Nellsar Care Homes and International Nurses Day

International Nurses Day is celebrated each year on 12 May, on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern Nursing. 

This year’s theme is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A vision for Future Healthcare‘; seeking to show how Nursing will look into the future, as well as how the profession will transform the next stage of healthcare.

Nursing at Nellsar

Including members of our Senior Team and a number of Home Managers, we are incredibly proud to have a total of 77 Registered Nurses working across our 13 Care Homes. We are led by Glenda Osmotherly, Director of Operations, who herself is a registered Nurse, who supports all of our Nurses through her own clinical experience.

Their compassion and commitment has always been central to the care we provide for our residents, but in the past year, their dedication to rising in the challenge of the COVID pandemic has been truly inspirational.

It is our joy and privilege to support our Nellsar Nursing Teams and provide care to retired Nurses living in our Homes. We are also committed to encouraging future Nurses through staff development and opportunities for students on placement (including Nursing Associates).

We will always do our best to raise the profile of social care Nursing and celebrate our amazing Nurses – past and present!

Highlights from some of our Nellsar Homes…

Princess Christian Care Home

Princess Christian has 16 Nurses in total, including four male Nurses. Two of their current residents were Nurses; Janet B was a Sister in A&E and Audrey A was a Ward Sister at Dorking Hospital. The Home is extremely proud of the number of Nurses who have progressed within their roles, these include:

Nisha Leo, who started as a Night Bank Nurse at Nellsar and has been promoted from Senior Nurse, to Lead Nurse, to Deputy Manager and now Home Manager;
“Once I entered Nursing, I realised that it is a very beautiful and satisfying job. We get constant rewards from our residents through their smiles. I am proud to be a Nurse, as we get the opportunity to heal the heart, mind and body of our residents and families. Our residents may not remember our names, but they will never forget the way we made them feel.”

Kathleen Heather, who started as a Registered General Nurse (RGN), progressed to Senior Nurse and is now a Clinical Lead;
“I love Nursing. I love helping others and knowing every day I have made a difference to someone’s life, be it as small as making a cup of tea and ensuring they are OK, to using clinical skills which help maintain someone’s life. I am so privileged to be a Nurse and never take it for granted.”

Christine Ealias, who started on the Overseas Nurses Programme (ONP), became a RGN (Senior Nurse) and then Lead Nurse;
“I chose Nursing due to the vast opportunities it has, but after being a Nurse I realised that it is a job that not only heals the body, but also the mind and soul. I proudly says that I am a Nurse and I do my best each day to keep my residents safe and ensure they are looked after with care and respect. On several occasions I’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness and gratitude shown to me by the relatives, which is the best reward that a Nurse could receive.”

Abbotsleigh Care Home

There are 11 Nurses working at Abbotsleigh, including two male Nurses. Three of their current lady residents have also worked in Nursing – Emily T, Diana B and Mabel J.

Nurses on their team who have trained and progressed through Nellsar include Joy Cagande and Alexandra Ispas who both started as RGNs and are now Unit Managers. Registered Nurse Aksa Bethel has recently completed her OCSE Programme and is awaiting UK Nursing registration.

What made Abbotsleigh’s Nurses join the profession? They give many wonderful reasons;

“It’s in my blood; helping others makes me feel that I have a purpose.”

“I have held a passion for Nursing since my childhood.”

“It is driven by my grandmother, who wanted to be a Nurse and then I looked after her when she was very poorly; this led me to want to be a Nurse.”

“I am motivated by my mother, who was a Nurse and her work inspired me.”

Lukestone Care Home

Lukestone employs six female and two male Nurses to care for their residents, two of whom have been with Nellsar for over 10 years. Trained Nurse Jinu Jose was Deputy Manager at Lukestone before becoming Nellsar’s Recruitment Manager.

One of their residents, Theresa B, also worked as a Nurse during a career at NHS Medway.

Home Manager Karen Wilkins describes why she became a Nurse;
“I came into Nursing because I wanted to help people. I wanted to help them to get better in hospital and to go home recovered. I wanted to save everyone, but soon learnt that looking after people at End of Life – making sure they had a pain-free dignified death – was just as important. I love working in Dementia Care; seeing peoples’ personalities, sharing magic moments and trying to give them a sense of well-being. Nursing has been a rewarding career for me.”

Meyer House Care Home

There are six female Nurses at Meyer House, one of whom has been with Nellsar for nine years. They love what they do and are dedicated to their profession;

“I love to be able to help to make a difference”

“The profession is worthwhile and offers skills for life”

St Winifreds Care Home

St Winifreds has five Nurses, two of whom are successful OSCE Nurses, plus their Deputy Manager Milana Braide and Home Registered Manager Mel Satchwell.

Milana Braide has been a Nurse for 20 years and came on board with Nellsar as a Nurse three years ago and has progressed to Deputy Manager. She has worked in two of our Homes and is actively pursuing further progression within Nellsar.

Three residents at St Winifreds had a career in Nursing; Frances D, Rosemary R who was a midwife for many years and Marjorie B who became a Nurse in 1939 and later became a midwife in East London. Marjorie then moved on to run a Children’s Home in Broadstairs for many years and then ran Eastry Children’s Home for 14 years. In 1977, she and her husband took on General Meadows Care Home for older people.

Bromley Park Care Home

Bromley Park has seven Nurses, one of whom is male. Nurse Laurie progressed within Nellsar, having started as an agency Nurse.

One of their residents, Jean B, also had a career in Nursing.

Hengist Field Care Home

Hengist Field has a total of 15 Nurses, including two Unit Managers, their Deputy Manager and General Manager.

In their time at Nellsar, their Deputy Manager, two Unit Managers and one Senior Nurse have been promoted in their roles.

Loose Valley Care Home

Loose Valley employs five Nurses in total, including two male Nurses. Two of their Nursing team have worked for Nellsar for over 10 years.

Paula Persaud joined Nellsar in 2004. Her long career with the company has been in the roles of Senior Nurse, Deputy Manager, Registered Home Manager of three of our Homes, and she became Nellsar’s Registered Nurse Development Manager in October 2019. An ambassador for Nursing, she now dedicates her time and energy to developing our Nurses of the future.

Thank you

On International Nurses Day, we’d like to thank and celebrate all our Nellsar Nurses, and our residents who had careers in Nursing, for their years of dedication and service to others.

Looking to the future, we continue to encourage careers in Nursing and train and develop our Nurses so they can lead fulfilling roles and thrive within healthcare for many years to come.