On working in a care home…
The care home environment took me outside of my comfort zone, but after only a few shifts watching nurses and care staff, I realised this was exactly where I was meant to be.
I immediately bonded with one resident in particular. He had cerebral palsy and required a lot of support, but he gave me confidence that I was doing a great job. In Guernsey, the regulations were ahead of their time: I was administering medications via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tube, changing dressings (as per care plans, of course), but the role was much more similar to that of a nursing support worker.
This gentleman told me I would make a great nurse and with his encouragement I felt inspired to embark on my training, so got to work on making things happen.
On her nursing education…
I hadn’t chosen my A-levels with nursing in mind so I applied for a health care foundation course at university to ensure I met the entry requirements to apply for the nursing degree. I moved back to Cardiff to complete the foundation course and at the same time worked at a nursing home there, where I supported young adults living with various neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and Huntington's disease.
During my education, I quickly established that the wards were not where my heart was, and, as I was enjoying my work in the nursing home so much, the independent health and social care (IHSC) sector felt a better match. I feel very grateful to have had experience in both sectors as I was able to make a much more informed decision as to what was best for me following completion of the course. This said, the things I learned on the wards, including resilience, clinical skills and interpersonal skills, really have crafted who I am today.
On the experiences that carved her path in nursing…
For one of my placements, I chose to work in a prison in order to push my boundaries and experience work in a completely different environment. I really enjoyed the experience and amazed myself in terms of refraining passing judgement and was able to see everyone I treated with their best interests at the forefront. Upon qualifying, I was accepted for a role at another prison but my nursing home needed a nurse and I found myself wanting to stay there to take my care delivery further for those residents I had come to care about.
Shortly after qualifying, I was acting up in a leadership role as a care supervisor. This was a massive learning curve and probably one of my biggest lessons was when I was attending a safeguarding strategy meeting, without any prep given. It was, of course, standard practice for the police to be there, but in my naivety I was petrified and almost convinced I was subject to prosecution in that meeting!
Little did I know this very experience would trigger an eagerness to understand how I could implement change to prevent things reoccurring and better care for those I cared so much for. After being qualified for only 12 months, I found myself running the service!
A year later, I felt my mental health taking a hammering. I was working for an agency who offered me a role in recruitment. Not wanting to leave my residents, I kept refusing, but finally caved and accepted an interview. I’m not ashamed to say that the day I left the nursing home, I cried.
On moving into recruitment…
I worked for a large recruitment agency and learned so much about the IHSC sector. I was able to work shifts in nursing homes, providing care to older adults with dementia, whilst recruiting nurses and learning about compliance for both the NHS and IHSC sector. I was even lucky enough to work a shift with the MET Police for the NATO summit at the Celtic Manor.
For a while, after falling pregnant with my second child, I moved back into nursing and working shifts for a better work/life balance and whilst I enjoyed meeting new people and learning new skills, I hadn’t realised just how much I would miss recruitment.
Following the birth of my son, I was approached by former colleagues who asked if I wanted to set up Hoop Nursing, part of Hoop Recruitment. I grabbed the chance with both hands. So, with a toddler and a babe in arms, I started the business off by supporting an independent nursing home that was under professional concerns. I was able to be present at the home, in the capacity of relief manager, and supported relatives, residents and staff with being a point of contact and to help action areas of concern to improve the service.
On her role with Hoop…
Providing agency staff that really do enhance patient care delivery, to a service in need, is something I consider a real privilege. My agency workforce are incredible people, who we respect and show gratitude to.
I undertake interviews, appraisals, clinical supervisions and visit clients, offering solutions which are not always simply based on recruitment. We provide our agency staff with bespoke free resilience training to support their mental wellbeing. This is an initiative I implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic as I saw the effects first-hand.
I love being able to share ideas, meet new people and learn about how we can drive care delivery forward, specifically in the IHSC sector. I speak with clients across the NHS, nursing homes, children's residential homes, housing services and mental health hospitals. It really is amazing how much knowledge I now have and I find it so inspiring to meet such incredible people who make real differences to those in their care.
On professional aspirations…
In recent years, I have been concerned with two things: depleting numbers of applications to nursing degrees; and the significant increase of recruitment agencies, following the removal of regulation with CIW (Care Inspectorate Wales).
To support numbers of applications, I am volunteering with a wonderful charity called ‘Working Options’, whose mission is to inspire the younger generations into finding their vocation and give them options for their future. I’m supporting the charity by talking about my journey into care and giving real insight into the rewards of the sector. I am also in discussions with local universities to talk at careers fairs about employment for nursing staff in IHSC.
With regards to making the use of agencies safer, I am campaigning to reinstate regulations to ensure recruitment agencies, specifically in nursing and social care, are held to account, following processes, and essentially keeping everyone as safe as possible, including the agency workers themselves and the people they care for. It is no longer a regulated requirement to have a nurse in the agency; we are one of only a handful who do have in Wales. This should absolutely be mandated.
One last thing…
I love what I do. I love recruiting nurses and care staff and I love being with my clients. There will always be a need for agency nursing staff. I want to make sure providers like Hoop Recruitment are accountable so the world of agency nursing is far more protected, that we see increasing numbers of applicants who want to be a part of our incredible profession and ultimately that the people requiring care are getting the best experience they can.
I know our profession has had some hard media coverage and we have all felt disheartened from time to time, but I really could not see myself in any other area of work and am so incredibly proud to be a nurse.
