Richard is a hospital trained Registered Nurse from Tokanui Hospital, currently employed as the CNS He To a Takitini – Te Whatu Ora Waikato.
Over many years he has enjoyed the opportunity of working across the Mental Health sector in a wide variety of roles. These roles have allowed him to develop new skills, learn from mistakes, and as all of us have – cope with constant change. It is not only our practice that changes of course but ourselves.
He came into the addictions sector by accident some seven or eight years ago. Our practice at Te Whatu Ora Waikato is focused upon AOD assessment, Opioid Substitution Treatment, harm reduction and relapse prevention/recovery for other substances. This cannot be achieved by Addiction Nursing alone or by Te Whatu Ora alone (and nor should it be).
Partnership is essential – this is how we get through change, this is how addiction nursing continues to learn, this is how addiction nursing must always practice.