“Hi there, I’m Kerry, the Regional Clinical Lead for the South East Region. I started with Helping Hands in August of 2019 and I am really enjoying the challenges of a new role and working in the health sector. I am an enthusiastic and motivated practitioner with a history of delivering bespoke patient-centred care to the highest standards. I am passionate about supporting my clinical customers within the region and the carers that look after them, and I am proud to be their advocate.
“I have been nursing since 1983 so have a wealth of experience and knowledge that I can bring to Helping Hands customers, enabling me to oversee safe, effective and personalised care for people with more complex healthcare needs within their own home.”
Career pathway
Kerry trained at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London between 1983 and 1986 which gave her a comprehensive insight to many specialities, as it is a very large teaching hospital. When she initially qualified, Kerry worked on the regional ophthalmic unit dealing with inpatients post eye-surgery and running busy clinics. She then continued to work in a surgical bowel unit at the Royal Free, where she developed her skills with stoma placement and post-operative care until 1988, when she moved to the District Hospital in Basingstoke.
Kerry continued to consolidate her learning in an assortment of specialities at Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital until she moved into intensive care in 1989. She developed her knowledge of both invasive and non-invasive ventilation, tracheostomies, PEG feeding and bladder & bowel management to name a few. She then progressed to be a senior member of the team for many years before having children.
After having her second daughter, Kerry developed the new role of audit sister, collecting and submitting patient information to the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC). This enabled national guidelines and standards to be developed out of a large national database, improving care provision within intensive care. Later, she became the clinical skills facilitator within the department, overseeing and developing training.
After 19 years of working in Intensive Care, Kerry elected to leave and pursue a career in the endoscopy department. After establishing herself within the department, she had the opportunity to apply for the role of bowel cancer screening practitioner and was successful. Kerry then attended John Moores University in Liverpool to complete the degree module required for this position.
She continued to be the clinical lead for the provision of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme at Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital for the next 10 years. This was as a part of the regional programme provided by Southampton University Trust. The programme provided screening to members of the public between the ages of 60 and 74 within the region, in order to detect the early signs of bowel cancer. Kerry managed the patient pathway from the initial clinic visit to the investigations and up to discharge, providing one-to-one care throughout. Kerry was able to enhance and develop the delivery of care to those on regular anticoagulants, pacemakers, those with learning difficulties and a variety of other clinical needs and disabilities.
Qualifications and Professional Development
Kerry is a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. She has also gained a Level 7 qualification in Specialist Bowel Cancer Screening Programme at Liverpool John Moores University.
During her time as a bowel cancer specialist, Kerry has led workshops for other practitioners specialising in this type of health care, as well as attending annual Health Festivals in the area to promote healthy living and regular bowel cancer preventative screenings for local residents.
