At our September Speaker & Supper meeting we were given a fascinating insight into the career of Rachel Hughes, Director of Nursing at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (BRHC).
Originally from Bristol, her professional journey started when she trained in London, having successfully completed her degree at the University of Manchester. She moved back to Bristol and has worked in children’s hospitals for 30 years. She has progressed up through the ranks from basic nursing, ward sister and matron to director of nursing with a multi disciplinary team. With a background in oncology she was well placed to work in BRHC, home to the only dedicated trauma centre in the South West region and has been there since it opened on 22 April 2001.
The hospital, being the largest local paediatric centre in the geographical region, cost £30 million to build, £12 million of which has come from the Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal.
The hospital has an in house orientation and support programme for new students, together with a youth involvement group where 16/17 year olds act as ambassadors aiming to follow a career in a hospital environment.
Her amazing enthusiasm and professionalism are ‘contagious’. She shared with us so many mind blowing activities carried out at BRHC; too many to mention.
What next? The setting up of a patient hospital with 12 bedrooms and a therapy centre, will not only free up hospital bed space but, more importantly, allow families time and space to be with their children in a more relaxed atmosphere.
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