NHS 75: Southend Hospital Healthcare Assistant who provides caring hair-washing service
Stacey James was trained as a hairdresser before starting her career in the NHS
Stacey James is a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) at Southend Hospital and for the last four years has gone above and beyond to give her patients an extra special hair-care service to make them feel their best selves.
As we celebrate 75 years of the NHS, Stacey has told Greatest Hits Radio that it's not just about the nursing care they can provide:
"Girls like having their hair done, and then when their relatives come in, it's nice to also for the relatives to know they are being well looked after.
"It's the little bits and pieces as well as obviously the nursing care. It's the little bits that mean a lot to them and their families."
Stacey bought a whole new meaning to caring with style when she began her career with the NHS, after training as a hairdresser and transferring her skills to the new job.
“Hospital stays can sometimes cause patients to feel down, so all that’s needed is that little bit of TLC, a good chat, and that one-on-one time to make all the difference, which is exactly what I hope I help provide patients through hospital hairdressing.”
Stacey told us how she can see the impact on the hairdressing and how it helps not just her patients, but their families too.
"We had one gentleman, I'd done his wife's hair, and he broke down in tears, because she looked like her again.
"She had her hair washed, cut, dried and I can only assume it was back to how their lives are and back to her instead of sitting in a hospital bed obviously not being well. That was touching."
For Stacey, the NHS is not just her area of expertise - as her Mum is also a HCA at Southend Hospital, celebrating 25 years this year.
She's worked on her Mum's ward, and even credits her with helping to pick up the job.
Stacey's daughter is also going to university in September to train to become a paramedic, meaning three generations of one family will all be working in the NHS.