Retired nurse Karen "proud" to be returning to UHDB as new public Governor
A retired nurse has spoken of her pride at returning to a role at UHDB as she embarks on a new chapter of her NHS service.
Karen Bussooa BEM was recently appointed as one of our new public Governors for the Derby City constituency and returns to a role with the Trust after retiring in 2020 following 42 years of service in the NHS in Derbyshire.
After having spent her entire career in nursing, the role of public Governor is something that Karen says she's given thought to over the years but felt the time was right to put her experience to use to benefit our communities - adding that she "pleasantly surprised" to have been chosen for the role.
She said: "I'm quite proud to join the Council of Governors as it's something I have always thought I could make a difference with.
"Because of my experience of having worked in the NHS, specifically at UHDB, I think I can impart some of my experience and become a voice for our communities and ask the questions that might not be as obvious to someone without the same level of NHS experience as myself."
Karen's service to the NHS began back in the late 1970s when she began her nursing training, and took up her first post at the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary in the 1980s. She then went on to work in oncology before working in community and district nursing in the 1990s, before taking up a role as End of Life Care Facilitator at Royal Derby Hospital in 2007. It was for her services to end of life care that Karen was recognised in 2022 when she was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in New Year's Honours List.
It is this compassion and commitment to providing the best patient care that is at the heart of Karen's reason for becoming a public Governor as she set out her main objectives for her time in the role:
"Getting the right care at the right time is still at the heart of everything we do in the NHS, so that will be my main focus in my role.
"It is also really exciting to be able to work with people from lots of different backgrounds and to see things from different perspectives from my own. It will be different to anything I've done previously and a challenge I'm sure, but it's one I'm really looking forward to."
Speaking about returning to the Trust to work alongside former colleagues, Karen said: "It will be really nice to get to see some friendly faces again and work with some former colleagues once more. After working in the Trust for many years, it was hard to leave so it's really nice to be able to come back in a different role."
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