It was the designer outlet centre that first attracted Izza Ciocon to Ashford – but the discovery of a top-class critical care unit at the William Harvey Hospital sealed the deal for the Band 6 nurse.
Izza, together with partner Ray Supilanas, had been working at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich but wanted to swap London life for something more laid back.
Initially they were looking for a base they could commute back to London from, but when they heard there were roles in the unit at the William Harvey – and with a brand new, purpose-built unit due to open this year – they decided to move jobs as well as home.
And despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, the couple have no regrets about making the move.
Izza said: “We wanted to find somewhere to settle down together, and we’d always joked about moving to Ashford so I could be near the outlet centre.
“Then we saw an advert for critical care nurses on Facebook and contacted the team, and from then it all happened quite quickly.
“It was initially very daunting to move home and jobs, and we didn’t know anyone here at all, but since day one we were always so well supported.”
The pair spent a month working supernumerary at the bedside, learning how the different equipment works, then another month as supernumerary band 6 nurses, learning about the policies and management of the unit.
Izza said: “We put in a lot of thought about the fact that we were trained in a different trust and that we had to learn the policies, protocols and day-to-day management of the unit relatively quickly, especially since we would be helping manage and support junior staff as well.
“But we were given such ample time and support to do this and it helped us settle into our roles easier. Those two months gave me the reassurance that I was able to do it, and I never had to do anything I wasn’t comfortable with.
“The unit is a similar size to where we were working, but here we have a wider mix of patients with more maxillofacial patients and cardiac patients after pPCI, who would have been transferred to a different hospital in London.
“We had been worrying about starting somewhere new during the pandemic, and that we might have to fill staffing gaps when we weren’t ready and that it would be very stressful but it was actually really painless.
“We were looking for a job that offered us stability, but what we didn’t expect was to find one that came with an amazing group of colleagues who warmly welcomed us into their family and quickly became our friends as well. We are so grateful for that.
“And it is fantastic to be so close to the outlet centre – that’s definitely my favourite way to unwind on days off!”
