Pop icon awards Respite Nursery Nurse 'Best Apprentice' title

A respite nursey nurse at hospice charity ellenor has been given a Best Apprentice award by a former member of renowned 80s pop duo The Communards.

Hannah Ives, a respite nursery nurse with ellenor for the past seven years, was given the award on May 2^nd by the Rev Richard Coles, who was ordained by the Church of England after leaving the band in 1988.

It was the first award ceremony for the Level 5 Diploma for Assistant Practitioners in Healthcare. The course - run by Croydon College and supported by the South London Hospices - helps to bridge the gap between healthcare assistants and nurses.

Hannah, aged 27 from Bexleyheath, who works in ellenor’s dedicated children’s team, was the very first Hospice Assistant Practitioner in the South of England. The Croydon College course allowed her to embrace opportunities to develop practice, for example by developing infection control training and providing this to her team.

“I am really looking forward to developing the Assistant Practitioner role here at ellenor and I’ve got lot of ideas to share with the team to help develop the respite team,” says Hannah.

“I am also excited to be able to support the nurses and relieve some of the pressure from them. Although it has been difficult, I have really enjoyed this experience and have gained so much from it.

“Thank you to everyone for making this happen and to all the people who put me forward to help my development here at ellenor.”

Having faced her own learning challenges, Hannah is now using her skills to support other learners in the team. After one assignment, Hannah was asked by the college to help create a guide to other learners on future courses to support their understanding of the requirements - demonstrating her grasp of the subject and her willingness to help and develop others.

“Hannah is now equipped to help further shape and lead our children’s respite team,” says Tricia Wilcocks, Head of Education and Research at ellenor. “We are excited to see this role and other Assistant Practitioner posts develop within ellenor.”