A fond farewell to Linval Smith, Clinical Practice Lead and co-founder of the BAME Network
Much loved colleague, Linval Smith will be leaving us after over 30 years of service in the NHS.
Linval began his career in 1986 as a Residential Social Worker. He then trained as a Mental Health Social Worker at Longsight Social Services in 1993. Following this, Linval moved to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where he helped to set up a homeless service in conjunction with the Housing Department and Greater Manchester Police. Linval became an Approved Social Worker (ASW) in 1999 and continued his work as an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) until 2019.
Linval supported in several roles as a Team Manager and Service Manager, responsible for different areas and centres across Manchester. In 2013, he became Area Team Manager for Central East CMHT, following service reconfiguration. His latest role as Clinical Practice Lead came in 2018, following a reconfiguration of community services.
In 2017, Linval co-founded the BAME network, and has been invaluable in helping to empower BAME staff to achieve their potential through creating positive change.
Paying tribute to Linval, his colleague and Senior Social Worker, Tracy Townsend said,
“He will be missed by many and the setting up of the BAME group was such a blessing! I hope Linval enjoys his retirement, he will be dearly missed.”
Linval’s colleague and co-Founder of the BAME Network, Tracy Tsikai said,
“Wow! Where do I start? When we started the network, we had a handful of members and we could have easily lost faith, as it was hard work building up the network from the ground. Linval’s confidence in what we were doing kept us going, he would smile and just say ‘we will get there, don’t worry’ and he was right. He always showed true leadership for the BAME Staff network, he never lost faith in what we could achieve if we all pulled together.
“Linval always said ‘I want to leave the legacy that I fought for something important, something with a potential to change the lives of others now and in years to come.’ In my eyes he did exactly that, he changed the lives of many staff he worked with, not just from the BAME Network, but mine included. He has true passion for improving the experiences of staff and patients. I will definitely miss working with Linval and as a network we miss our leader and friend.
“To end this Black History Month, we want to celebrate Linval and his contributions to the NHS.”
