Great Ormond Street Hospital Nurse

“You must learn to hold in your feelings,” Matron said, firmly but not unkindly. “One day it will be your duty to support the family and other staff through this tragedy. You need to be strong.”

From the first time Vanessa Martin sets foot inside the world’s most renowned children’s hospital, she knows that she will never have another dull moment. From her first confrontation with the legendary matron, to consoling hordes of worried parents and caring for the wonderful bundles of joy themselves, Vanessa enters a world full of laughter, heartache and, most importantly, hard work.

In this heartwarming memoir of a passionate, determined young woman trying to help as many children as she can, Vanessa pulls back the curtain on the bustling world of 60s London, and tells the remarkable story of finding her place within it.

Nostalgic, charming and full of heart, The Great Ormond Street Nurse is the heroic tale of a woman who has dedicated over 40 years to the NHS.

Author Biography

Vanessa was a paediatric and general trained nurse with 40 years’ experience of working in the NHS. Most of her work was in the frontline services managing wards in hospitals, but latterly she managed a children’s Plastic Surgery Ward before she became a Nurse Consultant and the Clinical Director of a Cleft Lip and Palate Service which covered the East Midland’s Region. She won the Royal College of Nursing/Nursing Standard ‘Nurse of the Year 2000’ award for her work with families of children with cleft lip and palate. She was awarded a Fellowship by the Royal College of Nursing for her work with the Westminster Government Steering Committee setting standards and monitoring the National re-organisation of Cleft Services and for her role in developing a specialist course for nurses working in the field.