Sports Editor Sam Lord interviews award-winning nurse Saffiatu Nantwi, exploring her nursing journey and her insights on the future of the NHS.
The Rising Star Award, organised annually by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), recognises “outstanding contributions to the health and care of Londoners” by BAME nursing staff. This year’s winner was Saffiatu Nantwi, who is reading MSc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing at King’s College London (KCL) alongside her work as a registered nurse in central London.
Saffiatu received the award for developing a training programme for teachers on how to manage asthmatic students. She was nominated by a group of senior nurses from her local placement area.
Roar reached out to Saffiatu, eager to discuss her thoughts and feelings on winning the award, her experience as a nurse and the state of the NHS. She very kindly agreed to an interview.
Reflections on Winning the Rising Star Award
We began by discussing how it felt to receive the award. Saffiatu explained, “It was such a big surprise. It was really lovely and rewarding to be recognised. I felt really supported by the team and my assessors during that period.”
Saffiatu ultimately earned the award for her innovative asthma training program for school staff.
In her own words, “Every year we’ve got to teach teachers about common health conditions, including asthma, anaphylaxis, epilepsy, et cetera.
“So I just created a presentation that was a bit more modern, up-to-date and interactive, to help engage and educate teachers about asthma. I got really positive feedback from the school nursing team and the teachers.”
We then discussed whether awards like the RCN’s Rising Star Award are useful. Saffiatu said, “I think having awards like this can help people feel more able to progress and have that support and recognition that they deserve from their work”.
I asked whether the support demonstrated through initiatives like the Rising Star Award for BAME nurses reflects the support they typically receive while working in the NHS.
Saffiatu argued, “I think it really depends. I can only speak from my own experience. I’ve been fortunate to have had a lot of support and mentorship. I think that support can come from anywhere, and it really depends on the team that you have.
“One of the speakers [at the award event] was saying ethnic minority groups make up about a third of the NHS nursing workforce. I had not realised it was such a high proportion, but I suppose in positions of leadership those numbers aren’t necessarily proportional to workforce represented.”
Saffiatu’s Career Journey and Aspirations
Our conversation then moved on to her career, and for Saffiatu, there was a lot to discuss. Since her undergraduate in Children’s Nursing at the University of Brighton, she has worked as both a Registered Children’s Nurse, and then a Chief Nurse Fellow at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Following this, she undertook a postgraduate degree at KCL, in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing, whilst also working as a Student School Nurse at the Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust across Hammersmith and Fulham.
As someone who comes from a household of healthcare professionals, but who never took an interest in the field, I was very curious to understand what made Saffiatu want to go into nursing.
In her case, it started with her love of working with children. She recalled enjoying her sixth-form work experience, where she helped out at a school for special-needs children.
“I have always really enjoyed working with children. I didn’t necessarily feel like I wanted to be a teacher, but I always had such an interest in biology and helping people feel better. So, I felt like children’s nursing was a great way to combine all my interests and make a positive difference.”
It is this passion for helping children that keeps Saffiatu motivated and drives her career ambitions:
“I just think children are amazing.”
“They make up roughly 30% of the population, but they’re 100% of the future. I think within healthcare, it is so vital to invest in children and their well-being.
“I’m really passionate about improving the health inequalities for children I work with and hopefully improve their outcomes for the future.”
I then inquired whether there were any particularly challenging moments, particularly when working with children in intensive care units such as those at Great Ormond Street Hospital, often known by the abbreviation GOSH.
Saffiatu joked, “As it says in the name, it’s very intense. It was an interesting experience working with some fantastic doctors and nurses and so meaningful to be there for families at the worst time of their lives.”
She continued, “It was definitely very sad at times, but really rewarding to be able to be the person to support the families in their time of need”
Our conversation moved on to her future career aspirations.
She said, “I’m still exploring options within public health at the moment, but I would definitely be interested in strategising in public health and being involved in the policy making process, to really support families who are really disproportionately impacted by health inequalities.”
I asked if she would be more interested in policy than practice.
“Well, a combination of the two. I think its really lovely to have that patient-facing experience, but I think to influence systemic change, it needs come from more senior positions.”
I asked for Saffiatu’s advice to student nurses as they prepare to launch their careers in the nursing profession. She said:
“I’d say to student nurses that qualifying as a nurse is tough, but you can get through it.”
“I think part of the challenge I experienced was not realising that once I qualified it would still be a really tough experience, especially in that first year. You get used to a certain level of patients, then you get more complex patients as your skills increase, and then you may feel like you’re back to square one.
“For newly qualified or nearly qualified nurses, it’s important to have confidence in your ability and remember that you earned your nursing registration, so you can do it. If you feel overwhelmed at any time, its important to always ask for support if you need it.
“All nurses go through a similar roller coaster of emotions, but as long as you’re always doing what’s right for your patients and collaborating with the multi-disciplinary team, you’re on the right track.”
The State of the NHS
Finally, we moved on to the NHS and the state of nursing in the UK more generally. Regarding the state of the NHS, Saffiatu said:
“I think the NHS can be really fantastic in providing care to people. But obviously at the moment there’s a lot of issues with waiting times, particularly for children’s mental health.”
She continued, “There are issues with funding and staffing. I think it’s really up to the government to look at where they’re spending public funds, and explore ways to incentivise people to join the NHS so that it can provide a quality service that the public needs.”
Considering that in recent years a lot of NHS nurses have chosen to emigrate outside the UK, particularly to countries like Australia, I asked Saffiatu if this was something she had considered.
She said, “It definitely crossed my mind when I was doing my nurse training during my undergraduate.
“I’ve heard a lot of really good things about Australia, but I suppose my life is here in the UK, so I’d be more passionate about staying closer to family and making a difference here. But I can definitely understand why people leave.”
I concluded our conversation with Saffiatu by asking a pivotal question: how optimistic is she about the future of the NHS?
“I’d like to say that I am [optimistic] overall but I think it really depends on what decisions are made by the government moving forward. A lot more changes need to happen. But I guess at the moment it’s hard to know.”
Despite all the pessimism surrounding the state of UK nursing and the NHS, if Saffiatu is any indication of the future of nursing in this country, then considering her passion, ambition and kind-nature, there is still reason to be optimistic.
