Betty was inspired to become a nurse after her elder sister started nurse training and would tell her all about it.
“Growing up in Kerala, south India,” remembers Betty “if you had good academic results at school one of the leading professional courses to choose was nursing.
“My elder sister trained first and I was always excited when she told us about what she was learning. So I was keen to follow her path.”
Betty studied in India and moved to the UK in 2004 working in a nursing home as a student nurse. She completed her degree and got a job at Harefield Hospital, the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK.
“I’ve been here for 15 years and I love it,” says Betty “It’s an amazing place to learn and grow. I’d never seen a heart or lung transplant in my life before coming here and at Harefield we’re implanting fully artificial hearts and other devices. It’s a busy unit and the learning opportunities are fantastic.”
Betty’s current role is Deputy Sister on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Recovery Unit, managing and leading staff teams. She’s also the lead nurse for critical care enteral feeding, the process of feeding a patient through a tube into the stomach. She took over this role 2 years ago and the improvements she’s made in that time have improved lives.
“Now nursing colleagues have full insight of the enteral feeding policy, which is easier to understand and more accessible,” explains Betty “I’ve introduced regular safety checks and monthly safety audits too. I’ve brought together the nutrition lead, dieticians and the pharmacist to have regular nutrition steering committee meetings to support the enteral feeding safety project at Harefield Hospital ICU. It’s been hard work, but by communicating the need for change and introducing safety flash cards, I’m really proud of what we’ve all achieved.”
Colleague and matron for critical care Ellen Dunthorne was keen that Betty’s efforts were recognised and celebrated with a Cavell Star Award for going above and beyond for her patients. Ellen explains,
“Betty has worked with dieticians and consultants to design a flow sheet and enteral feeding fasting guideline to ensure correct and accurate feeding is in place. With all of the changes and updates, Betty also ensures that she keeps the nursing and medical staff updated with regular emails and newsletters in an upbeat and encouraging manner. Betty really has put a lot of hard work and effort into this project and deserves to be recognised for this incredibly important safety initiative.”
Betty reacted to winning her Cavell Star Award,
“I was really overwhelmed! I’d had a long day on shift and someone said one of my staff members was upset and could I help? So I rushed to the staff room and there were all my colleagues and managers looking at me very seriously. I thought, oh no, what have I done!
“But they started saying lovely things about me and presented me with a Cavell Star Award. I can’t tell you how happy I was!”
“I’m so thankful to my colleagues for nominating me and making Harefield such a wonderful place to work, it’s my second home! The support from my team is amazing, they are like my extended family members, I know them very well. This Cavell Star Award will inspire me to work even harder to improve patient safety.”