Celebrating 10 years as a Sanctuary Registered Mental Health Nurse
By Gemma Raw
Now in her 10th year of working for Sanctuary, we catch up with Band 7 Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN), Abibatu Koroma, as she shares her career story with us.
Abi, as we know her, talks openly about the personal fulfilment she gets from caring for people within the secure estate, Sanctuary's role in shaping her career, and her hopes for the future.
Abi, before we start, would you mind sharing how you became a nurse in the first place?
“I’d love to. I first started practising as a Registered General Nurse (RGN) back home in Sierra Leone, qualifying in 1988. For context, a general nursing role in Sierra Leone is very different from the UK. Most nurses work within primary health centres, often alone or in very small community teams, and provide a wide range of care, including mental health support.
“To this day, the primary health centres and hospitals are overwhelmingly under-resourced and massively dependent on aid. I’ll share more on this shortly when we discuss my hopes for the future.
“Getting back to my journey, due to intense civil unrest in 1991 (the start of the Sierra Leone Civil War), I decided that it would be far safer to practise nursing in the UK, and so I sought refuge here.
“Due to the Civil War, it was too difficult to obtain the right documents for me to start practising as a qualified nurse straight away and so I worked as healthcare assistant for a couple of years while I completed my RGN training.
“After qualifying to practise in the UK, I stepped into a general nursing role, which I enjoyed, but I knew I had more of myself to give. So I started studying for a BSc in Mental Health Nursing at King’s College London in 2000. I quickly discovered that I had found ‘my place’ in terms of the difference I would be able to make.
“After qualifying as an RMN in 2001, I stepped into nursing within the secure estate environment, first as a Grade E staff nurse before being offered a newly created RMN role within the substance misuse team, where I was supported in completing a PGDip in addictive behaviour.
“I stayed at HMP Wandsworth (in various RMN roles) for many years before I decided that I needed a change, which is when I contacted Sanctuary.”
How has Sanctuary helped to shape your career?
“I remember first speaking with Alex, my Sanctuary Consultant, in 2013. He was genuinely interested in listening to what I wanted from a locum employer. He knew that although my last role had left me tired, I still had a lot to give. For a short while, I returned to general practice within the community, and then one day Alex phoned me to say that an opportunity within the secure estate had come back up with a team I was already familiar with that would enable me to work in general practice and mental health.
“Since then, being a locum RMN, I have stepped in and out of prison nursing, but I always seem to be attracted back to the secure environment. The role is very demanding, but it is incredibly rewarding, too, as Junaid Dowool (Sanctuary’s Clinical and Safeguarding Lead) who carries out my appraisals, understands. Being a highly-experienced RMN himself, he appreciates the clinical challenges of my role.
“It’s very sad to hear some of the life experiences that people have gone through but as a mental health nurse, I know that I am able to make a difference.
“Alex understands this too. He knows that to be fulfilled within my role, I need to know I am helping people. He has always had this in mind when finding placements that allow me to use my skills to the fullest.”
How supported do you feel by Sanctuary?
“Very. In the last 10 years of working with Sanctuary, there has never been a time when I have not felt supported.
“I’ve worked for other agencies before, and I’ve got to say that Sanctuary is the best I’ve worked for. Other nurses who I have introduced to Sanctuary also say the same.
“It’s the personal approach that makes all the difference. I’ve always had a dedicated consultant, Alex, who looks after me. He will always take the time to listen to me, and if I send him an email he will always respond as quickly as he can.
“I must also add that Sanctuary is very well organised as a recruitment agency. They support and fund all my core training, are there to help with revalidation (if required) and if I ever have any issues, which can crop up with working in a complex clinical environment, I can contact Junaid for support and guidance. This is important to have when working as a locum RMN.
“It’s very easy for a recruitment agency to say that they offer an excellent service, but Sanctuary lives up to its promises.”
How does Sanctuary recognise your contribution?
“I have regular clinical appraisals with Junaid, and part of this process is to assess my performance, so there is recognition there. Beyond this, Alex shares positive feedback, and just recently, I received a lovely gift from the team.
“The day I received my long-service ‘thank you’ gift had been difficult. I stayed an hour later than planned to support someone who needed my help. I then hopped on the train home, when sadly, someone took their own life on the tracks a few miles ahead, and I had to reroute my journey on several buses across London. I arrived home exhausted at 9.15 pm after a long shift to find the most amazing bouquet of flowers and a note from Alex that read:
Thank you for all your hard work and loyalty – you’re truly a role model for us all.
“I can’t tell you how much that lifted me. Straight away, I took a picture of myself and the flowers and sent it to my husband and children. Just being recognised in this way means a lot.”
So, what’s next? What are your plans for the next 3/5 years?
“The UK is my permanent home, but I plan on visiting Sierra Leone for three or four months to help set up a new community hospital. Two nurses at home, who I know very well, will manage the hospital, and I shall go over there to train people. In my spare time, I have already been writing practice guides.
“As I’ve shared with Alex and Junaid over the years, supporting my home community in this way has been a vision of mine since the end of the Civil War in 2001. I can’t wait to share my clinical knowledge and make a difference to people who otherwise struggle to access medical help.”
