Celebrating the first National Children’s Nurses Day in Birmingham
Today (Tuesday 30 June) is the very first National Children’s Nurses Day, a significant and special moment for us at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Our hospital holds a unique place in history as the training ground of Evelyn Margaret Hughes, the first registered children’s nurse, who completed her training in Birmingham between 1909 and 1912.
In recent weeks, our Associate Director of Nursing (Medicine), Heather Petts, shared Evelyn’s story on BBC Radio 1, appealing for help to trace her relatives.
The response was extraordinary. Our community, along with genealogists and family tree enthusiasts, came together to try to find Evelyn’s family. While we did not find her relatives, we were so grateful that so many came together to help us search.
Today we celebrate Evelyn’s legacy, alongside the children’s nurses who provide outstanding care for young people and families in Birmingham and across the nation.
Organised by the Association of British Paediatric Nurses, National Children’s Nurses Day is an annual day dedicated solely to the profession.
We spoke to Heather who has worked as a children’s nurse at our hospital for a staggering 34 years, about her time here.
How long have you been in nursing and how old were you when you started?
“I started training in Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge in 1988 at the age of 18. I had been an auxiliary nurse, now known as Clinical Support Worker, at Selly Oak Hospital, which is now a housing estate.
“I did a Registered General Nurse course and then moved to Birmingham Children’s Hospital in 1992 to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. I then undertook the registered sick children’s nurse conversion course at Queen Elizabeth and University of Central England in 1993.”
Why did you want to become a children’s nurse?
“Both my parents worked in the NHS - my dad from when it was created, so I was very comfortable around hospitals. My school tried to encourage me to do medicine, I was fixed on wanting to be a nurse and got more determined the more they tried to persuade me.
“I was fortunate to have excellent experiences within my training with paediatric services and it was an aspiration to always work with children. I had always wanted to be a nurse but my second choice would have been to be a teacher, still working with children.”
What makes your job so interesting?
“The people, without doubt. No other job provides such a privilege of working with a family’s most precious gift, their child. The variety of interactions is immense. Children patients, siblings, parents, relatives, staff and students. This also has given me (I hope) the opportunity to stay young at heart - I love dancing and singing round the kitchen.
“I’ve genuinely looked forward to coming to work every day - I know I am very lucky.
“Whilst my role now is less clinical on the wards and departments my focus remains with clinical safety, governance and experience as centre to everything we do. The importance of my relationships and contacts with staff now helps facilitate this.”
How has nursing changed since you first started?
“Changes have been huge. I have predominantly worked clinically within paediatric haematology and oncology and seen huge changes both in treatments and prognosis. More bespoke treatments have been developed via national and international collaboration resulting in both improved prognosis and reduced side effects.
“Some cancers now have more than 95 per cent survival. Within this time it has been recognised that the treatment of diseases does have an impact on a patient’s future and the inception of the oncology late effects service along with the recognition of the importance of more age appropriate care environments for teenagers has been a key development.
“The technology supporting bone marrow transplant, now stem cell transplants, has made the treatment more available to an increasing number of patients.
“There are certain diseases that have improved supportive care.
“When I started working in bone transplants in Cambridge, newspapers needed to be microwaved so they ‘cleaned’ before being given to patients to read them. This is so different now although patients still need to be in an individual ensuite cubicle for a number of weeks or months.”
What has been a standout moment for you in your career?
“There are so many. The opening of Waterfall house - I was heavily involved in this as Lead Cancer Nurse at the time. The planning, the collaboration and whole building process was very new to my skillset and took a lot of time. The moving of the first patient into the building was a momentous occasion and a culmination of months of planning, training and orientating. We then had the installation of the beautiful Quentin Blake windows and official visit of Her Majesty the Queen, then Duchess of Cornwall, along with Felicity Dahl, Roald Dahl’s wife.
“Another experience was being pivotal in the introduction of pharmacy technicians within the drug administration process in haematology and oncology and then presenting this in Washington DC.
“More recently is the opening of the new Emergency Department waiting room.”