I could have got a job at the local supermarket as it's close to my home," said mother-of-three Eileen Ostler from Totton. "But that's not what I wanted."

Instead, Eileen chose to use her parenting skills and the experience of seeing a close family member suffer mental illness to work as a health care support worker at Southfield, the brand new 23-bed low security mental health unit in Calmore. It's her first paid job in 18 years.

"I became interested in working in mental health following the death of a close family member," says Eileen. "I decided to contact Woodhaven (a unit for people with acute mental illness) to see if there was any way I could help people with mental illness and get involved in voluntary work. I just wanted to be able to go home at the end of the day and feel I'd made someone smile. I couldn't do that at a supermarket.

"I was offered a voluntary job in the Woodhaven shop, but soon realised I wanted to be the other side of the counter, talking to and looking after patients. I'd heard Southfield was opening in June and looking for staff so I contacted them. I then went to their open day in April, which attracted hundreds of people, to meet staff and see their fantastic facilities.

"As a health care support worker you talk to patients, get involved with recreational activities and help people carry out everyday tasks. I know this is the line of work I want to go into and am looking forward to being trained up so I can help people regain the skills and confidence to enjoy life in the community once again. It's an exciting, challenging opportunity."

If you're a health care support worker or have relevant experience and are interested in joining Southfield, call Joan Brock, Senior Nurse, on 01329 836057 or 07917 183758 or email: joan.brock@wht.nhs.uk