As a child, Lindsay remembers dressing up in her nurse’s outfit and always wanting to become a nurse when she was older.
“When I was at school choosing my subjects,” recalls Lindsay “I thought about going into nursing. My dad wouldn’t let me though, he said he thought I would get too involved and upset. So I ended up taking his advice and trained to be a secretary, working at Heysham Power Station.”
After a while Lindsay fancied a new challenge and when the opportunity arose to buy a catering business she took it.
“It was a real greasy-spoon when I took it on but I renovated it and reopened it as a café. I ran it for five years before selling it.”
Lindsay’s interest in working for the NHS as a nurse never left her and after selling her business she decided to do something about it. She applied to her local hospital trust and eventually got a job as a healthcare assistant in the Oncology department. She progressed into Clinical Support and now works as a Radiographer’s Assistant in the Breast Screening Unit.
“I love the patient contact” says Lindsay “I work with the Radiographer so I have a lot of one to one contact with each patient and I really enjoy that.
“After their initial screening, the people I see have been called back for further tests due to some sort of anomaly detected, possibly breast cancer. My job is to put them at ease during these further tests and biopsies so it can be quite a scary and daunting time for them.”
Lindsay was nominated by her colleagues for a Cavell Star Award for going above and beyond for her patients. Head of Breast Screening and colleague Georgia Argent explains,
“At our very busy Breast Screening Unit, we see a lot of patients who are very distressed and Lindsay goes above-and-beyond to ensure that during their time in clinic they are well looked after and feel cared for. Lindsay is incredibly calm and compassionate and never fails to put her patients and their families at ease. The response we get back is always so complimentary and I feel this reflects Lindsay’s dedication to her service.”
Lindsay reacted to winning her award,
“It feels absolutely wonderful! I felt so honoured to receive a Cavell Star Award, I was so shocked. It’s lovely to have your worked recognised.
“I work in a great team at the Breast Screening Unit, we all complement each other really well. The diversity of everyone’s roles in something I really enjoy.
“I feel incredibly proud to have been nominated, it was such a lovely surprise.”