How did you start your career in Sterile Services and how long ago was that?
I started working in Sterile Services within the NHS at Broomfield Hospital in 1997.
I worked there for 7 years and after the first year, I was promoted to a Supervisor within the department.
I I left Broomfield Hospital HSDU and came to work at Springfield Hospital TSSU department as a Supervisor in August 2004 (It was CAPIO) when I first started until we were taken over By Ramsay.
Springfield TSSU department was moved out to the new Decontamination unit here at Braintree in 2008 and I transferred over as an Operation Manager. I have since been the Decontamination Manager here and a National Decontamination Quality improvement lead for Ramsay and now transferred back as the Decontamination Manager here at Braintree.
In total I have been in Decontamination for 25 Years!!
How does your role affect the care we provide to the patients and families within our Hospitals?
My role here at the Decontamination unit as the Manager is critical to the patents and their families, I feel that our patients/ families should feel safe in the knowledge that we work hard here at the Decontamination unit to ensure we attain high standards and practices at all times.
We are learning all the time as new systems come into place to enhance the safety of the patients and we embrace these changes to ensure we get them right!
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I like the fact that every day is different with new challenges some good some not so good but you have to take these challenges as a manager and I have a good team here at Braintree who support me too.
Do you hope to progress in your career either within Sterile Services or in any other role in healthcare?
I feel I have progressed a lot through my years with Ramsay Healthcare. I have enjoyed all my roles I have had within my unit and the 3 years between 2019 and 2022 that I was a National Quality Improvement lead for Ramsay, visiting all the Decontamination Units across the country supporting all the Leads at their sites with any quality issues and quality management systems. Working with the National Decontamination Lead
I feel now I am enjoying being back at RSSE since March 2022 as the Decontamination Manager, with lots of challenge to keep me busy.
This is not to say if another role came up within Ramsay in Decontamination or related to it that is interesting, I felt I needed another challenge that I would not apply.
Do you feel Ramsay supports its employees in accessing training and development opportunities to progress their careers?
Ramsay has always supported me in any training or developments opportunities that have enabled me to progress in my career.
What makes your unit a special place to work, and how would you describe the culture?
The people I work with and the commitment they make to ensure that our patients and families can feel safe that we are doing everything we can to ensure we have safe practice and to high standards.
We all work as a team and when we have had visitors from any of our 4 Hospitals in the past who have here been here for a couple of days or weeks they all commented on how lovely all of our staff are and how they make them feel very welcome.
Are there any particularly positive moments you have experienced or individuals you have worked with that stand out to you?
I think the positive moments are when you work hard all year to ensure patient safety and the best practice is adhered to within the Unit and you are externally audited and they complement you on your processes and the knowledge of the staff within your unit, which makes all the hard work worth it!!
I have worked with many people who supported me in my roles within Ramsay and Decontamination.
When I was the Deputy Decontamination Manager here when we transferred over the person, who was the Decontamination Manager at that time helped me progress with all areas of management and facing different challenges and how to work to resolve them rather than let them be a problem.
There are a lot of challenges in sterile services but that is what keeps the job interesting!
