Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides integrated healthcare services including intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.
Our On Our Minds blog shares lived experiences from colleagues at the Trust and patients who use or have used our services on a variety of topics from a wide range of services.
As part of Black History Month, we share Hans Mulleur's story. Let us recognise voices like Hans's that inspire, educate, and bring us together in the ongoing pursuit of equality and understanding.
Growing up, I was told I wouldn’t make it as a Black kid. The doubts and dismissals from others weren’t something I let define me; instead, they became my motivation. Every word of discouragement pushed me to work even harder, to prove that I could be successful, and to show them that they were wrong. I wanted them to picture me rolling as a successful Black person who didn’t just survive but thrived.
I started my journey in a Corporate Real Estate Management firm as a junior member of staff. It wasn’t easy, but I knew I had more to offer. I worked my way up, step by step, pushing through every challenge, and eventually, I became a Regional Operations Manager for Greater London; one of the most strategic and demanding regions. I held that role successfully for years, but life has a way of shifting priorities.
When COVID-19 struck, it hit home. My wife caught the virus, and everything changed. Commuting from Leicester to London, something I had done for years, no longer made sense. Family has always been my top priority, so I made the decision to resign and stay closer to home to be there for the people who mattered most.
About a year later, my wife handed me a phone number, telling me it was for a job agency. I called the number, booked an interview, and on the day of the interview, I found myself standing outside NHS Arnold Lodge. Confused, I called my wife and told her there might’ve been an error, it wasn’t an agency, it was the NHS. But I went ahead and attended the interview anyway, and as fate would have it, I was offered a position on the bank team.
Today, I’m proud to say I’m a permanent staff member at NHS Arnold Lodge, and I’m about to graduate as a Registered Nursing Associate. My journey doesn’t end there, though. Once I complete my preceptorship, I’m planning to do the top-up training to become a fully Registered Nurse.
Looking back, the doubts of others only fuelled my ambition. I’ve come a long way, and I’m not done yet. Family, perseverance, and self-belief have shaped my journey, and I’ll continue to move forward, proving that nothing can hold me back.