Our People In CAMHS Services

5 Minutes With Dr Tom Foley, Consultant Psychiatrist

 

How does your day start?

I drop my kids off at school, then drive over the beautiful hills into our new office, just off the main street in Buncrana (Donegal). There are views of Lough Foyle, out to the Atlantic behind me and Lough Swilly in front. That’s a good way to start the day! The first person I meet is usually Sheila, our admin lead, to review files for upcoming appointments and to find out what else is happening in our service. I leave a little time to reply to any urgent emails and I’ll usually check in with other members of the team to discuss cases. If it’s Tuesday, we have a full team meeting, but otherwise, it’s straight into clinic.

Tell us about the team you work with. 

In our office, I work with other doctors, nurses, a clinical psychologist, a social worker and our admin lead. They are all experts in different areas that are important to young people’s mental health. We also work with other local services, such as Jigsaw, Primary Care, Tusla, schools and community services such as Pieta and others.
We have a close relationship with the neighbouring CAMHS teams and we talk to management about big changes to our service.
We have a Youth Advisory Group and a Parent Advisory Group, who help us to design our services to better meet their needs.

What does your typical working day involve? 

Every day is different in CAMHS. I might see new patients who are struggling with anxiety, depression or ADHD. I might see people who are recovering from psychotic or eating disorders. I spend a lot of time discussing patients with other team members. Sometimes I will get a call from the local general hospital and need to see a patient on the ward or in their own home. We help young people to create their own care plan and many of their goals will involve people outside CAMHS, so I get to know local teachers, social workers, paediatricians, Gardai and community workers.

What motivates you in your work?

It’s great to see young people and their families overcoming mental health challenges. This can allow them to get the most out of their education and social lives. It can really make a difference now, but also to the rest of their lives.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy working with young people, their families and with the rest of our team. It is partly about knowing the medical facts and relevant research, but it’s also about listening and helping people to solve problems in their lives. You can often see people making big improvements quite quickly, which is very satisfying.
I also enjoy finding ways to improve our service. Often, by listening to the young people who come to see us, we can come up with better ways of working and that can be really satisfying as well.

What advice would you give someone considering a career in CAMHS?

Give it a go!

I didn’t realise how much I would enjoy CAMHS until I had to do it for one of my junior doctor rotations, then I didn’t want to leave. Whether you are a doctor, nurse, social worker, Occupationa Therapist, Speech & language therapist, manager, whatever, there are interesting roles.
Make contact with your local CAMHS team and ask them what it is like and whether there are any opportunities coming up.