I grew up in a military family and lived abroad during my formative years in Africa and Germany. At fourteen, I went to a boarding school in Loughborough, where I left with somewhat disappointing ‘O’ levels. I decided to pursue a career in Nursing, and my first role was as a Student Nurse at Broadmoor Special Hospital in Berkshire. During this time, I worked with many infamous patients. Upon qualifying as a Register Psychiatric Nurse, I felt the need to see more of the healthcare world than Broadmoor provided. I  secured a place at a King’s College Hospital in London to train as a Registered General Nurse, a decision I would come never to regret. After qualifying, I spent the next twenty-five years working at various UK hospitals in both a clinical and more latterly a management capacity. The pinnacle of my NHS career was being appointed as Director of Nursing in a large NHS Trust in the test West Midlands. As a non-executive director, I became responsible for a broad portfolio which included Clinical Governance, Complaints and Litigation. During this period I commissioned  and managed the first NHS Trust to secure the contact and run Prison Hospital at HMP Blakenhurst. After 25 years in the NHS, I moved to BT as the Head of Service for the NHS Account.  In this role, I oversaw the implementation of Clinical Information Systems across London Hospitals. I recently took stock of my work/life priorities and decided the time had come to obtain a role working directly with supporting people, where my ‘roots’ had began many years ago. I was delighted to be interviewed and appointed to the Night Manager role at Eden Gate. I hope in this capacity, I can support guests somewhat overcome the challenges they are facing and move forward. I am delighted to be part of a highly motivated and fun team at Eden Gate.