NORFOLK and Waveney's mental health boss has surprised staff by deciding to step down and take early retirement this year.Pat Holman, 56, chief executive of the mental health trust, will leave at the end of August after serving her six-month notice period.
NORFOLK and Waveney's mental health boss has surprised staff by deciding to step down and take early retirement this year.
Pat Holman, 56, chief executive of the mental health trust, will leave at the end of August after serving her six-month notice period. She plans to take a year out and then work in the voluntary sector.
Mrs Holman will have been at Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Trust for nine years when she leaves, and has worked for the NHS for 33 years. She said her proudest achievement for the trust was getting it to foundation status, meaning that local people can help to shape the service. And her biggest personal achievements were qualifying as a mental health nurse in 1979, and becoming a chief executive in 2000. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would do that”.
She said: “It was a very difficult decision to make, but I will never leave the trust at stronger time. We have achieved more than I have ever imagined.”
She has not decided what shape her work in the voluntary sector will take. She said: “There are days when working with orangutans in Borneo looks remarkably attractive!
“When I started in the NHS as a nurse I saw the direct impact of what I did. When you move up to this level the work is more complex, it takes longer to see the difference. I want to see the direct effects of my work at the end of my career.”
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