No regrets
A WELL-KNOWN Lochgilphead man reflects on four decades working in mental health as he retires.
FOR A man who really wanted to be a PE teacher and ‘drifted into’ mental health nursing, Dougie Philand has stuck at it pretty well.
As he retired last month, Dougie reflected on his 37-year career in healthcare – the latter years of which have been spent balancing the day job with public service as an Argyll and Bute councillor.
He began: ‘I started as a nursing assistant in Argyll and Bute Hospital on June 4, 1979. On my first shift I worked with the late Neil Brown who was the charge nurse, Andrew Billingham, the staff nurse, Alistair MacLauchlan, an enrolled nurse, and Grahame Brown who was also a nursing assistant.
The hospital at that time had more than 500 patients, as opposed to around 20 to 30 these days.
‘The ward I started on was called the male in- firmary and there were 30 patients there who had dementia. My first duty was to shave them all which took me most of the morning as I had never shaved anyone else before.’
Dougie went on to train as a psychiatric nurse, going on to undertake general training in 1984 at Aberdeen Royal infirmary.
After his return to Lochgilphead in 1985 he was promoted to charge nurse, aged just 22, of Succoth ward, an acute admissions ward for 30 patients.
Two years later he took on a post looking after patients in their own homes in Mid Argyll, which was a relatively new concept at the time. ‘I was involved in rehousing long-term patients into houses in Lochgilphead, Ardrishaig and Tarbert,’ he recalled.
Never one to stand still, Dougie was trained in hypnotherapy, did his community psychiatric nursing diploma and worked towards a Masters in Community Care at Glasgow University in 2000. He also trained as a trauma therapist.
But it all could have been so different.
As a teenager and a keen rugby player in the late 1970s, he wanted to be a PE teacher. Dougie continued: ‘I didn’t have the right qualifications and I just sort of drifted into working at the hospital. But I have enjoyed my career and I’ve never regretted working in mental health.’
After a stint on Lochgilphead Community Council, Dougie was elected to represent the people of Mid Argyll at Argyll and Bute Council in 2007 and remains a councillor for the Mid Argyll ward.
As for the future, he explained: ‘I’m definitely going to stand again for the council. Beyond that, I’m only just getting used to the fact I don’t have to go into work in the morning after 37 years.
‘My wife Libby and I are keen walkers, so we’ll be doing plenty of that when not on council business and I also plan to play plenty of bowls.’