By Lucy Ashton
To mark International Nurses Day 2023, NHSGGC is celebrating the fantastic contribution nurses make to the health service by spotlighting some of the staff working across departments and united under the delivery of high-quality person centred care.
Read the messages from our nurses below and find out what makes them proud to be nurses.
Name and role: Dr Lisa Herring, Advanced Nurse Practitioner at the Flow Navigation Centre (FNC)
What’s life like at the FNC?
The FNC is essentially the digital front-door for A&E. Patients come through NHS24 and I see and treat all kinds of injuries and illnesses. We handle a lot of MIU patients in addition to complex medical calls. Every day is a new challenge. I’ve learned new skills in being able to help patients over video and telephone. In many cases we provide enough care over video or telephone so the patient can be discharged with no onwards treatment required which is a fantastic way of supporting patients in their communities and helping them avoid trips to hospital altogether. For others, we can scheduled appointments at the MIU, or we might refer them to another more appropriate service. We also act as the centre for delivering pre-hospital care for suspected COVID-19 patients who may need additional medical attention.
What do you like about working at the FNC and why are you proud to be a nurse?
The value we provide to patients is undeniable. People are extremely thankful for the service. We can keep them out of hospital in many instances, and if they do need to go to MIU for example, we can give them an appointment so they don’t need to wait in a queue. It’s a wonderful way to practice nursing – it takes some learning to get used to and there are some nuances – but I can see it’s a crucial unscheduled care service and an important ‘front-door’ to help us ensure the patient gets the best care experience, to protect our own physical EDs which remain stretched.
Can you sum up what you love about nursing the most?
Connecting with patients.
Read Lisa’s full profile here
Name and role: Nikki Harvey – Senior Charge Nurse – RAH, Gynaecology
“I’m proud to be a nurse because I have worked in the NHS for over 30 years and have seen what great teamwork can achieve. I want to deliver person-centred care and I feel I can achieve this by investing in the development of my team.”
Name and role: Jane Barbary – Outpatient nurse at RHC
“My name is Jane and I work in Outpatients in the Children’s Hospital. I enjoy seeing the benefits I can produce for the families and children that I look after. I enjoy seeing the children happy at the end of treatments after seeing them come into clinics for so long”
Name and role: Jessica Heron – Outpatient nurse at RHC
“My name is Jessica; I am a staff nurse in 3C Renal. I am a newly qualified nurse; this is my second day. I always wanted to work in paediatrics from school, I enjoy caring for people and knew I always wanted to work with children. I really enjoy working with such a close knit unit and getting to know the patients. I worked here as part of my placement and was in 3C for four months so know some of the staff and a lot of the kids, it’s great being back seeing them again”
Name and role: Elizabeth Kincaid, Nurse, IRH
“I’m Elizabeth, I’m a staff nurse at Inverclyde Royal, I love my job because it brings a lot of challenges and learning opportunities.”
Name and role: Heather Hodgson, Lead Nurse for Tissue Viability across NHSGGC
“I’ve been a nurse for 39 years and have the best job in the NHS. Nursing is so diverse and every day is completely different. You have an opportunity to made a real positive difference to someone’s life.”