Davy Hay

I am the Managing Director of Pattigift Therapy CIC an African centred psychological therapies organisation based in Birmingham. My background is in the field of mental health.

My background is in the field of mental health. I have worked as a mental health nurse in a number of areas including inpatients, community liaison, elderly and substance misuse; as well as working for a time as a mental health lecturer.

Alongside working in the UK, my work as taken to me the Caribbean and to Saudi Arabia. I have degrees in nursing and mental health and postgraduate awards as a specialist mental health practitioner.

I left the NHS after 25 years to find a vehicle that would allow me to be more beneficial to my community.

That vehicle was Pattigift Therapy; and I feel honoured to have created the first (and only) independent mental health hospital focussed on the particular cultural and psychological needs of African heritage people.

Although for a variety of reasons the project ended; I consider it the most significant milestones in my career to date.

Jointly with a colleague at Pattigift I had the honor of receiving the Presidents award from the Association of Black Psychologists (USA) in 2016 for “advancing African centred healing internationally”.

I have been a board member of the consortium for a number of years, and my motivation remains the same as the first day and that firstly to hopefully be a voice for the smaller organisations within the consortium; and secondly to play my part in ensuring that the board and the consortium as a whole seeks to work ethically with its constituents.