Mary Banks

Mary is Mountbatten's Head of Rehabilitation and Enablement, having joined in 2020. Mountbatten's working methods attracted Mary to the role and she has not looked back since.

Tell us about your career journey so far, and what brought you to Mountbatten.

I’m a physiotherapist by trade and I was living in the Midlands, with no ties and the potential for a whole new start on the incredible, beautiful, Isle of Wight. As well as the change of lifestyle draw, I was particularly interested in Mountbatten's approach to care. It’s very different to a traditional hospice model, it’s more focused on empowering and enabling the individual, which really spoke to my professional ethos.

Can you tell us about your role in more detail?

My job title is Head of Rehabilitation and Enablement. I hold a clinical caseload on the Island which involves inpatient and outpatient care and some in the community as well. I am also a service lead for rehabilitation and provide leadership for the team on the Isle of Wight and at Mountbatten Hampshire, our sister hospice. I also oversee the John Cheverton Centre, so our day services, groups, activities, and outpatients at the hospice, which helps us connect with the community and reach more people.

How does your role make a difference to the people we support?

One of the absolute privileges of my role and working here at Mountbatten is that we are encouraged from all levels to look at the person, their unique circumstances, their family and their wishes and what’s important to them. We build our programme of care around all of that. We look at what’s needed to empower people to do things they may never have thought possible given their diagnosis. It’s all about empowerment and taking positive risks to enable people more. 

What makes Mountbatten different for you?

Often in healthcare, people must fit in around the system. It’s quite the opposite here and everything is tailored to the individual and what we can do to best support them. There’s room for creativity of approach, we’re always asking ourselves how we can do things differently, or better?

What input would be most beneficial to this person and their family? We can take the time to do what’s right for that person in that moment, because as much importance is placed on clinical work as on the personal interactions we have with people. They all make a difference at the right moment. Another big difference is the leadership, they are visible, checking in and approachable.

The CEO sits in an office around the corner, which I think counts for a lot, and there’s transparency and honesty. We celebrate successes often and people are openly recognised for going above and beyond. I also think we’re very good at recognising when things aren’t working so well. Mountbatten will stop, listen to staff at any level and if someone’s got a bit of an alternative idea, they’re open to trying it and different ways of working.

What does the future hold?

To reach more people in our communities and to keep developing our service. It’s a process of continuous improvement, and to keep being creative, and looking at fresh ways of doing things, so that we can keep delivering outstanding care and working together to make a difference to people and their families at the most difficult point in their lives.

How do you make every moment count?

By trying to make sure every interaction is used to its full worth. By taking every opportunity, with an individual or their family to make them feel seen and valued. If you walk past someone in a corridor, or sit and have a lemonade with them, or spending time with someone in clinic, you want that to feel meaningful. Right up to having the most difficult conversations. Every moment counts.

Make this moment count

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