling. I was offered a regular job, and making bread is now part of the programme for 17 of the students. | When an opportunity to teach bread making to young adults with learning difficulties at a specialist further education college presented itself, I grabbed it with both hands. The look on students’ faces, perhaps particularly those without speech, when they took a loaf out of the oven was thrilling. I was offered a regular job, and making bread is now part of the programme for 17 of the students. |
| Making bread rolls, tea cakes or soda bread is a purposeful activity, using simple ingredients, learnable skills and a little science with an end result you can eat. It has proved to be an ingenious way of delivering English and maths, giving students pleasure and pride in their achievements and transferable skills. I use the communication skills and knowledge gained from my health and social care experience every minute of every session; it is challenging, but immensely satisfying. It feels like a very natural fit. | Making bread rolls, tea cakes or soda bread is a purposeful activity, using simple ingredients, learnable skills and a little science with an end result you can eat. It has proved to be an ingenious way of delivering English and maths, giving students pleasure and pride in their achievements and transferable skills. I use the communication skills and knowledge gained from my health and social care experience every minute of every session; it is challenging, but immensely satisfying. It feels like a very natural fit. |
| The college I work at has developed social enterprise businesses, offering an internet cafe, print shop and sweet shop, where students gain real-world skills. My hope is that a social enterprise bakery could be next. A potential site has been earmarked and the job of finding finance to support students to become bakers has started. Teaching people to make bread is a practical way of supporting them to gain skills and independence, helping them to overcome society’s disabling effects – pretty much where I started as a mental health professional. | The college I work at has developed social enterprise businesses, offering an internet cafe, print shop and sweet shop, where students gain real-world skills. My hope is that a social enterprise bakery could be next. A potential site has been earmarked and the job of finding finance to support students to become bakers has started. Teaching people to make bread is a practical way of supporting them to gain skills and independence, helping them to overcome society’s disabling effects – pretty much where I started as a mental health professional. |
| Ian Waterland is a supporter of the Real Bread Campaign, which runs Together We Rise, an initiative that aims to highlight the social, therapeutic and employment opportunities offered by bread making | Ian Waterland is a supporter of the Real Bread Campaign, which runs Together We Rise, an initiative that aims to highlight the social, therapeutic and employment opportunities offered by bread making |
| If you would like to contribute to our Blood, sweat and tears series about experiences in healthcare, read our guidelines and get in touch by emailing sarah.johnson@theguardian.com | If you would like to contribute to our Blood, sweat and tears series about experiences in healthcare, read our guidelines and get in touch by emailing sarah.johnson@theguardian.com |
| Join the Healthcare Professionals Network to read more pieces like this. And follow us on Twitter (@GdnHealthcare) to keep up with the latest healthcare news and views | Join the Healthcare Professionals Network to read more pieces like this. And follow us on Twitter (@GdnHealthcare) to keep up with the latest healthcare news and views |
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