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Back to the frontline - 10 years later
A mother of three is the first nurse to return to Nottingham University Hospitals via a national call-out asking for former medics to return to the NHS frontline to help with the coronavirus pandemic.
Jess Bush, a registered nurse and a business woman from Sutton-Bonington, will be based in the Emergency Department at the Queens Medical Centre (QMC).
Here she will see patients who have serious or life-threatening conditions as well as patients with suspected coronavirus.
Jess, who currently owns her business called Simply Aesthetics, last worked in the hospital’s Emergency Department around ten years ago and when she first qualified as a nurse, she spent time working on Ward D57.
Since leaving the hospital, Jess has done a number of roles including joining East Midlands Ambulance Service as a nurse advisor and has gone on to set up her own business in medical aesthetics.
“I decided to become self-employed because it was more viable and it suited my lifestyle with having three young children,” she said.
“But when I saw the national call out from the NHS asking for former staff to come back and help them with the pandemic, I thought to myself, how could I not help?
“I couldn’t just sit here knowing I have these skills and not do anything to support the NHS at a time when they really need everyone’s support.
“At first I was a bit concerned about returning to the NHS and signing up to the recruitment campaign, because it had been a long time since I worked for the NHS but I spoke to a friend who works in the Emergency Department at another hospital and they reassured me that I’d be OK.
“My family have been really supportive and of course they are concerned about some of the risks involved but everyone is and we know what the situation is.”
Jess said that initially her training felt a bit overwhelming with all of the information she needed to know but she has already started working shifts to get herself used to where everything is.
“The new technology is a little bit daunting but what has struck me about coming back to the hospital after all these years is how much of a family and supportive feeling there is here,” she said.
“There is a lot of support and reassurance for the staff and I feel proud that I’ve been able to come back and help our frontline staff and the NHS.”
Sarah Moppett, Deputy Chief Nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are so pleased to be able to welcome Jess back to Team NUH. We had a fantastic response to our call-out asking for people to come and help us deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Every single one of our staff - new and existing - will be making a big difference during these difficult times.”