South London and Maudsley Staff Biographies

18 October 2013

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Martin Baggaley (Episode 2, Crisis)

Dr Martin Baggaley is SLaM’s Medical Director. He joined Lewisham and Guy’s Mental Health Trust (now part of SLaM) in 1997 as a consultant psychiatrist. He was appointed clinical director for Lewisham adult mental health services in 1999 before his appointment as medical director of the Trust in 2007. He helped develop the Triage ward model in Lewisham and works in the Triage ward at Lambeth Hospital which opened in 2011.

He qualified from St Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1984 and served in the British Army from 1985; training in the army and at Guy’s Hospital. He has been a full-time psychiatrist since 1986. He has also worked at the Psychosexual and Relationship Service at Guy’s Hospital.

 

Rob Howard (Episode 4, Breakdown)

Professor Rob Howard is a Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist at Maudsley Hospital where he has worked since 1988 following an undergraduate education at Cambridge and St Bartholomew’s Hospital and a few years working in general medicine. His time is divided between his clinical work as a consultant and leading the academic work in mental health of older adults at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.

Professor Howard said: “I wanted to take part in the programme because I wanted people to know more about the help that is available for older people with mental health problems and to understand that recovery is possible and that - with the right help - the outlook for our patients is very positive.”

Professor Howard’s research interests include very-late-onset-psychosis in the over 60s and brain imaging in dementia and psychosis. He is also Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2008-13) and is the profession’s elected lead on training and professional standards. In recent years, psychiatry has not been a popular option for UK medical school graduates and Rob sees the changing of perceptions of undergraduate and foundation year trainees as a very important ambition for the Institute of Psychiatry and the profession as a whole.

 

Sarah Camp (Episode 2, Crisis)

Sarah Camp, a Charge Nurse and currently Acting Practice Development Nurse on the Triage Ward at Lambeth Hospital, qualified in 2010. She was keen to find a challenging role for her first job and so looked for work on acute mental health wards in London. It was then that she came to SLaM and to the Lloyd Still Ward which later became Triage. 

Sarah first developed an interest in mental health while studying for a psychology degree and went on to work in a variety of voluntary and clinical roles surrounding mental health and learning disabilities, including one in Australia. On her return to the UK she started studying for a postgraduate diploma in mental health nursing.

Her appointment to the position of staff nurse at SLaM in 2010 was followed by a promotion to charge nurse a year later and since February 2013 she has been acting practice development nurse for Triage. This position is seen as the deputy team leader and Sarah fills in for the managers in their absence.

 

Simon Darnley (Episode 1, Anxiety)

Simon Darnley is a Principal Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and Head of the Anxiety Disorders Residential Unit at SLaM. He manages the day-to-day running of the unit and its overall clinical programme.  He worked as psychiatric nurse before training as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist. He then went on to train and supervise CBT therapists for many years before running the Anxiety Disorders Residential Unit.

Simon has been involved in the treatment, training and supervision of people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) for more than 20 years. He has researched and published work on many anxiety disorders including OCD, irritable bowel syndrome and habit disorders. He is also now head of Clinical Pathways for Lambeth Mood and Personality Disorder, managing a wide range of clinical services from first contact with mental health services (CMHTs) to specialised psychotherapy for one of the largest boroughs in the country.

 

Tom Werner (Episode 3, Psychosis)

Dr Tom Werner is a Locum Consultant Psychiatrist with the Speedwell support and recovery team in Deptford. He trained and worked at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma at the Maudsley Hospital and in the Cognitive Therapies Division of City and Hackney’s Psychotherapy Department. He has extensive experience of working with a range of different client groups including adult mental health, older people, people suffering with addiction and children and families.

His specific interests are service user lead project work on a recovery resource website (LetsBwell) and physical health and mental illness. He is also a governor of the Trust, a cognitive behavioural therapist, director of LetsBwell and trustee of a musical charity Song in the City Charity Trust.

The Speedwell service and recovery team operates out in the community in Lewisham and they have approximately 360 patients in their care, with 17 GP’s practices linking with the team.  The needs in the local population are often related to high levels of social deprivation and poverty.

 

Dr Tony Rao (Episode 4, Breakdown)

Dr Rao is a Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist working at North Southwark Community Mental Health Team for Older Adults and is also a visiting researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.  He is the longest serving community consultant old age psychiatrist, having been in post for more than 15 years.

Dr Rao said: “Working exclusively in the community means seeing older people in their own homes at times of difficulty and great stress. By being able to work with older people in a setting with which they are most familiar, they can be offered the right interventions at the right time and continue to live independently for as long as possible.

“Appearing on the programme gave me the opportunity to portray a specialty that has never ceased to fuel my enthusiasm and dedication for the past 20 years. Old age psychiatry is probably the only specialty in medicine that combines such a wide range of skills that are woven into the rich tapestry everyday clinical practice. With the growing number of older people experiencing both dementia and other problems such as alcohol misuse, there will continue to be a demand for old age psychiatrists who have a passion for making a difference to the lives of older people.”

 

Darren Plant (Episode 2, Crisis)

Darren Plant worked for SLaM at Lambeth Hospital for 11 years and was the ward manager for Triage from its opening. He left in August 2013 to move to Eastbourne.

He played a key part in setting up the nursing team and setting out the clinical standards that nursing staff are required to adhere to. His main role there on a day-to-day basis was to manage the flow of admissions to ensure the ward remained safe and to minimise the chances of inappropriate admissions.

Darren was also heavily involved in maintaining safety on the ward and made sure that the ward had robust management plans for any distressed, difficult or suicidal patients. Under Darren’s leadership the Triage ward also won an award for outstanding inpatient care earlier in 2013.