back to life

About 5 minutes drive away from my home is a brand spanking new hospital called South Bristol Community Hospital. It’s part of a new complex built on old waste land and shares the space with a new leisure centre and the City of Bristol College Skills Academy.

The hospital was opened in March of this year and it’s departments include dental, day surgery, day assessment, physio and occupational therapy, radiology and outpatients. There are 2 inpatient wards specialising in the treatment of strokes and rehabilitation. The Walk-in centre has moved there from it’s Knowle West home and it’s now named the Urgent Care department.

I found myself there today for a job interview to work on the nurse bank as a healthcare assistant until I finish my course and can work as a qualified staff nurse. I don’t think I have ever been in such a quiet hospital. There wasn’t hoards of staff noisily milling around or patients hanging around in corridors waiting to be seen or to be taken somewhere. The hospital is well designed and tastefully decorated in grey, white and chrome, making it a pleasing and restful place to be.

My interview went very well and as long as my references are up to scratch, I have the job. I am a hospital nurse at heart and quite honestly I don’t really want to work in nursing and residential homes, so the agency I joined a few months ago didn’t work out for me.

I think it’ll be good for me to work at this hospital because it’s so close to home, this is important so that I won’t be exhausted by travelling to and from work, especially when I first return to working after not being able to for so long.

Also it’s so exciting to be part of something new, to work in a beautiful purpose built facility that is clean and well equipped.

I’m sure that if I’m offered the job I’ll be very happy there and will choose to stay there as a qualified nurse when I’ve finished the Return to nursing course.