Careers in community health

“The ethos reflects what I leaned as a student nurse, and it’s the kind of nursing I enjoy. I feel far more that we are looking after people, rather than patients and conditions. The support and training is wide and varied as there are so many different avenues to go down.”

Nurse, Tonbridge Cottage Hospital

“When I said I was coming here people said “that’s’ not real nursing” but, it really is! We’re nurse-led so you're not waiting for the doctors to make clinical decisions, we do it as a nursing team. I enjoy getting to know the patient’s family, their friends and all about them.”

Lisette, Staff Nurse

“You get to see the whole person so you build up a strong relationship with them, their family and their carers. I think everyone feels like part of a big family really.”

Becky Bunn, Respiratory Nurse

“We do things properly, we don’t do half measures. So it makes it an easy place to work but it makes it easier to do the right things for your patients too.”

Kallum Rhule, specialist HEN dietitian

“I’m not ‘just a cleaner’, actually. There’s a lot more to it than that. Good communications skills, a listening ear. That all helps. All the team work well together, and we help one another.”

Jane Watkin, Domestic Assistant, Hawkhurst Community Hospital

“I really enjoying looking after the older people, it’s nice to be able to develop relationships with them over time while they are rehabilitating.”

Val Shea, Return to Practice Nurse, Tonbridge Cottage Hospital