Meet the Team - Chloe Bradbury

Chloe has worked with us for nearly 1 year. Read our Q&A below to find out more about her:

What is your job role and in general what does that entail?

I am an Engagement and Signposting Lead with a focus on mental health.  This means I engage with the public to see how well mental health services are working, where improvements need to be made and what is working well.  We also offer a signposting service, where I can help someone find a service or provide details of how to make a complaint. 

What does a usual work day look like to you?

No two days are the same in this role.  Sometimes I am working in the office, other days from home.  I can be out at a public event, or meeting with a service provider to hear about what they are doing or changes being made to their service.  I am a part of several steering groups, so I give input from a service user perspective to shape how services work and ensure the service user voice is heard.

What is the most exciting/rewarding part of your job?

The most rewarding part of my job is helping people.  Quite often, when someone gets in touch with us, they are frustrated and have been passed from pillar to post by services and just can’t get the answers they need.  Part of my role is to listen to their frustrations, and often just knowing someone is taking them seriously is a help.  But being able to find the answers or get a response from the right person and then being able to pass that information on to the individual to empower them makes the job very worthwhile.  I like to see we are making a difference with the work we do.  This can be quite tiresome at times, as it often feels like we are banging our heads against a brick wall, but changes need to happen, especially within the mental health sector and I believe through lived experience we can work together to improve this sector. 

What is your favourite thing about working for Healthwatch County Durham?

I work with a fantastic team and I am so lucky we are all very supportive of each other.  We all work on our own projects but all strive to work together to improve health and social care services for the community.  We often get quite passionate about an issue and are great at sharing ideas and contacts with each other.  We all love a cake and biscuit which always helps!! 

What jobs have you done in the past?

In the past I worked in business travel, so this is a completely new sector for me.  I decided about 5 years ago I wanted a change in career and felt I wanted to feel like I was making a difference with the work I was doing.  So, I went to University at 39 years old and completed by Clinical Psychology degree.  This was something I am extremely proud of, it was very tough at times, especially as the pandemic hit half way through and I had to find time to home school two children too!  But, I worked hard and graduated with a first-class degree with honours.   

Thank youto Chloe for answering our questions and working hard to make a difference within her role.