Our Sandra: Still nursing after 40 years - and why she continues to look to Florence Nightingale for inspiration
A ward manager at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust who has celebrated 40 years in nursing has said she continues to use Florence Nightingale as her inspiration.
Sandra Dade who runs Trafford Ward, a rehabilitation and end of life care unit which is based within North Cambs Hospital in Wisbech, says she still looks to the ‘Lady with the lamp’ - whose work was seen as pioneering in the 1800s – for inspiration.
Sandra (pictured today and below while in training) said: “The fundamentals of care, compassion and infection control that she put in the place have never really changed. I first got to know about her and her work during my initial training and I’ve never wanted to move away from what she believed and practised.
“She put in place the principles of modern healthcare and nursing. What she did is as true today as it was then. Nursing is about people – looking after them, caring for them, and paying attention to their needs.”
Sandra grew up in Lanarkshire in Scotland and a teacher at her school encouraged her to follow a path into healthcare.
She became a student nurse in 1984 and worked in Ayrshire after qualifying. It was to be the start of a journey that would take her across the world.
A spell at a London hospital was followed by an adventure in Australia, working in Melbourne on a dialysis unit before saving up to travel across the country for a year.
She also travelled throughout New Zealand before going back to Melbourne and then onto a hospital bordering Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
It was while she was in the Middle East that she met her husband, Peter, and during a trip back to the UK in 1992 to attend a wedding, she decided to remain here permanently.
Speaking to coincide with International Nurses’ Day, Sandra said: “The wedding was in Cambridge and I just took a chance that there might be jobs available locally and I ended up doing temporary shifts at North Cambs Hospital. I didn’t know at that point what a connection I would end up having with the place. I also did some teaching at the University of East Anglia before joining Trafford Ward 20 years ago.
“I really don’t know where the time has gone, but it’s always been about the people – both patients and fellow staff.
“I’d always moved around but here I’ve had the chance to develop the ward and develop the team. I’ve always had that autonomy and it’s always kept me interested.
“Working in the NHS and healthcare has always been about change – new policies, new technologies, new governments with new mandates – but we’ve never lost the fundamentals. We are here for our patients, and I’ve never forgotten that.
“Nursing is more than a job, and it’s given me the most fantastic career and experiences, and I still enjoy supporting new staff and encouraging them to become the nurses they want to be.”
CPFT employs more than 4,700 staff who provide community physical healthcare for older people and those with long-term conditions, mental healthcare for adults and young people, eating disorder services in Norfolk, health visiting and school nursing in Peterborough, social care services and learning disability support. The Trust is also renowned for its research work.
ENDS
For more information contact: communications@cpft.nhs.uk
