Dedicated Peterborough nurse recognised for 45-year NHS service
It was while visiting a family member in hospital and observing nurses at work that Celia Kendrick first thought: ‘I could do that!’
A nurse at Peterborough City Hospital celebrated a landmark milestone last week - 45 years of working in the NHS.
Head of Resilience and Emergency Preparedness, Celia Kendrick, was surprised by colleagues with a long-service presentation at Peterborough City Hospital to officially mark her remarkable four-and-a-half decades with the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Celia’s journey began in 1979 when she enrolled into the Peterborough and Stamford School of Nursing aged just 18.
After receiving comprehensive training that was a mixture of academic learning and hands-on practice, the young healthcare professional qualified with great pride in 1983.
While Celia gained steady experience and insight within many different areas of the healthcare sector, it was the ever-busy and demanding environs of A&E which quickly became her passion:
“It was fast-paced, and every day was different,” Celia recalls, “you could be dealing with anything from small injuries that needed stitching, right up to saving lives.
“There is no greater feeling on earth than saving someone’s life.”
Celia spent the next three decades working in A&E, initially as a staff nurse before progressing onto more senior roles like sister and lead nurse.
During that time, the much-loved caregiver helped to develop a number of trailblazing initiatives, some of which have helped to shape training projects not just across the UK but also around the globe.
In 2004, Celia was instrumental in producing and launching an initiative that has since gone on to change the way hospitals deal with major incidents. Indeed, the Hospital Major Incident Medical Management & Support (HMIMMS) course is now taught all over the world, including within countries that are preparing to host the FIFA World Cup and Euro tournaments.
Other notable achievements by Celia – who was appointed Head of Resilience and Emergency Preparedness in 2016 – include implementing a decontamination procedure following the 9/11 attacks, and delivering a revised plan and response during the myriad challenges presented during the Covid pandemic.
In addition, the industrious nurse worked a mammoth 26-hour shift to help ensure the A&E department at the old hospital could close and re-open as a new Emergency Department at Peterborough City Hospital when it opened in 2010.