Our people make DHU special, and we like to highlight who they are and what they do with us to show you how that reflects on the care you receive.
Today we’d like to introduce you to our Clinical Service Lead for Corby, Asun Valle, to find out a little more about the service and DHU’s plans…
“I’m a nurse by background, I qualified in 2007 and was most recently a nurse in A&E at Leicester Royal Infirmary I wanted to progress as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner but not necessarily in an A&E environment which I didn’t feel was right for me. I was aware of DHU through working at LRI and an opportunity arose to do my training at Loughborough UTC.
“This was in 2022 and part of my work involved triage, learning more about the clinical side under supervision, gaining in confidence through hands on experience. The jump from nurse to ACP is big, as a nurse you are guided in terms of tasks whereas an ACP is an independent role where you are able to make more decisions about treatment, you still have support but you can treat and discharge under your own supervision.
“However, I never felt rushed or pushed and was encouraged to develop at my own pace. I achieved that and enjoyed the challenge before developing in leadership roles, including Clinical Service Lead at Oakham and Merlyn Vaz in Leicestershire and Chesterfield UTC. They complement my clinical experience but when the opportunity to lead at Corby came up, I went for it and was thrilled to get the role.
“It’s an opportunity to manage my own team who are new to DHU but have lots of experience at Corby and be able to shape what we do. It felt a little overwhelming at the start, brand new, but something new to revitalise how I approach clinical work. The team here have been very welcoming and open to change, very positive.
“DHU has been providing UTC services in other regions for a long time and has experience in affecting positive change that involves the knowledge and experiences of those who work here and use the services. That’s what I want for Corby, to combine our experience with the knowledge of those who have been here to bring the best out of our combine resources. It’s an exciting challenge and I’m ready.”