Lottie Mellor

How I started

My journey in CAMHS began 9 years ago as a much fresher-faced staff nurse on our local Swindon in-patient unit.

I greatly enjoyed my time on the unit, it was a wonderful team to be a part of with many learning opportunities such as completing my DBT training.

Time for change

After many years of working shifts I felt I needed a more settled working pattern for me and my family.

I was also keen to progress my nursing career and was lucky enough to gain a Senior Mental Health Practitioner role within Swindon Community CAMHS.

A new opportunity

My SMHP role was split within different clinics in the team.  I worked across Getting More Help, the assessment clinic and specialised in eating disorders which I have always been passionate about.

When the eating disorder clinic lead went on maternity leave I was given the chance to step up in to this role.  This was a fantastic opportunity for me to develop my leadership skills and further my knowledge.

Valuable experience

Thanks to this experience, when the deputy team manager position came up, I collected all my courage and went for it! The management team around me were fantastic – so supportive and encouraging – they really helped me to build my confidence in my role.

The DTM role was a great mix of clinical and managerial work.  It also gave me opportunities to supervisor and develop other team member and students.

Into leadership

I have also worked within the newly created Crisis and Home Treatment Team for BSW as part of the leadership team.  This was an exciting experience to be a part of and gave me the chance to be involved in developing a new service and working with teams across the locality.

Career development

A couple of years ago I felt it was time more me to expand my skills and knowledge further.

I got a position as a Registered Mental Health Nurse within my local PCN working across four GP surgeries with the opportunity to complete my Non-Medical Prescriber training which I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

As much as it broke my heart to say goodbye to my amazing CAMHS team, I knew I needed to spread my wings!

Now as much as I am grateful for the experience and for gaining my NMP qualification, I think my heart never really left the CAMHS team.

New opportunities

Just under 18 months later, I was back in the Community CAMHS team in my current role of Clinical Nurse Specialist Non-Medical Prescriber.

Within this role as well as being a prescriber and working closely with the team psychiatrists, I am also the Eating Disorder Clinic Lead and 6 months in, I continue to love every moment of it.

My role is so varied and no one day is the same. I love that I am always learning, having the opportunity to building my skills as an independent prescriber as well as doing joint working with other members of the team.

Personal life

Alongside being an RMN, I am a qualified yoga instructor and a passionate wild swimmer. These are both extremely important to me for my own wellbeing as well as having a good work-life balance and time for my family.

Flexible arrangements

When coming back to CAMHS it was agreed that I could work full time compressed hours so that I was able to incorporate more of this. My working hours are 8-6 over 4 days which has been amazing for me and works well for young people and families as I am able to offer a wider variety of appointments.

We all know that services are stretched and demand is high but when your surrounded by a group of people who are more like family than colleague, and you share the same vision of helping improve lives of young people and families, it makes anything doable.

Supportive management

The management team are understanding, encouraging and always want the best for the staff  They give space for team members to bring new thoughts and ideas for continued service improvement.

The team as a whole as kind, caring, compassionate and fun, no matter how busy the day has been, there is always someone to cheer you up, be a listening ear and offer support.