Simon Farmery

Mental Health Trust 


Job Title: Physical Health Practitioner
Place of Work: Lincolnshire Secure Unit, Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust


What does your job include?
My current role is to attend to the primary healthcare needs of up to 12 young people, aged 10-18 years, who currently reside in the Unit. The young people in question are here on custodial and welfare placements. I work as part of a multi-disciplinary healthcare team, alongside a Physical Health/Substance Misuse Nurse, Mental Health Practitioner, Highly Specialised Child Psychologist, Assistant Psychologist and a Speech and Language Therapist.


How did you get into your role?
Having left East Midlands Ambulance Service in April 2020, I began working for LPFT as a Senior Acute Care Practitioner in the Older Adults Mental Health Home Treatment Team, which provides an intensive, relatively short duration service to over 65s in Lincolnshire, whose mental state is deteriorating and are in danger of needing admission to an inpatient unit. After 18 rewarding months of acute elderly mental health work, I commenced my role at the LSU, within the same trust. 

What do you think is the most important benefit of being a member of the College of Paramedics, and why?
Aside from the endless CPD and research opportunities put forward/advertised by the COP, it is the first port of call for publicising the ever increasing and diverse range of roles which Paramedics are now fulfilling in frontline UK healthcare. In comparison to other health professions, Paramedicine is still relatively young and it still comes as a surprise to many (including senior management figures across many an NHS trust) that Paramedics and their skillsets have now grown beyond “traditional” ambulance work, and are becoming increasingly prevalent in providing vital patient services. It is because of the College of Paramedics that the growth of our profession continues apace. Being a member of the college opens your eyes to what is possible in terms of professional development, how we can be involved in shaping the future of Paramedicine, and the challenges we still face in this regard, as well as highlighting important issues such as threats to our individual and collective welfare, and where we can turn to for help.