IT’S ABOUT DOING THINGS TOGETHER... STEP BY STEP

I travel around 150 miles a week on my bike, visiting people in their homes. I always try to help them to get out and about, sometimes we go for a bike ride. It can make a big difference to someone’s mood if they see the world outside. They’re on their own journey to recovery but we travel together. Actually that’s not always true! My aim is to help them become truly independent so if they prefer to go by bus I’ll sometimes travel behind them. That way they feel empowered but they’ll know I’m always right behind them. The cyclists have started meeting up as a group, I’m really pleased they have their own social circle outside of the service. I love working with people, helping them achieve their full potential. We do everything at their pace, step by step. I’m also a carers’ champion – carers are so valuable to everyone else involved in someone’s care – we should listen to them and direct them to places where they can feel safe too. The governor role is new to me. If I’m honest I really didn’t expect to get the votes needed. I put myself forward because I wanted to put the viewpoints of staff to the people making decisions, but I thought I’d get no more than a few votes from colleagues! I feel privileged to be able to look out for the people who work at Mersey Care. I’ve got a lot to learn but I’ll just be myself and take it from there, step by step...” Dean Hegarty community mental health support worker and staff governor.

Find out more about our membership and governors at: Website: merseycare.nhs.uk. Phone: 0151 471 2303 or 0151 473 2778 Email: membership@merseycare.nhs.uk Write to: Alison Bacon, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, V7 Building, Kings Business Park, Prescot, Liverpool L34 1PJ.