Craig Bell 

“Our group project is about forensic need, a topic that’s relevant to what I’m already doing. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to build on something with other nurses that could be rolled out not only in Forth Valley, but Scotland-wide.”

“As the only guy in the cohort I was a bit more nervous but I’m not afraid to be emotionally vulnerable, through struggle comes success. I’ve gained a lot just by having access to a network of learning disability QNs. Almost every health board in Scotland is represented within the group. Naively I thought that every NHS health board would work the same, but part of the process is about the individual nurses – I am able to network with people who work differently to me, and we can share things that benefit all of us.”

“Being on the Queen’s Nurse programme has helped me appreciate the link between my personal life and my ability to cope with work. I now know what kind of leader I am, and Theory U in particular has helped me realise where my skills and deficits are, and the influence I have over different issues.”

“I used to worry about other people trying to figure me out. I’m a guy from Belfast, and I’ve always been aware that I stand out, but I’ve shifted that observation from a negative to a positive. I can bring unique elements to the role that others can’t. You have to use ‘not fitting in’ to your advantage and bring yourself to work every day.”

“My dream is to make sure everyone has some level of training or understanding of how to interact with people with a disability. It’s ambitious but I want everyone who has additional support needs in the general population to know that there are people out there that support them. An integral part of my role is making sure every service is tailored to enhance the lives of people with a learning disability and I will plug away at this crisis until there is a huge government shift to do the same across the country.”

“You need to be really flexible and adaptable around different situations. We’re always creative in our approach, fitting around the need that’s there. In a crisis the job is about being analytical and providing support, but as a trauma-skilled worker there is also a level of compassion, trustworthiness and ability to read a room.”

“Working in crisis can be a blessing and a curse, when things reach breaking point, it can be easy to compartmentalise these issues, but I always look for the underlying cause. I can’t do everything, but I’m committed to doing everything that I can do – that’s how we can make progress.”

“When I was growing up, I saw that people’s needs weren’t being recognised within the community, people were considered a nuisance or subjected to psychological or social stress through lack of understanding. At the top end of the scale people were being taken advantage of our sexually exploited. I want people with a learning disability to feel validated and understood. All services should have the skills to treat everyone with respect.”

“Only when we have clear pathways can we provide the robust care packages that people with a learning disability deserve. The level of vulnerability end exploitation stops people from having autonomous access to the services they need but as a team I know we can change this.”

“Timely access to the right community care will stop anyone from feeling alone.”