Whilst she was a teenager Marcelle’s late father was ill and required a lot of care from nurses and doctors, which that left an impression on her. However, Marcelle didn’t think about becoming a nurse until a few years later in her late teens when she was working as a healthcare assistant in a care home.
“The head nurse said to me that she thought I’d be a good nurse,” remembers Marcelle “and that I should look into doing my training. It was her encouragement that nudged me towards nursing and the minute I started, I knew this was the thing for me forever!”
Marcelle graduated in 2000 and worked in respiratory nursing on an acute ward and a high dependency unit. She gained further experience in an outreach resuscitation team and as a matron in acute medicine, dementia care and studying for her Master’s degree.
“I love nursing,” says Marcelle “the camaraderie with the patients and the responsibility and privilege that nurses have in looking after people, often at their most vulnerable. I’ve been through the best and worst of times with nursing but there are always people who want to take care and support you to get you through. I don’t know where else you would get that.”
Her current role is Lead Nurse for Clinical Procurement, sourcing products and services for use by clinical staff where she works at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. It’s a new role and one Marcelle is keen to share with other Trusts.
“On one side you have people who are experts in the products and services but don’t necessarily understand how they might be administered to patients,” Marcelle explains “Then you have clinicians who want the very best for their patients but don’t know how to secure the correct product or service. That’s where I come in.
“I bridge the gap between the clinician and the product experts and speak both languages if you like. There’s a lot of negotiating that needs to happen to make it work but I feel it is an important role.”
Marcelle was nominated for a Cavell Star Award for going above and beyond for her colleagues in inspiring them to think about their health and to get active. Director of Nursing and colleague Janice Sigsworth explains,
“Marcelle has improved our fitness, helped us shed a few pounds and brought fun and joy to our work! This is over and above her role and covers all our 5 hospital sites. She runs a WhatsApp group of over 150 nurses, motivating and encouraging physical activity, encouraging staff to run and join Zumba, couch to 5km and even the London marathon. Without her many of us would have not carried on with physical activity which has been so important to our mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic. She’s brought us all together so we share our stories.”
Marcelle reacted to winning her Cavell Star Award,
“I was thrilled! I was so proud to receive it for looking after and encouraging colleagues to be more active and think about their health and fitness. I know that I benefit from getting outside and walking or running, so it’s wonderful that colleagues appreciate that too.
Marcelle has also raised money for Cavell Nurses’ Trust, the charity that runs the Cavell Star Awards and supports nursing and midwifery colleagues who are facing a personal and financial crisis.
“My team at work are my colleagues, my sisters, brothers and mothers. And I support Cavell too because I also see my nursing team as those that work in Trusts all over the country so I want to help them too. That’s why I feel so strongly about fundraising for Cavell.”