The nursing expertise within Turning Point Scotland that arguably sets the services of the social care charity apart from peers, is led by Head of Clinical and Care Governance, Mandy Ramsay.
Mandy came to work for Turning Point Scotland after learning the organisation was looking at governance and clinical management for nurses, leading to her decision to take early retirement from the NHS.
International Nurse Day is celebrated on 12 May, with profiles of Turning Point Scotland’s nurses highlighting the vital contribution this profession has in delivering high-quality services.
Through the diversity of her role Mandy learns what is happening on the frontline of services through the nursing team while also visiting colleagues across Scotland.
Nursing colleagues work across the different sectors in Turning Point Scotland’s Justice, Alcohol and Other Drugs and North East services.
“Turning Point Scotland looks at the nursing element of a service but importantly it’s about nurses fitting in a social care setting,” Mandy said.
“Turning Point Scotland is an organisation that delivers its values and does genuinely care about the wellbeing of staff.”
“I think that ties in with the theme for International Nurses’ Day this year about empowering nurses, having a safe environment to work in and they are genuinely listened to if they do have concerns.”
Mandy began her career three decades ago, initially training as a mental health nurse in 1980 before studying general nursing later.
She developed a special interest in Alcohol and Other Drugs, during the HIV epidemic.
A mentor in her early career shared her interest for working in Alcohol and Other Drugs, delivered through community services.
This led to Mandy working in one of the first integrated health and social care drug services in Scotland, operating in the Renfrewshire area, which was part of the NHS mental health services.
Mandy then became a Clinical Nurse Manager, incorporating the role of Professional Nurse Advisor in NHS Glasgow and Greater Clyde for Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire.
In her current role at Turning Point Scotland, Mandy encourages the nursing team to pursue their interests as she did, supporting nurses’ development opportunities, including in any areas of special interest.
“We created a different structure so there is a career path internally and they were being rewarded appropriately for the job they do,” she said.
“It was comparable to working in the NHS and since we’ve done that, we’ve managed to achieve a full staff.”