Mid and South Essex nurses take part in international day

The event, which took place yesterday, marks the birth date of Florence Nightingale and is a celebration of all things nursing.

Broomfield Hospital nurse Chloe Herbert, from Writtle, first joined the hospital as a bank healthcare assistant and is now an acting ward manager on a surgical ward.

She said: “I’m the first person to become a nurse in my family, and I love it.

Chloe Herbert

“I’ve always enjoyed the surgical side of things as I’m fascinated by the modern technology. And I just love wounds. Nursing is a great job providing you have the compassion.

“You are really supported here to help you progress and I’m incredibly proud.

“Covid has been a real baptism of fire, but I am so proud of the team I lead and I certainly wouldn’t be the manager that I am without them.

“We’ve really pulled together, even when we were redeployed to help on Covid wards.”

Courtney Granger is from Stow Maries and has been a nurse in orthopaedics at Southend Hospital for the past six years.

She said: “I chose to be a nurse as I wanted to help people; I couldn’t have worked in an office.

Courtney Granger

“It’s definitely been a weird year, but that has helped us to appreciate all that we have, both with work colleagues and your family.

“I think it has made people more aware of what we do every day and how we help people. Nursing is very much about supporting one another.”