Lorna Sandbergen
Team Co-ordinator, Speech and Language Therapy
I started working in the Speech & Language Therapy Department five years ago, and had a year in Theatres at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary before that – as PA to the Clinical Nurse Manager.I joined the NHS as a return to work mum, having previously worked in admin/secretarial roles in the oil industry. Despite the money available I made a conscious decision not to go back to the oil industry. I did not wish to type another thing about a drill bit!! Instead, I wanted to deal with real people and real issues. I didn’t have any particular expectations; my goal was to work in the public sector. I was attracted by the job security, especially as I am a single mum with kids.
My current job is really brilliant. I have great staff. The therapists are brilliant and really love the kids. They work over and above the call of duty all the time and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Principal Speech & Language Therapist who has really made the department great. Waiting times have reduced greatly, staffing has increased, there were so many empty posts when I started and now posts are being filled and the service is superb.
We have several therapists from Ireland – coming from word of mouth so this reflects well on the area. There is also one from Tasmania and one from Canada. The Irish therapists tend to have studied in Edinburgh or Glasgow and although they often go away for weekends (there are easy flights to Belfast), they like living in the city and have got many friends here. Nearer at hand, we have a therapist who lives just north of Dundee who commutes every day.
What do I like about Aberdeen? It’s got lots of lovely parks, a good selection of shops, lots of new, wee (little) delis (delicatessens), and also wee villages, like Cults. Schools are good, ranging from the International School of Aberdeen, the Waldorf School etc to state schools and local nurseries. For a big city it’s clean, but busy, and it’s close to the countryside. You don’t have to travel for long before you have stunning scenery outside the car window.
What’s the best thing? The opportunity to change job and move around – I worked as a PA to a manager and now I work in S&L, supervise staff, have more responsibility - this is all good. Internal movement is encouraged and you get time off from your post to go to interviews. You get encouragement from your boss and the NHS is great in this way. For example, I applied for a seconded post and my boss helped me with my presentation. In a lot of areas, you get encouragement when thinking of moving on.
