Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is shining a light on the nursing team at Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals as it celebrates International Nurses Day.
Over 2,000 skilled, compassionate and dedicated nurses make up the nursing team at Hampshire Hospitals, who are currently on the front line fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.
Suzi Lee, heart function nurse specialist, always knew she wanted to become a nurse after growing up in a residential home where she saw first hand the positive impact of caring for others.
After qualifying in 2003, Suzi specialised in helping patients with heart function problems, but in recent weeks has split her time between the heart function service and the intensive care unit, where she has helped to care for some of the most unwell patients with Coronavirus.
She said: “Joining my colleagues in intensive care has been a real learning curve both personally and professionally, but the thing that stands out the most is just how everyone has worked together to make sure our patients are well cared for.
“It has been difficult at times, but also incredibly rewarding– we all come into nursing to help others, and it’s been really inspiring to be part of the team responding to an ever-changing situation, keeping our patients at the centre of what we do. Although I recently did my first night shift for 12 years – something I haven’t missed!”
Julie Dawes, chief nurse at Hampshire Hospitals, said: “We are fortunate to have an incredible team of nurses who consistently go above and beyond to care for our patients. At the moment they, alongside the rest of their clinical and non-clinical colleagues, are facing an unprecedented challenge, and they are all rising to the occasion.
“The nurses at Hampshire Hospitals are part of a brilliant multi-disciplinary team, but today we are taking a moment to recognise the unique contribution nurses make to caring for our patients, and the difference they make every day.
“In light of the pandemic, I have never been more proud to be a nurse, and want to add my personal thanks to our nurses who have all done a remarkable job in difficult circumstances.”
This year also marks the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, designated as 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.
To begin your nursing career at Hampshire Hospitals, visit https://www.hampshirehospitals.nhs.uk/work-with-us.
