Terrific Theresa wins December’s Exceptional People Individual Award

Pictured above at the presentation are Trust Chair David Walker, Operational Lead CAMHS Community Services (Buckinghamshire) Rachel Bailey, Healthcare Assistant for CAMHS Buckinghamshire ADHD Clinic Theresa Watkins, Lead Governor Anna Gardner and Chief Executive Grant Macdonald.

Theresa demonstrates exceptional patient care and significantly contributes to the team. Her innovative ideas and thoughtful nature have helped to give patients a better understanding and reassurance.

The CAMHS Buckinghamshire ADHD Clinic is there to help young people whose behaviours are affecting their daily routine or making school or time at home particularly challenging – providing assessment, treatment and support.

During her work, Theresa has recognised many young people struggle to understand their medication or access the clinics due to their neurodivergence. This can be overwhelming for young people, causing them to worry or feel upset. Theresa has produced a collection of fantastic visual support materials to explain the appointment process, the medication and prepare young people for the appointment, all helping them to make informed decisions.

Theresa demonstrates excellent care by understanding how young people who come to the clinic process thoughts and the support they need with neurodivergent conditions to help them understand and feel more comfortable. This is essential to ensure safety for the young people, helping them to know safety plans or how to take medication safely with adapted information. These high-quality resources are available to be used by any clinician.

This excellent piece of work has helped many neurodiverse young people become more engaged and more involved with their care. Theresa has helped the patients have a voice in their own care by helping them make informed choices. Additionally, she has helped busy colleagues who do not have the time to make these resources themselves have a set of resources they can easily access to use in their appointments.

This is above and beyond what is expected of her in her role and Theresa has gone the extra mile to complete these resources alongside her regular duties and responsibilities, showcasing her dedication to the role. She is an invaluable member of the team who is greatly appreciated by her colleagues.

The nomination

Theresa was nominated by her colleague Rachel Bailey, who is Operational Lead for Buckinghamshire CAMHS Neurodiversity and ID Allied Health Professionals Clinical Lead Buckinghamshire for CAMHS & Eating Disorders. Theresa has been nominated for continuously showing great initiative and being creative to help provide the best support possible for patients and those who take care of them.

Rachel commented:

“I am a Speech and Language Therapist by background, and I can honestly say these are some of the best visual supports I have ever seen and Theresa has done this with little direction from others, because she has seen a need and knew how to meet it. The work that she has done on these visuals is so clear. They have and will continue to make such a difference to young people with neurodivergence.”

Healthcare Assistant for CAMHS Buckinghamshire ADHD Clinic Theresa Watkins said: “I am so grateful to receive this award. Helping young people in our communities every day is very rewarding and I hope myself and the team can continue to do this.”

Lead Governor Anna Gardner added: “As the public Governor for Buckinghamshire presenting the award to Theresa hits close to home because she is based at Saffron House and Whiteleaf. Congratulations Theresa.”