"I wanted to break the stigma around mental health"

Ahead of Mental Health Nurses’ Day (21 February), Sipo Mabena talks about her work as a Community Mental Health Nurse in the Recovery and Wellbeing Team for Thurrock.

“My job entails looking after patients with complex and enduring mental health problems in the community and to advocate for them.

“I visit my patients in their homes and assess their needs and signpost them, with their consent, to appropriate services in the community.

“I work collaboratively with the patients, their families or their identified carers to assess risk and formulate care plans and feed back to the multi-disciplinary team of professionals involved in the patients’ care.

“I have been a nurse for 15 years now and what inspired me was breaking the stigma around mental health, especially in work places. Anyone can be affected by mental at any stage of life.

“I enjoy empowering my patients and supporting them to live their lives to the best of their abilities and see life beyond their illnesses.

“I apply our Trust values of We Care, We Empower and We Learn to my work every day.

“We Care - by listening to my patients’ needs and knowing what is important to them in their recovery journey,

“We Empower - by giving them information and putting them in charge of their recovery.

“We Learn - I have learnt over the years that each of my patients is unique and I learn from their experiences as well as any criticism from both my patients and their families. I ensure I keep to good professional standards, empathy and trust, which helps me to reflect and grow professionally.”

If you are inspired to work in a job that makes a difference, you can view all our vacancies on our Careers page.

#WeCare - We want everyone who uses our services to have the best possible experience. Our care will be therapeutic, tailored to each patient’s individual needs, and focus on what they need to feel better.

Our five-year Strategic Plan sets out our priorities and commitments to deliver the highest quality and safest care possible.