Gavin Clark - Hospital Manager

Gavin has over 18 years’ experience working in independent mental health care. Following completing a psychology degree he began working as a healthcare worker in a medium secure forensic setting whilst looking to decide which area to specialize in. Preferring the day-to-day contact with service users on the ward, he retrained as a mental health nurse.

Following qualifying in 2007, Gavin returned to work in a secure setting working on male mental illness and personality disorder wards. He took his first steps in to management in 2014, as a Charge Nurse on a 16-bed female personality disorder ward, before becoming Ward Manager of a 24-bed male mental illness and personality disorder ward in 2015. Gavin initially joined Cygnet as Clinical Manager of Cygnet Hospital Harrogate in 2018 before taking the role of Hospital Manager in 2020. He was appointed Hospital Manager of Cygnet Hospital Wyke in 2024.

Gavin believes in nurturing a strong and supportive team, promoting least restrictive practice, respect and compassion in order to consistently deliver the highest standards of care to service users.

Dr Snur Hamad - Medical Director

Dr Hamad is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrist and have been working in the UK as a doctor since 2004. He trained as a general adult psychiatrist with a special interest in neurodevelopmental disorders in Yorkshire Deanery’s Higher Specialist Training Programme between 2014 to 2017. Since 2005 he has worked for different NHS Foundation Trusts in Yorkshire, as a Psychiatrist. He worked for Cygnet Oaks in Barnsley between 2018 to 2020, and joined Cygnet Wyke Hospital in September 2020.

Caroline Clare - Head of Psychology

Caroline is a Consultant Forensic Psychologist who joined the team as Head of Psychology in June 2020.

She has worked in a Psychological setting since 2008 and has experience of working with adults with a range of different needs including complex personality disorder, mental health issues, autism and learning disabilities. Caroline has attended training to be able to use different approaches in therapy (including CBT, EMDR, CAT and Schema Therapy) and has a certification in working with complex trauma.

Caroline enjoys working with individuals to develop a collaborative treatment plan that will meet their needs. Caroline is keen to put individuals at the centre of their care, and enjoys being creative and trying different ways to help people to improve their quality of life and progress in their recovery journey.

Clodagh Burns – Head Occupational Therapist

Clodagh graduated with a BSc in Occupational Therapy from Trinity College Dublin in 2013. She started her career working in the NHS on acute mental health wards. Clodagh joined Cygnet Health Care in September 2016, she has worked within the high dependency inpatient mental health service line as well as the learning disability and autism services. She is currently the Head Occupational Therapist at Cygnet Hospital Wyke working on Kingfisher ward.

Clodagh is passionate about empowering individuals to achieve their personal goals. Clodagh has a special interest in Autism and sensory integration. She is committed to creating sensory friendly environments for the service users she works with. Clodagh is currently developing her knowledge of Sensory Integration and autism further through formal training.

Clodagh is the Regional Lead for the West Yorkshire Region. She provides leadership and guidance for the Occupational Therapy teams within this region. Clodagh has completed the Level 5 Visionary Leaders Management Apprenticeship through Cygnet Health.

Clodagh is an accredited practice educator. She enjoys supporting students with their learning by providing a number of student’s placements throughout the year.

Sarah Stephenson – Lead Social Worker

Sarah qualified as a Registered Learning Disability Nurse and a Social Worker in 2018. She started working as a newly qualified nurse within Cygnet in 2018 and transferred over to Social work in 2020. Prior to this she her experience was in working with people with mental health issues in the community. As a nurse, Sarah also had experience in working in substance misuse and complex care services.

Before qualifying as a nurse Sarah became a support worker supporting with people with learning disabilities and autism in 2010. She enjoyed supporting individuals to engage in activities that were meaningful to them and accessing the community. After 4 years in this role, she wanted to do more for people and wanted to make a difference, and so decided to go to the University of Salford to complete a degree in Integrated Practice in Learning Disabilities Nursing and Social Work.

Kerri Kellett - Administration Manager

Kerri started working at Wyke in January 2008 as a Medical Secretary. In August 2015 she successfully interviewed for the post of Administration Manager.

She gained AMSPAR Medical Receptionist and Medical Secretary Diplomas which put her in good stead for the Medical Secretary role in the busy Cardiothoracic Department at The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, where she worked for nine years before relocating to Yorkshire. She recently completed the Level 5 Visionary Leaders Management Apprenticeship through Cygnet Health Care.

Kerri is the Mental Health First Aider and a Freedom to Speak Up Ambassador for Wyke; she has a passion for supporting others and ensuring they have a voice within the workplace. She loves her role and feels that she has a great Administration Team who work together to ensure the needs of the service are met.

Nicola Wallace - Bennu Ward Manager

Nicola graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with an Honours Degree in Forensic Psychology before then commencing her Mental Health Nurse training at the University of Bradford, graduating in 2012. Nicola gained experience with acute settings in the NHS before beginning her Cygnet Career at Cygnet Hospital Bierley within low secure services. Nicola then transferred to Cygnet Hospital Wyke in 2016 spending time working across PICU, rehabilitation and older adult settings progressing to Clinical Team Leader and then Ward Manger.

Nicola then went on to gain additional nursing and managerial experience in the community working within substance misuse, dual diagnosis and recovery. Nicola then was part of a team that lead research into alternative substitute prescribing programs and approaches within Scotland, going on to support the presentation of findings to Scottish parliament.

Nicola returned to Cygnet Hospital Wyke in 2021 as Phoenix Ward manager, recommencing in an acute setting. Nicola brought with her the knowledge and leadership skills that she has developed over her career. Nicola is a compassionate leader who is actively involved with every aspect of patient care and delivery on the ward. Nicola leads by example and empowers her team to strive to deliver a high quality of patient care throughout their acute admission.

Ashley Hamlin – Kingfisher Ward Manager

Ashley started off working in healthcare in 2009 and began her career at Alpha Hospital Bury in 2013 as a support worker on the CAMHS PICU ward. Alpha Hospitals were eventually sold to Cygnet in 2016 where she remained until qualified. Ashley worked in various different roles including supporting the Occupation Therapy department before attending the University of Central Lancashire to qualify as a Mental Health Nurse.

Ashley remained within Cygnet Bury predominantly working on the CAMHS PICU however gaining further experience in low secure and general adolescent wards. She progressed to Clinical Team Leader and eventually became Night Service Coordinator managing the service out of hours including the adult and deaf services across the site which included 15 wards.

Ashley left Cygnet Bury to gain managerial experience in a Tier 3 CAMHS inpatient setting before returning back to Cygnet as a Ward Manager at Cygnet Hospital Wyke bringing with her experience across many services. Ashley is passionate about her role and enjoys supporting people in their time of need.

Ian Rutter – Phoenix Ward Manager

Ian is a Registered Mental Health Nurse with 41 years’ experience and is a highly experienced Ward Manager who has been a Ward Manager for Cygnet for 8 years and has nursed for Cygnet for over 18 years.

Ian is committed to driving high quality care and the service user experience and this is shown by his track record of improving services where he worked before. He is committed to working with home area services and families to ensure a smooth transition for service users from hospital to the community.

Ian is also a qualified teacher and is keen to develop and improve the skills and knowledge of the staff.