Shropshire Star

Shropshire marks International Nurses Day

Nursing has altered dramatically in the 158 years since Florence Nightingale founded the first nursing school in London.

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International Nurses Day is being celebrated today

The changing role of the profession, and advances in science and technology, has seen nurses being tasked with an even wider range of healthcare responsibilities.

Today – on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth – their contributions are being celebrated during International Nurses Day.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital, has 1,661 substantive nurses, including midwives, and can also call upon its pool of 317 bank nurses when needed.

The trust also has a mixture of more than 1,200 permanent and temporary healthcare assistants, who work under the guidance of qualified healthcare professionals.

  • International Nurses Day is an international day celebrated around the world on 12 May of each year, to mark the contributions nurses make to society.

Ruth Smith, a matron at SaTH, started her nursing training in 1990 and came to the trust in 2000. The 45-year-old, of Telford, says she has seen a vast change in the profession over the last 28 years.

She said: “The roles of nurses have changed and developed and it will continue to do so.

“Nurses can now do prescribing, they can request investigations, some nurses have their own caseload of patients.

“They are doing things which 20 years ago doctors would have done. It’s much more challenging and demanding. On the other hand there’s so much job satisfaction.

“You go into nursing because you have that passion for the patient and we all pull together as a team.”

There are a variety of nursing roles in the trust including emergency nurse practitioners.

“They will assess some of the minor injuries coming into A&E,” Ruth said. “That frees up doctors to concentrate on the major injuries.”

SaTH is also in the process of training healthcare assistants to become nursing associates – a fairly new role within the nursing team.

Complex

The nursing associate role is designed to bridge the gap between healthcare assistants and registered nurses.

They will deliver care, freeing up registered nurses to spend more time using their skills and knowledge to focus on complex clinical duties and take a lead in decisions on the management of patient care.

Last September, it was announced that SaTH had taken on more than 40 new nurses, boosting the workforce and reducing its reliance on agency nurses and temporary staff.

Working as a nurse requires a degree in nursing and they must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

To mark International Nurses Day and 70 years of the NHS, SaTH is hosting a Partners in Care Conference at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on Tuesday.

The event is designed to help nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals share good practice and showcase new ways of working.

It also aims to offer the opportunity for networking with other health and social care professionals from across Shropshire.

A host of speakers have been confirmed for the event.

The Mount House & Severn View care home in Shrewsbury also celebrated International Nurses Day by giving treats to its nurses yesterday.

They were given water bottles designed by Barchester, boxes of chocolates and doughnuts.

Michelle Middleton-Price, general manager at the home, said: “At the Mount House, our nurses are hard-working, dedicated and passionate about caring for older people. We are also committed to helping develop newly qualified nurses with their leadership and clinical skills, which can often be invaluable in a career with increasing responsibilities and workload.”

On A&E we’re more like doctors

Chix Hutchinson

There is never a dull day in nursing for Chix Hutchinson who works as an emergency nurse practitioner.

She got her degree in nursing back home in the Philippines in 1993 and came to the UK to work at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital in 1999.

The 45-year-old, of Lightmoor, Telford, came to work at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) in 2004.

When she started nursing, her job would involve caring for patients and helping out on ward rounds.

But in 2006 she transferred to A&E.

She said: “Ward nursing and A&E is so different.

“Ward nursing has a set routine. In the morning you have medications and you help out on doctors’ rounds.

“With A&E you do what needs to be done.

“If you are working on the minor side you could see patients with sprains and fractures.

“On the major side you see patients with chest pain and shortness of breath.”

As an emergency nurse practitioner, she can free up doctors’ time by assessing some of the patients with minor injuries.

Chix said: “We are like doctors. We see patients, it’s more the minor injuries.

“We diagnose them, treat them and discharge them, or refer them to specialities.”

In order to carry out the duties of an emergency nurse practitioner she had to complete intensive training.

She added: “I enjoy my job. It’s very varied and challenging. You see different kinds of patients. If they’re happy then we are happy.”

Life in the theatre

Yvonne Purchase and Kelly Bowkett

Yvonne Purchase and Kelly Bowkett work in the operating theatres at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH). Yvonne, aged 55, of Underdale, Shrewsbury, is a theatre co-ordinator while 30-year-old Kelly, of Welshpool, is a healthcare assistant.

After getting her orthopaedic nursing certificate, Yvonne carried on her training at SaTH and achieved a diploma in nursing in 1984.

She started working in the operating theatres that year, although she has had different jobs over the years.

Yvonne said: “My role at the moment is ensuring we have the right staff and skill mix, making sure that the operating lists start on time. It can be challenging. From being a junior staff nurse and progressing up to senior level you are given more responsibility.” Her role also involves her acting as a scrub nurse, handling sterile equipment while assisting surgeons during operations.

Kelly started at SaTH on work experience 15 years ago when she was aged just 15. She is now a healthcare assistant, supporting scrub nurses in their roles. Kelly said: “It was a big change from being ward based to working in a theatre.

“I extremely like my job. It’s nice when you help people when you work as a team. We are like a family in the theatre.”

Making a difference

Heather Taylor and Matron Ruth Smith

Among the group of staff nurses at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital is Heather Taylor.

The 27-year-old, of Newport, graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in adult nursing two years ago.

After a 18-month stint working at Manchester Royal Infirmary, she moved to Shropshire and began working for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust last year.

Managing patient care and recovery is the job of a staff nurse.

Nurses work to help patients who have suffered injuries, from accidents or illnesses.

They may be the first health care professional people come in contact with when they visit a hospital, clinic or medical facility.

Heather works in a cardiology ward, as well as the cardiac day unit and coronary care unit.

She said: “Day-to-day we will be giving medications, getting patients washed and dressed, trying to get them motivated and getting them ready for any procedures.

“On a general day there are three qualified nurses and two support workers for 20 patients.

“I tend to have six or seven patients that I care for myself. “I love my job. It’s very challenging, there are never two days the same.

“I love making a difference to patients’ lives.

“It is hard work but I like to think I’m making somebody’s day a bit brighter.”