Role: Trustee

Margaret worked in mental health for over 40 years before retiring in 2020. She trained as a mental health nurse in Scotland, where she was born, and lived there happily until 1984, when she moved to Essex with her family. Throughout her career, she held various clinical and managerial roles across multiple trusts in Essex. In 2002, Margaret moved to Suffolk, at a time when Service User Engagement was beginning to establish itself across the county. This marked the start of her journey to understand and embrace Service User and Carer Engagement in all aspects of mental health.

In the latter part of her career, she focused on the Mental Transformation plans in Suffolk, where co-production was key to all the work undertaken. On a personal level, Margaret has also been a carer for over 15 years, reinforcing her strong belief that physical and mental health are equally important and that each impacts the other.