Pandemic inspires deputy CEO of Northampton mental health charity to return to nursing

A Deputy CEO of a Northampton-based mental health charity has been inspired by nurses, during the pandemic, to return to the profession.

Jess Lievesley, from St Andrew’s Healthcare located on the Billing Road, decided to renew his nursing registration after watching nurses do “amazing things” when Covid-19 struck the UK.

Jess said: “Over the last year I have watched so many nurses do the most amazing things, in the most challenging of circumstances and, at times, I have wanted to be able to help more

than I was able.

“Whilst I never want to see us return to the challenges of 2020 - if there ever is a next time - I want to be as prepared as I can be to work alongside our nursing colleagues however I can.”

Jess joined St Andrew's Healthcare in April 2019 from Hertfordshire Partnership NHS University Foundation Trust, where he was executive director of delivery and service user experience.

He started out in nursing and specialising in mental healthcare nursing and has since held senior positions in both public sector and NHS organisations. Jess now has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare sector under his belt.

He will be undertaking his Return to Nursing Practice programme with the University of Northampton. The 16-week course will give him the opportunity to revisit his professional roots and update his practice, which will allow him to register as a nurse again.

Jess continued: "I will be doing my clinical practice during annual leave and at weekends on one of our psychiatric intensive care units, under the watchful eye of Akim Bande, the nurse manager of the ward.

“Returning to nursing practice can look a bit scary and daunting, so I want to help dispel these myths a bit.

"I would love it if my journey made other colleagues in our charity or elsewhere think that returning to nursing practice is something they can do.”

Jess believes that the course will help him appreciate the wider challenges faced by nurses up and down the country, which he can then factor into the future development and delivery of

services.

To find out more about the work of St Andrew's Healthcare, visit their website at https://www.stah.org/