Local health trust inspires Nurses of the future

PEOPLE from all over Cheshire and Wirral came along to Cheshire Oaks, on Sunday 12 May 2019, to celebrate International Nurses Day. Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) marked the day by hosting a:- 'Bring your future Nurse to work day', where budding young Nurses could meet some of those who work in the profession and learn how rewarding a career in healthcare can be.

Held at CWP's Sycamore House, the day was packed with activities including introductory sessions in:- 1st aid, wound care and mindfulness. Children also had the opportunity to take part in teddy bear triage and were also encouraged to learn how to bandage their favourite cuddly toy.

CWP told us that they were also delighted to welcome 10 year old, Maddison Ormond Donnelly, to the event with her mum, Amy who is a Mental Health Nurse. Maddison had previously told Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that she also wanted to be a Mental Health Nurse, during a royal visit, to Birkenhead.

Avril Devaney MBE, CWP director of nursing and therapies said:- "I would like to thank everyone who came down on Sunday and made the day such a fantastic event. I got to meet so many aspiring Nurses and it is great to see people of all ages thinking about a career in healthcare. I began my nursing career in 1983 and I have never looked back, it is an amazing career and a privileged position of making a difference to others every single day."

CWP added that they would encourage anyone interested in becoming a Nurse to take a look at their:- 'Working Ror Us' page on the CWP's website.  The CWP's website we are told is for people of all ages looking for an excellent opportunity to learn more about a career within the CWP.

Cathy Walsh, CWP associate director of patient and carer experience said:- "I am very proud to say that I have 2 daughters who are Mental Health Nurses working at CWP. Both of them will tell you that they never envisaged a career in nursing, that is until one day they came to work with me. They met some fantastic and enthusiastic Mental Health Nurses who shared their experiences which led to their desire to become Nurses, I hope everyone who attended, went away feeling that a career in nursing is a possibility for them."

► The Manchester Bee Award - recognising women who make Manchester the great City it is. They may have developed projects promoting the City or shown great courage. Open to women who live or work in the City of Manchester. Winner - Sally Ann Wilkinson, Director, Wild In Art.

► The Constance Award - a judges' award with no nominations celebrating women who quietly make a difference. Winner - Sharon Thorne, incoming Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors.

► The awards - which again had Lancashire School of Enterprise and Business at UCLan as the main sponsor; also support the:- 'Inspiring Young Women Foundation,' established in 2010, which helps the work of an organisation helping to inspire the next generation. This year's fundraising is supporting a project based at Warrington Youth Club working with 16 to 25 year olds to improve mental health and wellness for young women.

Jacqueline Hughes Lundy, Awards Founder and Organiser, said:- "The Inspiring Women Awards are in their 27th year and it gets no easier shortlist the finalists and select the winners in the sections that attract nominations from a huge array of talented women.  Their stories of drive, endeavour and courage still continue to inspire us.  Why are these awards important? Because they provide us with positive role models for ourselves and for our next generation of inspiring women."

Dr Shikha Pitalia, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, is an award winning entrepreneurial doctor who, from small beginnings in 2002, has brought improved healthcare for hundreds of thousands of patients across the North West. SSP Health is the largest provider of primary care GP services in the North West, 1 of only 3 such organisations in England serving more than 100,000 patients. Dr Pitalia and her GP husband, Dr Sanjay Pitalia, have pioneered federated General Practice, which the BMA (British Medical Association) has described as:- "increasingly being viewed as a vital part of the future of general practice." SSP Health currently manages 37 GP practice sites across 10 NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in:- Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria. The company employs almost 500 people and has a head office, located within Ashton-In-Makerfield, Wigan. It cares for approximately 140,000 patients. In 2009, Dr Pitalia; who is Secretary of the British International Doctors Association, Wigan division, supporting education and welfare for doctors from diverse backgrounds; co-founded SSP Health Charitable Trust, which raises funds for local, national and international health related charities.

Sinead Collins, of Manchester, is the Centre Head at Maggie's Manchester, having previously worked as an oncology advanced practitioner. Although she enjoyed her clinical role, she always had a burning passion to help and support people both practically and emotionally. She joined Maggie's Manchester in November, 2015, before the 1st brick had been laid. Maggie's Manchester is a cancer support charity located opposite the Christie Hospital, designed to make cancer easier to manage. As well as building the foundations of a fantastic support service in Manchester, Sinead has established many different support groups, including:- the most recent 1 for men facing prostate cancer, and is just about to launch a child counselling service and a group for bereaved children.

Christine Ditchfield, of Warrington, Cheshire, and her husband, Stephen, launched 3 Pugs Gin on the decking at the back of their house in Spring, 2016, and life has been like a rollercoaster ever since. After learning the ropes, buying all the kit, applying for licences and getting a little help from the master distiller at Burleigh's Gin, they sold their 1st bottle in November 2016, at Spinningfields Markers' Market and now can count the German Royal Family among their customers. Their craft distillery is also believed to be the 1st distillery to open in Warrington since Greenall's started more than 240 years ago. The name for the business comes from Christine and Stephen's other passions in life - pugs. Pepsi, Tutu and Mojo have become the mascots for the brand and their picture is found on every slanted 'drunken' bottle they sell.

Kat Demarchelier Du-Bois, of Manchester, was homeless from the age of 17 until she was 21, but despite this she gained 6 A-levels and continued to dream of becoming a lawyer. The years that followed saw Kat suffer severe physical and emotional abuse which left her with PTSD. In 2015, she was rehoused in Manchester and lived in a refuge for nine months. In 2018, she was taken on as a legal apprentice and is on her way to becoming a qualified lawyer. She is a committee member of OpenAG, the LGBTQ+ network at Addleshaw Goddard and acts as a mentor to a young woman at a local college who wants to follow her into the legal profession.

Anita Birchall, of Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, launched the:- 'Threshold Housing First' pilot in 2015. The charity's programme works with women who have been released from prison, using Housing 1st to curb reoffending rates and protect women from violence. Now in the fourth year, a study from partners York University found that 90% of the women in the programme have so far been able to sustain a tenancy. The basic underlying principle of the Housing 1st model is that people are better able to move forward with their lives if they are 1st housed in permanent self contained housing with wrap around services as required. It has influenced thinking about homelessness strategies both in the UK and across Europe by demonstrating that women experience different routes into and out of homelessness, often not coming to the attention of agencies and having much more complex and entrenched problems than their male counterparts as a result.

Sally Ann Wilkinson, of Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, co-founded Wild In Art with Charlie Langhome in 2008 after they worked together on Cow Parade Manchester. Before that she worked at Granada Television during its time when it was voted the best television company in the world. Bee In The City was produced by Wild In Art in partnership with Manchester City Council, bringing all Manchester's communities together to create the exhibition and includes:- an inspirational learning project to give children and young people the chance to take part. The public art trail ran for 9 weeks, after which the sponsored Bee sculptures were auctioned off, raising ₤1.1 million for The Lord Mayor of Manchester's Charity, We Love MCR, to improve the lives and the life chances of Manchester people. Although Sally Ann has now stepped aside as Director to start a new chapter in her life, she continues to be passionate about widening participation in the visual arts though accessible events and creative learning programmes.

Sharon Thorne, worked in Manchester for 20 years after beginning her career at Deloitte in the mid 1980's on graduating from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Economics and Politics. Before the end of the 1990s she was made partner. She may have smashed the glass ceiling but she has not pulled the ladder up behind her; she has been instrumental in setting up diversity networks and became managing partner for talent. In addition to a number of executive posts, she has spent more than three decades on boards, including as chair. This includes:- 9 years on her company's Global Board of Directors, 6 years on the UK Board of Directors, and 6 years on the Confederation of British Industry Board of Directors. She was also a Trustee of Prostate Cancer UK for four years and she is fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. In June, she takes up a new role as the 1st woman to be named Global Chair of Deloitte.