For the first thirty years of her working life Diane worked in the meat manufacturing industry, packing products and then moving into quality control. During a downsizing operation she was offered a voluntary redundancy and retirement package, so she took it and left the organisation.
“I was retired but I was only 53,” explains Diane “I became bored and I knew I wanted to do something else and take on a new challenge, but I didn’t expect to end up where I did!”
Diane applied to her local hospital to see if they needed help and to her surprise they said they had lots of opportunities.
“I thought at 53 I’d be too old to go into nursing. But they started me off as a Maternity Care Assistant and then I trained to become a Maternity Support Worker, which is my current role.”
Diane has worked at the Rosie Birth Centre for eleven years and as well as general care, she takes blood samples for testing and does baby and mother observations. It’s a very varied role and she gets to assist midwives delivering babies. Diane is then there for the mothers and babies, giving advice and support with breast feeding.
“I love the babies and looking after the parents” says Diane “it’s such a special time for everyone involved in the birth, it’s such a privilege to be a part of it. I love it here.”
Diane was nominated for a Cavell Star Award by her midwifery team for going above and beyond for her colleagues. Deputy Head of Midwifery and colleague Tara Pauley explains,
“Di’s developed a welcome book for the new Maternity Care Assistants and Support Workers joining the Rosie Birth Centre. She’s devised an equipment log to ensure she has oversight of all equipment and when it was last serviced. She always tries to attend our CQC meetings where she actively contributes great ideas and opportunities for improvement for the team.
“We’re proud that Di is the first person at the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to win a Cavell Star Award.”
Diane reacted to winning her Cavell Star Award,
“I’m absolutely delighted, it’s wonderful. When you find out that somebody thinks that you are worthy of being nominated for an award, it’s just amazing!
“There’s a fabulous team spirit in the Rosie Birth Centre, it’s a really good team. My team mean a lot to me. We all look out for each other, and we’re all there for each other.”
