Helen Tottey

Prior to joining Ramsay I completed a number of leadership, coaching and supervision courses. Since working for Ramsay I have completed the Leading with Influence and Managing Our People courses. I have gained invaluable ‘on the job’ experiences where I have developed my leadership style and would describe it as the Transformational style. I feel this works for both wards, the team as a whole, for employees individually and for myself. Throughout my nursing career and prior to this I have always worked in a time precious environment. As a consequence I have developed the skills to manage my time effectively to enable me to manage my workload and respond efficiently when unexpected situations arise.

Continued professional development has been important to me since I completed my Diploma in adult general nursing in 2009. I completed a module in Advanced Management of Asthma and COPD and went on to utilise those skills at HMP Wymott. Whilst still working at HMP Wymott I self funded ‘Same Day Consultation in Primary Care' course at UCLAN. I worked in the Emergency Department at Southport and then at Blackpool Victoria where I successfully completed my Advanced Life Support at which point I felt ready to apply for the Band 6 post. After 6 months working as a Band 6 I applied for a Specialist Nurse role in Bowel Cancer screening. Within this role I completed the Specialist Bowel Cancer Screening module. The requirement was Level 6 for this module however I wanted to challenge myself further in an academic capacity therefore opted to study at level 7 attaining a distinction. Whilst working as a Ward Manager across Buckshaw and Euxton Hall Hospitals I also train staff on IV Training and manage the Occupational Health for Buckshaw Hospital. Maintaining up to date learning also gives me the confidence to not only develop my practice but the teams. I am a reflective practitioner which has assisted in developing my practice over the years.

Clinical Governance is paramount to safely and effectively guiding the team to improved outcomes for patients, develop the teams learning and reducing risk. It is part of my daily life and is well embedded into my practice as a nurse and also as a manager. I regularly look at processes and think about how they can be improved. I have implemented a number of changes on the Ward at Euxton Hall including efficiencies in staffing and logistics processes for daycare procedures. Five years ago In Accident and Emergency I designed and introduced a triage document which is a simple request template to streamline handovers, it is still in use today for every patient.

I have the energy and desire to progress my career and would like the opportunity to develop my skills at Fulwood Hall Hospital. I enjoy working within a team and want the team as a whole to be the best we can be. I feel I have a good rapport with the team members and often get asked for advice. I also encourage team members to come up with their own ideas therefore developing themselves and their practice within their careers and hopefully retaining those staff in the future. I feel I can contribute to a fantastic working culture at Fulwood Hall Hospital and in turn provide a great place to work and also, to be the first choice for healthcare treatment.