I have worked in care since I finished my A-Levels and have previously worked for the NHS for 5 years in different wards. I have a NVQ level 2, 3 and 5 in Health and Social Care and am close to completing my Level 5 Apprenticeship in Operational and Departmental Management.

Going back to the start of my care career I commenced my Training at the age of 37 and in 1990 became a Registered General Nurse.  In 1998 I gained my  ‘City and Guilds Further and Adult Education Certificate,’ and followed that a year later with ‘The Counselling and Psychology Central Awarding Body, Certificate in Counselling Skills’. I have undertaken many courses since then, and have recently completed the Parkinson’s UK ‘Train the Trainer Course’.

My first post after qualification was General Surgery, then in 1992, I moved to a Hospice as I wanted to provide Quality Person Centred Care for people at at the end of their life.

In 2006 at the age of 55 I retired from Full Time work and it was then that I first joined Prestige. Due to other employment opportunities with Derby and Derbyshire Health Trusts I ended up leaving a while after.

In 2009 I  was approached by a Company called ‘Handle With Care’ who provided Training for several Domiciliary Care Companies and Care Homes, and was asked to join their Team of Trainers and for a while I worked for them.

In 2016, I decided to go back to direct patient care before I got too old to manage the physical requirements, and came back to Prestige. The Derby Branch were concentrating predominantly on Homecare with some Healthcare shifts in Nursing homes, so I worked mostly as a Health Care Assistant.  I did some work with Whizz Kids, both as a Nurse and a Support worker, and loved every minute. 

In 2005 I joined a team on a Lead Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Over the next 14 years, I worked as part of specialist team of health professionals, caring for premature infants from 23 weeks gestation and sick infants requiring many forms of intensive care and specialist treatments, surgical intervention or palliative care. I assisted with clinical research programmes, supported and delivered teaching to parents/guardians to provide complex care for their child such as tracheostomy care, enteral feeding, oxygen therapy and suction training in preparation for their discharge home. I became a student nurse mentor supervising, teaching and assessing clinical skills and competencies at the end of the training programme.

I joined Prestige in March 2020 as a Regional Nurse in the East Region leading complex care packages for children working in partnership with multi-disciplinary teams to meet the needs and expectations of children and their families, all whilst maintaining the high standard of care required and ensuring best practice.

I joined Prestige Nursing & Care In January 2022. I qualified as a Registered Nurse with a BA in Professional Studies in Nursing from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh in 1988, and attained an MSc in Nursing from Manchester University in 2004. I spent 33 years working in the NHS, 31 years of which was as a District Nurse where I was also a qualified Community Practice Teacher/Assessor and nurse prescriber.

In 2017, after a short stint working with NHS 111, I started work in the social care sector, firstly as a Regional Nurse, before moving into an Operational Manager position.

I have a passion for learning and development and am keen to working with my colleagues across Prestige to further develop this function and support our teams with reaching their potential.

I joined Prestige in April 2018 where I have been given the opportunity to develop in my role. As the Paediatric Clinical Lead and Paediatric Safeguarding Lead for the company, I am particularly proud of the work we have done to further develop our paediatric training.

I qualified as a Registered Adult Nurse in 2011 at Royal Preston Hospital through the University of Central Lancashire. I have gained a wealth of experience in a variety of different settings, firstly in Intensive Care at Preston then through multiple different hospitals across the North West. I then moved into Renal care before training as a Disability Analyst assessing for Personal Independence Payments. Following this was the start of my community based nursing journey. I worked in a complex care nursing unit for 12 months then moved into Complex home care.

I began working for Prestige Nursing & Care in January 2022 and love what I do. I provided clinical expertise, training and professional leadership to the Blackpool team, to ensure the safe planning and delivery of high quality care to adults with complex needs within their homes and community settings. I take great pride in my work and my aim is to always ensure person centred, holistic care is delivered to our clients and families.

As of February 2023 I am now the Mobilisation Complex Nurse Specialist covering England and Scotland.

My areas of interest include Complex Care, in particular Tracheostomy management and care. I have always enjoyed teaching and mentoring new staff and students within my career. My aim at prestige is to ensure support and training is always available to our carers and team members.