A positive culture

Meet Sarah Starkie, our Theatre Manager at Nuffield Health Plymouth Hospital. We asked Sarah about her career, and the Theatre team at Plymouth Hospital.

I joined Nuffield Health after a 10 year career within the NHS working as an Operating Department Practitioner working in a variety of roles and positions, which included theatres, Intensive Care Unit and Endoscopy. These various roles gave me knowledge and experience to be successfully recruited into the role of the Theatre Manager. Our department has three theatres and an Endoscopy room and there are fifty staff employed made up of Deputy Theatre Managers, Team Leaders, Surgical First Assistants, Theatre Nurses, Operating Department Practitioners, Health Care Assistants, HSSU, Porters and Administrative staff. 

We have recently supported two of our Health Care Assistants to develop their careers and they are currently undertaking a two year course, one individual is training to be an Assistant Practitioner and will support the Theatre Nurses/ODPs in the scrub role and the other is training to be a Nursing Associate who will support all areas of the theatre department.

We are a fantastic team who delivers high standards of care as noted in our most recent CQC report, where Surgery received an outstanding.

I chose to work at Nuffield Health because I liked their values underpinning the service we are delivering to our patients. Every patient regardless of their route into our service is treated to 5-star care.

My favourite thing about working at the Nuffield Health, is the close-knit team we have within all of our departments. Everyone is so supportive and are always willing to help if there are any issues. This support is cascaded down from our Senior Management Team and it makes for a very positive culture. 

My career highlights have been the result from our CQC report and subsequent inspections from our Nuffield colleagues who have recognised all the hard work the team has achieved.

As a Nuffield Health employee, we are very lucky to receive so many benefits, I use the gym and swimming pool facilities regularly which are free for us! Also the free car parking is a tremendous perk!