Katie Casement - Hospital Manager

Katie qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2011 and began her career with The Cambian Group working with male locked rehabilitation services. Katie joined Cygnet Hospital Derby in June 2014 and progressed to Head of Occupational Therapy where she has helped raise the amount of therapeutic activity on the wards with her team.

Katie shadowed the Clinical Manager at Derby from summer 2016 and gained experience in the role and was given the opportunity to act up as Clinical Manager in 2017. In January 2018 Katie gained the substantive Clinical Manager Role at Derby. Her confidence, fairness and ability to help has furthered her progress within the company and gave her the opportunity to take on a temporary role at Cygnet Hospital Clifton in March 2020 to support the management team. Katie was then appointed as Hospital Manager for Cygnet Hospital Clifton in July 2020.

Amy Dawson - Clinical Manager

Amy qualified as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in 2010 and began her career working in a male mental health locked rehabilitation service. Amy progressed to Senior Nurse in 2011and continued to work within the same service for a further 6 years focusing on positive patient experiences and Nurse Development. Amy is a trained mentor and completed a leadership course via NHS leadership academy in 2015

In 2017 Amy gained her first management role and was appointed as Clinical Nurse Manager for a female Personality Disorder service. From this role Amy went on to assist in the commissioning of a new acute hospital and in November 2018 Amy joined as Clinical Manager for Cygnet Hospital Clifton.

Dr Sree Thamburaja - Consultant Psychiatrist

Dr Thamburaja qualified in 2005 from University of Bristol with a medical degree. She was successful in obtaining a 6 year run through training for Psychiatry in 2007 in the East Midlands Region. Dr Thamburaja obtained her Certificate of Specialist Training in Forensic Psychiatry in 2013 and gained her first Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist role as a Locum at the Well Road Centre in Nottingham before becoming a substantive Consultant at Cygnet Hospital Bury’s Medium Secure service. Dr Thamburaja is recognised for her role in promoting service user involvement in care planning and community transition process.

Dr Thamburaja took up the Consultant role at Cygnet Hospital Clifton in July 2017 following a four month experience of working in the Cygnet Sherwood House male high dependency rehabilitation service. Her level of clinical experience, range of expertise and willingness to help collaboratively has gained her the respect and admiration from her colleagues and external agencies.

Dr Amarachi Onuoha – Speciality Doctor

Dr Onuoha graduated with a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ghana and went to complete her Medical Training, obtaining an MBChB from the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry.

With a keen interest in Psychiatry, Dr. Onuoha has worked in different service settings including outpatient care, liaison, and acute services. Her clinical experience has consistently brought valuable insights to the clinical team.

Her approach is patient-focused care with meticulous risk management. She firmly believes that, when placed within an enabling environment and supported appropriately, individuals navigating the care pathway can make substantial strides towards recovery.

Kelly Kingston - Acorn Ward Manager

Kelly originally worked in accounting and finance for 15 years before deciding that it was time for a new challenge. After setting up a mental health support group in the village where she lives and supporting the individuals to gain the confidence to complete activities that they had not done in years, Kelly realised that she wanted to be able to support individuals full-time to overcome the mental health challenges and build a life that they find fulfilling and meaningful.

Kelly then went back to university to study mental health nursing. After attending a placement at Cygnet Hospital Clifton she gained employment to complete her preceptorship there. After completing all her final year placements she started working full-time at Cygnet Hospital Clifton in March 2022 and has since gone on to become a Clinical Team leader before becoming the Acorn Ward Manger in May 2023.

Emily Taylor - Ancaria Ward Manager

Emily qualified as a mental health nurse in 2018. Prior to that, Emily worked as a support worker in a men’s medium secure service and remained there whilst completing her studies at University. Once qualified as a mental health nurse, Emily remained in this service, until leaving to progress to a role of senior staff nurse at Cygnet Cedar Vale in 2019.

Emily then progressed to Head of Care at Cygnet Cedar Vale in March 2020 and remained there until November 2022. Emily then spent a short period working as a Deputy Hospital Director for an independent hospital, prior to returning to Cygnet as Ancaria ward manager at Cygnet Hospital Clifton.

Dr Elizabeth Wakeland – Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Head of Psychology

Dr Wakeland completed her doctoral training in Clinical and Forensic Psychology from University of Birmingham. She has a wealth of experience having worked in a variety of community, inpatient and prison settings. She has worked with a range of different client groups, including children and young people, adult males and females, and individuals with learning disability, mental illness and personality disorder.

Dr Wakeland joined Cygnet Health Care in January 2022 as Head of the Psychology Department at Cygnet Hospital Clifton. She works alongside, and leads the psychology team which includes a Qualified Psychologist, a full-time Assistant Psychologist and a part-time Assistant Psychologist.

The psychology team offer a range of 1:1 and group interventions for service users, conduct risk assessments and psychometrics, whilst also contributing towards service development, staff training and staff support through regular reflective practice and care formulation sessions. Dr Wakeland is also keen to support the development and skills of future practitioners and aims to support students and trainees in gaining the skills to become a Qualified Psychologist in future.

Regional Lead Occupational Therapist: East Midlands

Rachel qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2015 and has since gained a wide range of experience in a variety of mental health settings, including community intensive recovery intervention for older adults, low secure female mental health and low secure male mental health. She joined Cygnet Health Care in 2018 as an Occupational Therapist where she worked on a specialist female low secure personality disorder ward. She then transitioned to Cygnet Hospital Clifton.

The Occupational Therapy department provides specialist care to service users to assess needs and implement interventions in a holistic manner. The team utilises the Model of Human Occupation and the Vona Du Toit Model of Creative Ability alongside the Cygnet Personality Disorder care pathway and model of care. The teams goal is to empower service users to make decisions on their care and encourage independence in everyday life including. This is completed through the use of recovery focused interventions which are individualised towards each service user’s needs, wants and future goals. The team work with service users to develop their occupational identity, to determine positive occupations which are meaningful to them and to ensure inclusive community and vocational support is in place on discharge.

Claire Lomas - Social Worker

Claire qualified as a Social Worker in 2021 and prior to this had vast experience in a variety of mental health settings including secure female and male services, both low and medium secure. This included Personality Disorder, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities.

She joined Cygnet Health Care in 2017 as a Social Work Assistant where she worked with males and females within a low secure Mental Health unit. She then transitioned to Cygnet Hospital Clifton where she is the hospital Social Worker. The Social Work department provides specialist care to our service users to assess their social needs and provide interventions in a Person-Centred, Strengths Based Approach, in line with the Social Model of Health. The aim of social work intervention is to develop social skills and is the link to community and family life as well as external organisations.

Adrian Piontkowski - Senior Support Worker

Adrian joined Cygnet Hospital Clifton in 2019 as Support Worker working mainly on Ancaria ward taking on key responsibilities. Adrian has shown an interest in maintaining the Security and safety of the hospital since joining the company. He express interest in the role of the Safety intervention Instructor and has successfully completed this training. As part of this job role Adrian supports the wider staff team to ensure least restrictive and safe physical interventions.

Adrian has a Bachelors degree in Security and Offender Management and a MSC in Forensic Mental Health.

Stacey Antoine-Fontenelle – Administration Manager & Training Coordinator

Stacey joined Cygnet Hospital Clifton in July 2020 as the Admin Supervisor, focusing on supporting the administration department and developing systems to meet the hospital’s needs.

Stacey has a background in administration with a diploma in Business Administration and her experience and knowledge has allowed her to quickly develop the administration team and take on further responsibilities. Stacey is responsible for ensuring the admin department runs effectively to meet targets and provide support to all departments as needed. A main part of her role is to organise the training needs for the hospital and ensure compliance across the hospital. She also leads with the induction process to ensure all new employees are welcomed and supported.

Stacey is now focusing on learning more about the non-clinical departments so she can support the management team and build on her experience. Her interests outside of work are writing, travelling, and experiencing new cultures.

Selina Palmer – Hospital and Finance Administrator

Selina joined Cygnet Hospital Clifton in August 2019 as the Mental Health Act Administrator. She is an experienced Administrator with twenty five years in this field; hence she brings a wealth of knowledge to the department. She has since been promoted to the Hospital and Finance Administrator Role, she oversees the finance aspects of the business and is responsible for the accounts of the hospital. Selina maintains accurate, financial and HR records. Outside of work, Selina enjoys outdoor activities and is a very talented baker much to all the staffs’ delight.

Marie Fernandez - CQUINS and Governance Administrator

Marie has recently joined the admin team at Cygnet Clifton as the CQUINS & Governance Administrator. Coming from a background in admin support in all areas, her most recent role was specialising in memorials and bereavement support for 6 years. Marie has always had a keen interest in mental health and the way people view the world and studied Psychology and Social Sciences at University as a mature student.

Marie is looking forward to the new challenges this role will bring and learning about a whole new sector. Outside of work Marie is involved in animal rescue and enjoys travelling and long walks with her rescue dog Suki in her spare time.

Aneesa Habib - Mental Health Act Administrator

Mental health services have always been an interest of Aneesa’s and she has always been fascinated by the mind and what makes every individual unique. Aneesa started off with volunteer work in a mental health care home for the elderly where she co-ordinated activities for them on a regular basis.

Aneesa then applied to be a mental health support worker in a supported living accommodation. She worked there a little over a year before she came across the MHA role at Cygnet Hospital Clifton. She enjoys learning new information and plans to broaden her knowledge and continue learning and is excited to see what the future holds.