See more stories of why our staff love doing what they do below:
Amy: Learning new skills, building my career
Amy Addlesee first walked into Lincoln County Hospital’s Branston Ward as a health care support worker in 2011. Three years later she began studying for a degree in nursing.
She splits her time working 11½ hours a week on the ward and 26 hours as a student on a degree course funded by United Lincolnshire Hospitals.
Studying is done online and at one-to-one sessions with her tutor as well as through mentoring from senior staff on Branston Ward.
“It’s great that the trust was able to fund my degree. I couldn’t afford to put myself through university so this was a way to carry on working and build a career,” says Amy.
“I’ve gained valuable experience through placements with GPs and out in the community, in outpatient clinics and on the Medical Emergency Assessment Unit, as well as continuing to support Branston Ward and stay with the trust.”
Courses are currently offered through the Lincolnshire Talent Academy in allied healthcare, clinical healthcare, health and social care, healthcare support and registered nursing.
Returning to work after retirement – keeping skills and knowledge within United Lincolnshire Hospitals
With more than 40 years as a nurse, Sue Nesbit has a wealth of knowledge and experience, not to mention the personal skills to cope with life as a complex case manager.
Her career began in 1974 at Lincoln County Hospital and she completed her State Enrolled Nursing training in 1977 then qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1996. Much of
her working life has been dedicated to care of the elderly and she was a discharge liaison nurse from 2007 before retiring in 2015.
But with a valuable contribution still to make, the 63-year-old is now a key member of the Trust’s Integrated Discharge Hub, working 22½ hours a week over three days helping to prepare patients with complex and multiple conditions for discharge back home or into community care.
“I was keen to get back to work and the trust was able to offer a work pattern that suited me and recently I was able to negotiate a day off each week that fitted in with me looking after my new granddaughter”
“It keeps skills and knowledge within our hospitals and I love being part of the team and part of the trust – it’s 44 years since I first started and I know and have worked with so many people.
“I would urge anyone approaching retirement to ask about possible flexible working patterns – it works for me.”