Creating bonds for the last five years - BWC fifth birthday

It’s been five years since we merged our Women’s and Children’s Hospitals, to create a more prosperous and collaborative Trust for our patients and visitors, far and wide.  

To celebrate this significant milestone, we caught up with two members of the Trust from the Women’s and Children’s Hospitals who were also celebrating their five-year anniversary having started in their roles on 1 February 2017.   

We spoke with Kelly Price, Health Care Assistant at our Women’s Hospital Fertility Unit and Dr Kavitha Masilamani, Consultant General Paediatrician, at our Children’s Hospital about their personal and professional journeys with us across the last five years and the incredible bonds they’ve gone onto make across our teams.   

Both opened up about how they have been uplifted by the friendships and bonds they have created across their five years, during some of their more challenging moments, even prior to the pandemic.   

In the pair’s conversation, Kelly said that she herself had been supported in her personal life through her team.  

She said: “The Fertility Centre actually helped me as a patient, I was told that I needed fertility treatment after my miscarriages – I owe them so much”.  

Kelly shares that her highlight across her five years was actually being able to give birth to her little boy thanks to the support of her Fertility team.

“You form so many relationships, you feel like you're part of this bigger thing,” she added.  

Dr Kavitha then went onto share how her team have also gone on to support her through some challenging times throughout her personal life.

She said: “The darkest hours of my life, you know when I lost my mum, who was the center of my existence really, all I could bring myself to do was to talk to the 13 members around me and I think that’s quite profound.  

“I’ve come to realise, no matter what challenges are thrown your way, as long as you’re working in a cohesive and supportive team - most challenges can be faced with dignity and compassion.”  

Both Kelly and Dr Kavitha talk about how the last five years has helped them to grow as people, to truly empathise with patients and visitors.   

Dr Kavitha said: “We have grown from strength to strength, and I think a lot of those reasons have been because of the joined-up working. We’ve been able to work more collaboratively, caring for more sick and complex patients.”  

We’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to both Kelly and Dr Kavitha for opening up to us about their journey with us a Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital.   

We echo Dr Kavitha’s words in our Birthday Buddies catch up video that members of our Trust are “not just clinicians, or good healthcare professionals, but they are truly amazing human beings”.   

You can watch the full video of their heartfelt conversation below.