Claire Tolliday is the chief nursing information officer at CUH and has worked here for 36 years.
When I was five years old, CUH was called ‘Daddy’s hospital’ as it’s where my dad started working just after I was born. He was the blood transfusion laboratory manager, and my mum brought me and my younger brother to have lunch with him when he was on-call. He worked at CUH for 40 years and when he retired in 2005, they named one of the blood analyser machines after him.
This experience in my younger years made me determined to work in the health service and I subsequently joined CUH as an auxiliary nurse in 1987. I started work on ward C9 and with huge encouragement from the amazing staff there, I applied to do my nurse training. I qualified 3 years later, and I’ve stayed ever since! I’ve had a variety of different roles in my 36 years at CUH; staff nurse, junior sister, specialist nurse and operational matron. In 2013 I joined the newly established eHospital team and used my nursing knowledge and clinical experience to help shape Epic; creating a system and culture where digital is now part and parcel of patient care. Since then, I have been appointed to the chief nursing information officer role.
Technology is constantly evolving, and we have seen huge changes in how the NHS works digitally. When I first started as a nurse, we had to write everything on paper, every observation, every drug dose. The medical records department was huge (so much paper)! If a patient was going for an x-ray we had to put all of their notes into a big brown envelope and seal it so it wouldn’t be read. Introducing electronic patient records has been hugely beneficial and has really enhanced patient care and safety.
I am a total supporter of the NHS, and whilst it has had its challenges, there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.
Claire
I would never leave it. At one point my dad, mum and brother all worked for the NHS. I want to work towards digital inclusion - ensuring everyone is able to use digital in healthcare. When my dad became a patient he also became a user of the trust's digital MyChart patient portal - he loved being able to view his own blood results. The relationship between a patient and the health service is more blended now. Being able to view your hospital health record (including test results) in MyChart is empowering and also gives patients the opportunity to better manage their care and prepare questions to ask their doctor ahead of their appointment.
My dad had a massive influence on my life, but he wanted me to be a scientist instead of a nurse. We worked together for a while and used to sit opposite each other in transfusion meetings and I had to remember to call him Brian and not Dad.
Sadly he died three years ago. He’s always been part of my career, and for me, he will always be part of CUH.