I qualified form The University of Hull as an Adult Nurse in 2008. Early in my career I worked in renal, general medicine and medical elderly before moving into a rotational post in OPAT, Immunology and Haemophilia. It quickly became apparent that my interest was in OPAT and I became the Lead OPAT CNS in 2015.
This role is both challenging and dynamic as it is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the patients as well as being a team manager. I co-ordinate all of the clinic time tables and liaise with all members of the MDT to ensure great patient care. Alongside the traditional OPAT clinic I run a complex oral antibiotic monitoring clinic for patients on regimes including Linezolid, Tedizolid and Pristinamycin. The number of the complex oral antibiotic monitoring clinics has doubled over recent years as a result of the findings from the OVIVA study and is likely to further increase now I have completed my Non-Medical Prescribing. There is also a joint podiatry clinic which I oversee within the OPAT clinic. I also run a vascular access service for patients require IV access for OPAT as well as a surveillance blood culture monitoring clinic. These clinics allow the optimisation of the use of antimicrobials, prevent the development of resistance and improve patient outcomes.