Charlotte Brett is a rising star
Assistant infection control practitioner Charlotte Brett has won the Lloyds Bank Rising Star award for the East of England at the National Apprenticeship Awards.
Charlotte, who has been at the Trust for six years, beat 1400 other nominees and to take home the prestigious trophy.
It was the second of two triumphs for Charlotte who was also given an achievement award by West Suffolk College, where she has been studying.
Charlotte’s win in the East of England heat saw her go through to the national finals where she narrowly missed out on an historic treble in the national rising star category.
Charlotte’s award from West Suffolk recognised her achievement in completing her senior healthcare support worker apprenticeship in just eighteen months.
She said: “I started my nursing apprenticeship a year and a half ago but I qualified early because I’ve been shielding during lockdown. I managed to get the whole course done even though it was not due to finish until next year.
“There were lots of essay to write but the other half of the apprenticeship was clinical work on the wards within my role for Medicine and Emergency Care.”
Charlotte says she loves the independence her job at Broomfield Hospital gives her to improve infection control practices. She cites the project to improve the Trust compliance with VIP (Visual Infusion Phlebitis) scores as one her proudest achievements.
Checking cannulas or central lines every eight hours can stop infections that go straight into the bloodstream. The project has seen a dramatic improvement in compliance which now consistently stands at over 93%.
The nomination for the regional rising star award came from anonymous colleague and Charlotte said the success she’s had has come as a complete surprise.
“It was a massive shock to make it to the regional final and to win was an even bigger shock. Everyone at the Trust has been really happy for me. I’d really like to thank Hilary Bowring (associate director of nursing for medicine and emergency care) and Judy Holdsworth (matron for infection prevention and control).”
Charlotte will soon be embarking on another new challenge as she joins Anglia Ruskin University in January to work towards becoming a fully-qualified nurse.