Andrea enjoyed looking after her elderly grandparents when she was younger so a move into nursing seemed a natural step for her. After qualifying as a nurse in 1991, she gained lots of experience working in acute surgery, gynaecology, ITU and 17 years on a vascular ward before taking the leap into the community.
“I applied 8 years ago to work in Community Nursing and I haven’t looked back!” says Andrea “And it has inspired me to get my specialist qualification in District Nursing and recently I’ve done my professional nurse advocate module too.”
Andrea’s current role as Quality Assurance & Improvement Practitioner sees her supporting her Community Nursing team mates to maintain high quality care in the community and supporting senior management colleagues with policies and procedures.
“No two days are the same,” says Andrea “I love working in the community and being there for my team mates, I’m like a phone-a-friend!”
Andrea won a Cavell Star Award for going above and beyond for her colleagues at the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Colleague and Consultant Nurse Caroline Jones explains why Andrea is such a worthy winner,
“Andrea has already achieved and completed so much, ensuring high quality care and excellence in clinical practice. There are regular unpredictable pressures and challenges for Andrea, however she delivers with patient safety and work force wellbeing at the heart of everything she does.
“Andrea is friendly, approachable, and particularly kind. She is so many peoples ‘phone a friend’ for professional and personal support, in and out of work. No matter what time of day it is, on or off duty, Andrea is there supporting colleagues either in person or on the phone.
“She recently suggested a buddy system for our newly appointed Community Nursing Clinical Leads, pairing them up with more experienced Nurses in that post. She has a nurturing approach in professional development and leads by example with her compassionate leadership.
“We are a close family within Community Services and people like Andrea are the glue that hold us all together. We can’t provide high standards of care if we aren’t looking after one another. Andrea’s compassionate and thoughtful approach enables our teams and services to feel supported and be the best that they can be. On behalf of all our teams it was important to nominate for this award, to thank Andrea for being an incredibly dedicated Nurse. All her kind gestures go a long way for both colleagues and patients we care for.”
Andrea reacted to winning her award,
“I feel embarrassed, I’m only doing my job! I don’t take recognition very well, though I think everyone deserves it. I was very shocked, but it was really nice to get recognition.
“My nursing team are my friends and my nursing family. With 31 years nursing experience, most of my friends are nurses, I’ve collected them along the way! That’s how important we are to each other.”