Inspired to care after NUH saved her mum, brother and her own future | Latest news

For Claire Shaw, working at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is much more than a job. It is a place that has shaped her life, supported her family through their darkest moments, and inspired her career.

At the tender age of 15, Claire and her family went through a traumatic time when her mum suffered a sudden brain haemorrhage. Her mum, Joanne was driving in her car with a friend when she went over a speed bump. Claire said: “My mum felt like someone had smashed her in the back of the head with a baseball bat”

Following several hospital visits, Joanne was admitted to Queen's Medical Centre (QMC), where specialists identified the cause of the haemorrhage and carried out emergency brain surgery. After being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Clare was able to visit her mum.

"I just remember the walls being purple," Claire recalls. "Then after ICU, she didn't know who I was at first. I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, how does she not know who I am? Because she's, my mum.' I was 15."

The impact on Claire was profound. With her focus entirely on her mother's recovery, her education was her last priority.

Claire said: "I didn't do my exams properly because of what had happened to my mum. I didn't get my Maths and English at school.”

Thankfully, Claire’s mum Joanne recovered, and Claire was able to rebuild the relationship with her mum. This chapter in her life compelled Claire to strive to work at the hospital where her mum was saved, she said "I'm a caring person, but I wanted to work here because they saved my mum's life."

This then put Claire on the journey to go back to college, whilst being a mum to her son, Tyler, and gain her Maths and English to be able to work in healthcare.

That determination eventually brought her to NUH. Nine years ago, Claire joined the Trust as an Emergency Care Assistant. When asked where she wanted to work, the answer came easily. Claire knew she wanted to work in A&E.

Over the years, Claire developed her skills and became a Clinical Support Worker (CSW), driven by a desire to become more involved with patient care.

She later took a six-month secondment as a CSW trainer in surgery, but her heart remained in the Emergency Department (ED). Claire said: "I wanted to come back to A&E. I missed the staff and the patients."

Today, Claire works as a Flow Coordinator in the Emergency Department, a role that is critical in helping patients move safely and efficiently through the hospital. She explained:

"I speak to patients and inform them about their care plan and where they're going. I try to give them certainty and communicate with them about what's happening."

It was during this time, that Claire’s 37-year-old brother, James, was rushed to hospital, with a suspected brain haemorrhage. It brought back the memories of what her mum had gone through. Claire recalled, "He had a real nasty brain haemorrhage. It was a very, very long recovery. He was a very lucky man to be alive."

When Claire returned to work, she was able to visit him while he received specialist care. Remarkably, her uncle was also admitted and eventually found himself on the same neuro-rehabilitation ward as Claire's brother. Thankfully, both recovered, but Claire was fearful that what had happened to her loved ones, would happen to her, she said: "It made me scared because my mum and my brother had it and I felt like a ticking time bomb."

Claire had an MRI scan and now remains under the care of the neurosurgery team at QMC

Despite the challenges her and her family faced, Claire is determined to remain optimistic, she said: "Working in A&E puts things into perspective, there are other patients worse off, I like to try and be happy and positive not just for me and my family but for my patients"

Her son Tyler even had his own unexpected connection to the hospital when Claire brought him into A&E after he was injured playing football, an experience that was later featured on 24 Hours in A&E.

For Claire, NUH has become woven into her family's history across generations. Her grandfather worked on the roof of the QMC during its construction, helping build the hospital that would later care for so many of his loved ones and later himself.

Claire recalled: "My grandad did the roof on the QMC when it was being built. It saved my mum and I wanted to help people in a big hospital."

"They also looked after my grandad really well when if they hadn’t operated on him, he would have died."

Today, Claire describes the Emergency Department as her home. QMC has become more than just her workplace; it has become the centre of her life.

Claire said "I thank every single one of the team. The neurosurgeons saved my brother's life and my mum's life, and maybe one day it will save my life. I have full confidence that if anything did happen to me, I would be in the right place."