Hello, my name is Helga Charters and I am an Associate Director of Nursing for Safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Learning Disability.
My role is to lead the relevant teams on all aspects of care, reasonable adjustments, treatment advice and support across maternity, CYP and adults relating to this portfolio whilst in our care both in community and in our hospitals.
This includes providing expert professional advice on issues clinical governance, quality and risk and ensuring that our workforce is well placed to provide appropriate safe and sustainable care.
My mum was a nurse. She was a Sister at the Sanderson Children’s Hospital in Newcastle and inspired me to follow in her footsteps and be a nurse too.
Full breadth of nursing care
My nursing career began as an adult student nurse at Leeds General Infirmary in 1985. I always knew I wanted to be a children’s nurse but I also knew that it was important to experience the full breadth of nursing care for all ages – to understand how we develop from birth right through to old age and to help me develop my own skills to be able to communicate with all patients of all ages and abilities.
Once I qualified I worked as a staff nurse at Leeds General Infirmary experiencing adult general surgery, orthopaedics (for females only in those days) and medicine. Working in these specialties enabled me to really consolidate my nursing knowledge, competency and skills.
Then I moved across the city to St James University Hospital where I began training as a Sick Children’s Nurse – paediatric nursing was definitely where my future career lay.
After a six month period living in Canada my first Sister post was at Harrogate Hospital then following a move back to St James in Leeds I returned home to the North East in 1998 where I joined the Newcastle Hospitals and decided to try something completely different as a Patient Services Coordinator.
I learnt incredibly important aspects of what it takes to run a hospital safely and successfully during that time including gaining experience on secondment working in the Clinical Risk Department.
Becoming Matron
Then in 2002 a Matron’s post became available in Children’s Services and I was so pleased to take on that role not least because I was lucky enough to be in that post before, during and after the commissioning of the city centre’s brand new Great North Children’s Hospital.
In 2004 and 2006 I had my two lovely children and managed to continue with my role despite finding myself to be a single parent with a four and three year old.
I was Matron for 17 years before becoming Associate Director of Nursing (CYP) covering children’s services at both the RVI’s Great North Children’s Hospital and the children’s heart unit at the Freeman Hospital. More exciting developments lay ahead as we plan to consolidate those services on one site.
I am also incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity of a secondment with NHS England / Improvement’s Children’s Transformation Team as Clinical Programme Lead for Health Inequalities for CYP across the North East and Yorkshire Region.
I am and will always be passionate about the rights of CYP, to ensure that they have a voice which is listened to and respected. I feel incredibly privileged to be in a position to be able to inspire and influence on their behalf.
Responsibilities
As Associate Director of Nursing I am responsible for:
- Professional leadership and line management for Maternity, Children’s and Adult Safeguarding, Learning Disability Liaison Nursing Team and Autism and Mental Capacity Act (MCA)
- Providing professional nursing leadership across the organisation
- Professional nursing leadership for reducing the need for physical interventions
- Oversight of Medical Gases management including patient safety, policy guidance, protocol development and governance
- Contributes to Tactical on Call Manager rota
