A senior nurse whose career at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has spanned more than three decades has retired.
Gez Barrett was matron of Bradford Royal Infirmary’s (BRI’s) Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Pain Management Service and the Trust’s Westwood Park Diagnostic and Treatment Centre,
Chief Nurse, Karen Dawber, said: “Gez was one of our longest-serving matrons and spent all her working life at BRI.
“During her time with us, our critical care (ICU) service has changed and grown beyond all recognition.
“Our state-of-the-art 16-bed ICU, which she was instrumental in the planning and delivering of when it opened in 2016, is testament to the legacy she is leaving behind.
“We will miss her immensely but it’s been an absolute privilege to work with her.”
Fond farewell
Gez, 56, was given a fond farewell by colleagues at her recent retirement gathering at the end of April.
She added: “I have enjoyed my time at Bradford Royal Infirmary immensely as I feel like I have been able to make a real difference to our patients and staff.
“It’s a team effort, everybody brings a special gift to ICU and it is about harnessing that spirit that makes Bradford the best.”
Gez, who lives in Cowling, completed her nursing degree in 1985 and held numerous nursing posts – all but one of which were in critical care– ranging from staff nurse to sister and practice and professional development specialist before becoming matron.
In 2007, she received an Inspiration Award at the West Yorkshire Critical Care Network’s Nursing Awards.
Last year, Gez won one of the top awards at the Trust’s annual awards ceremony for staff, while the ICU in situ simulation team – of which Gez as part of – was named Team of the Year.
ENDS
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Note to Editors:
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust:
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for providing hospital services for the people of Bradford and communities across Yorkshire. We serve a core population of around 500,000 and provide specialist services for 1.1 million people.
Our 5,500 staff work over several sites, including Bradford Royal Infirmary, which provides the majority of inpatient services, and St Luke’s Hospital, which predominantly provides outpatient and rehabilitation services. We also manage local community hospitals at Westwood Park, Westbourne Green, and Eccleshill.
In early 2017, a new £28 million wing opened at Bradford Royal Infirmary, part of a £75m investment to improve patient care across our hospitals over a five-year period. It provides world-class facilities for elderly care, children’s services, a state-of-the-art intensive care unit with increased single-room provision and a retail concourse.
The new wing is a continuation of our work to improve patient experience after our new £2 million neonatal unit officially opened in January 2015. Our maternity services were recently shortlisted for the Royal College of Midwives’ (RCM) Midwifery Service of the Year Award, recognising excellence and innovation in the provision of maternity care.
In 2017, we also completed a £2m refurbishment of our Emergency Department (ED) as part of an ambitious vision to create a more efficient acute medicine service for the people of Bradford. It has been designed to provide a slicker and more efficient service, with faster senior clinical involvement at an early stage in the patient pathway.
As a teaching hospital, we are at the forefront of education and development in healthcare, and have an excellent reputation for research performance. We are one of the leading centres in conducting applied research in the country, particularly in quality and safety, elderly care and rehabilitation.
The Trust is home to the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) where researchers have led the development, validation and implementation of the award-winning Bradford Electronic Frailty Index (eFI) which helps calculate an elderly person’s risk of disability, impairment, falls and complications of chronic diseases, as well as their diminishing independence and capability. This is now being used by 98% of all GPs across the country.
Our award-winning Ophthalmology department is home to numerous worldwide clinical trials taking the lead in eye care research and we are one of only three sites in the United Kingdom to be enlisted in the Perioperative Enhanced Recovery Hip Fracture Care of Patients with Dementia (PERFECTED) study, which will investigate how the NHS can introduce better standards of care to improve outcomes for people with dementia.
The Trust has its own Bradford Hospitals Charity: https://bradfordhospitalscharity.org/
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For more information please visit www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk