Matthew's career in mental health services evolved from early roles in data entry and homeless support to leadership positions within community mental health nursing. His commitment to compassionate, person-cantered care led to the development of an early intervention psychosis service and recognition through the Florence Nightingale Foundation Digital Leadership Scholarship, affirming his dedication to transforming mental health care systems.
Matthew says:
I was born in Bolton, but grew up in Devon from a young age. During my first attempt at university study at Manchester Metropolitan University I wasn’t good at focussing on study, and preferred socialising and partying. This resulted in me struggling academically and dropping out.
Whilst in Manchester, my family had moved to Newport in South Wales. Dropping out of university had a significant effect on my self-confidence and I reluctantly moved ‘back home’ to Newport, a city I had no connection to.
I found however, that I started to feel settled in Wales, my new home, surprisingly quickly. Seeking a fresh start, I wanted to find meaningful work that involved helping people, rather than having a job that just earned other people more money. Following some data entry work with the probation service, I decided to return to university to train as a probation officer, hoping to help others.
This plan didn’t work out however, as I found the probation officer role focused more on punishment than support, which conflicted with my values. I wasn’t good at the ‘enforcement’ and ‘punishment’ ethos at the time and again dropped out right at the end of the programme. Despite my confidence being knocked once again, I had discovered a new passion for working with individuals struggling with substance misuse and related issues. I felt gratitude for having a supportive family to fall back on and had developed an understanding that not everyone had this privilege. Having struggled myself, I wanted to have a positive impact on the lives of people who struggled to access support. My six-and-a-half years working in Cardiff’s homeless services were really fulfilling. I worked with people who had faced challenging starts to life and witnessed how homeless people often struggled to access to essential health services, particularly mental health and substance misuse services.
During this period, I discovered Nichiren Buddhism through an organisation called the Soka Gakkai (SGI-UK). This practice, and the warm supportive and inspiring community of members in Wales, profoundly affected the way I perceived myself and the world around me. It helped me gain perspective, turning difficulties and challenges into opportunities for growth and development and made me more determined to use my life to make a positive difference.
This new perspective led me to deciding to stop complaining and try to take action. In 2011 I applied to train as a mental health nurse, despite my doubts about succeeding academically after past struggles. I enrolled at Cardiff University and as an older student, I felt I was able to focus better and found the programme really interesting and enjoyable. The course placed a focus on ‘best practice’ and transforming mental health services, which aligned to my motivation, desire to address the issues I had observed, and to help contribute to meaningful change.
My first nursing role was in a ‘complex care’ ward for people with multiple diagnoses. Though I found it challenging, it enabled me to recognise that I preferred community-based work over hospital-based work, which I had more experience in from homeless services and the Probation Service. I transitioned to a Community Mental Health Nurse role in Cardiff and my desire to transform services led me into a temporary leadership position, which was both exhilarating and daunting. Managing a large team with minimal preparation was a steep learning curve, and despite determination to improve the service, my lack of experience and leadership preparation made it difficult.
When a permanent position setting-up an early intervention psychosis service arose, I applied and was fortunate to be offered the post. Designing a service from scratch and integrating compassionate and collective leadership principles was a highly rewarding experience. Leading a team through challenges including COVID-19, was a difficult, but great experience, thanks to a supportive manager and an amazing team.
Gaining a Florence Nightingale Foundation Digital Leadership Scholarship marked a huge turning point in my career. I was amazed and felt so privileged to be offered a place on this prestigious internationally recognised programme and can only describe the experience as lifechanging. It helped me recognize my emotional drivers, which I had always perceived as weaknesses, as strengths and provided an opportunity to refine my leadership skills, reaffirming my commitment and boosting my determination to transform mental health services. This programme culminated in me having the honour of being chosen to be one of 3 nurses from across the UK to lead the ‘lamp procession’ at the 2024 Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service in Westminster Abbey. I still find it hard to comprehend that my initial determination to improve mental health services whilst working as a support worker, led to such an amazing experience! The opportunities open to nurses and healthcare professionals is so vast!
Throughout my career, I’ve learned that challenges can be opportunities for growth and becoming more capable. Reflecting on the past year, I appreciate how much I’ve grown and the impact I am making. In August 2023, I started at HEIW as the Mental Health Leadership and Succession Programme Manager. In this role I’m responsible for the transformation of mental health leadership development. This has enabled me to set up an online leadership portal, a mental health leadership mentoring programme, and support the development of a new mental health leadership development programme. I have no doubt this will completely change the experience of future leaders in Wales who will now receive preparation and training as well as one-to-one support through their leadership career. This is such an exciting piece of work as this level of support for leaders is not available anywhere else!
I have to admit I initially struggled with the transition to working for a national, more corporate, organisation. The environment was very different from the clinical settings I was used to, and the first six months were particularly tough. I have a history on intermittent anxiety attacks. Struggling in this new role contributed to me experiencing an anxiety attack during a stakeholder meeting with senior mental health leaders. I was, however, able to draw upon my Buddhist practice and the great training I had received through my FNF Scholarship to find my way of functioning as the authentic ‘me’ in this new environment.
I feel my background as a mental health nurse helps me empathize with the challenges and understand the pressures faced by staff working in clinical practice. I advocate for proactive collaboration with clinicians and people with lived experience of mental health issues, to work towards the development of compassionate cultures. I often emphasise that it is up to us to create change’, and we have to work together to achieve this.
Outside of work, I live near Bridgend with my wife and our five-year-old son. For hobbies, I go to the gym when I can but am having difficulty finding the time with a 5-year-old son. Buddhism remains a constant in my life, guiding my work and personal life.
Buddhism enables me to overcome and transform every challenge I face and connects me to my community. Despite frequent moves over the years, the Buddhist community has provided a consistent sense of belonging. Bridgend, and Wales as a whole is by far the friendliest place I’ve lived. Since my son started school, I feel I’ve been able to put down roots in the wider local community. Wales feels like a really safe, affordable place to live and I feel secure and connected. I can’t imagine ever leaving Wales now.
Having lived in various places around the UK, I feel Wales had a real sense of community and particularly a rich cultural integration, which I appreciate. I get a sense in Wales of social cohesion between different communities, in contrast with some other areas of the UK. Wales has also preserved its own rich cultural identity, which I really value. This has led to be becoming a proud honorary Welshman!
I’ve approached my career without a clear plan and pursued opportunities to make a difference, which has led me from being a clinical mental health nurse, through managing a Community Mental Health Team, setting up a new early intervention in psychosis service, to being responsible for leadership development in the Welsh mental health workforce. I like to set loose goals to motivate me, whilst staying open to new and interesting paths and opportunities.
Looking ahead, I remain open to where my journey will take me next, whether continuing at a national level or returning to a health board for new challenges. Whatever the future holds, it will be interesting and exciting, and I hope to continue making a difference.