Whipps Cross Year of the Nurse and Midwife people stories - Margaret Crutchlow
Margaret Crutchlow – Senior Assessment Sister, Pre-Operative Assessment at Whipps Cross Hospital
Margaret began working for the NHS on the 9 January in 1978, since then she has worked for Whipps Cross hospital for a total of 36 years and has worked for the NHS for 42 years.
On a typical day
My day usually starts early in the morning. I like to get my paper work done and emails responded to early so that my day is clear and I am available to be on the shop floor. I oversee and manage Plane Tree Ward and Willow Lodge and we all meet first thing in the morning to discuss the number of patients, allocations, our daily plans and any problems. We see over 1000 patients a month so it can get very busy. I will allocate nurses accordingly but ultimately we are one team and we work as one team. We are always in communication with each other and if one area has capacity and one is struggling, we will reallocate to ease the workload.
I am a visible leader and like to be on the shop floor as much as possible so that I can support both staff and patients.
We see patients at a very early stage of the surgical pathway, therefore it is vital we promote a welcoming and caring environment giving the patients confidence in our services and promoting our WeCare values. We make sure that our patients fully understand their intended procedure and help to alleviate any anxieties they may have.
One way I’ve made a difference as a nurse or midwife
I believe that I make a difference every day by promoting good patient care and experience. I don’t think making a difference in this job role is a one off occurrence.
Our Friends and Family Test results are extremely complementary and indicate that overall our patients are very happy, I have an excellent team of nurses to thank for that. I wouldn’t be able to deliver this level of service without the knowledge and expertise of my team, of whom I am extremely proud. I have high standards and I ensure that these high standards are reflected in our service.
If I had to pick out some specific examples, one of these would be that in 2007 I was involved in setting up a centralized nurse led pre-operative service at Whipps Cross . This enabled us to recruit more nurses, some of which are still working with me today.
Previous to this, the majority of pre-operative assessments were undertaken by junior doctors. We became completely nurse led in July 2015 after proving ourselves speciality by speciality and we have transformed the service.
What would you say to someone considering a career in nursing or midwifery?
You have to do it for the right reasons. It’s important to be passionate about what you do and be an advocate of nursing. You have to be ready to meet the challenge and prepare yourself with good knowledge, skills and expertise. After all these years I continue to learn on a day to day basis.
Since 1978 I have seen so many changes and advancements in medicine but one thing remains the same – the patients need for compassionate care, reassurance and clear explanation of what they can expect.