Working in theatres QEH

Georgina Addo tells us why she loves working in theatres

"I started working in theatres at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in July 2017. I’d done a placement here in 2014 and worked in other parts of the hospital but I liked theatres best.

"The first time I see a patient is in the recovery room after their operation. Some patients will already be awake, others will take up to 15 minutes to wake up. Some patients are very agitated when they come round so I reassure them and keep them calm. If they’re still intubated (with a flexible plastic tube in their windpipe to keep their airway open), I take out the tube and stay with them until they become more alert. I assess their pain, give them pain relief if they need it, check their breathing, circulation and blood pressure and keep an eye on the monitor to check their heart rate. If I’m worried about a patient, I can call the anaesthetist for help.

"I need to make sure the patient is absolutely fine before they go back to the ward – they are my responsibility until they leave the recovery room. I enjoy the one-to-one with patients and I’m very happy here. There’s no rushing, so I have time to get to know the patients.

"I work with a wonderful team and I’ve had lots of support. When I started I was supernumerary (additional to the workforce) for three months, which meant I had plenty of time to learn how to do things, and I’m still learning.

"I’m thinking about doing the anaesthetic course so that I can become an anaesthetic nurse, and then I’ll be able to swap between anaesthetics and recovery."