NHS national treasures

The coronavirus pandemic has created a new breed of nursing heroes

- STEPHANIE CLARKSON

We’ve never needed our nurses more and, as we celebrate 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale, three women tell us about the rewards and challenges of nursing.

THE HOSPITAL NURSE

Nichole McIntosh, 45, is assistant director of nursing at North Middlesex University Hospital, and on a clinical quality secondment to a Clinical Commissioning Group. She lives in East London with husband Melbourne and children Tyrese, 13, and Tamia, 7.

As a child, I loved the clean calmness of a surgery or clinic and my friend’s mother was an inspirational nurse – dignified, gentle and always smiling.

When I came to the UK from Jamaica in 1996, there were bursaries to attract young people into the profession.

After qualifying in 2000, I worked at The Royal London Hospital on a respiratory ward. Within six months, I was promoted to senior staff nurse, and realised a nursing career had the potential for personal and professional growth.

During my student placements on mental health units, I appreciated the importance of finding ways to connect on a human level. I’d sit down and talk or play games, and even locked-in patients would open up.

As a former alumnus of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, which runs programmes and funds scholars’ research, in May 2016 I was chosen to be a lamp-bearer at a ceremony celebrating her. Florence inspired me to think more about the next generation of nurses, and I now write a blog and advocate for diversity and inclusivity in nursing.