Lesley Deacon's story
As part of NHS 75 celebrations, our Deputy Chief Nurse Lesley Deacon told us how nursing is in her genes and how her career has moved through midwifery to her current role.
“I had always wanted to be a vet and look after animals, but then my science teacher decided we needed to dissect a rat and a frog. I decided that being a vet was not for me.
“I have a caring nature and so by my early teens I had decided I wanted to be a nurse, midwife and then a special care baby nurse. My grandmother was one of the first registered midwives in the country and so it must have been in my genes. I also have part of my grandmother’s nursing belt buckle and am in the process of getting a replica of the other half so that I can wear it, which will make me really proud.
“After a year of A-levels, I left school and went to college to do a BTEC national diploma in Health studies. I loved it, it was a combination of theory and placements which suited my learning style much better. My placements were in a primary school, special needs school, adult learning disability education centre and finally with a community midwife. I fell in love with midwifery and still love it now.
“The community midwife told me that they had just introduced direct entry midwifery, previously you had to train as a nurse and then do an extra 18months training to be a midwife. Her advice was if I really wanted to be a midwife, be a midwife and not do nursing first.
“So in 1999, I started my midwifery training at King’s College, London and I moved into the nursing home at Guy’s Hospital. Alongside my degree I had clinical placements at St Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College Hospital. After qualifying as a midwife, I worked in the community midwifery group practices at King’s College, looking after women throughout pregnancy, labour and after the baby was born. It was a great job as I made really good relationships with the women and their families. Since then, I have started up a Sure Start Service, worked as a delivery suite co-ordinator, community midwifery matron and Head of Midwifery. I worked for various trusts, including the exclusive Portland Hospital in London, during this time which has given me a wide variety of experience and knowledge.
“Before joining the CCG/ICB two years ago, I worked for the East of England Regional team supporting transformation and performance, specifically the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am really enjoying working in the ICB Nursing Directorate and using my clinical expertise. Knowing that everything I do supports improvements in the care that our population received makes me extremely proud to be a midwife and work for the ICB.
“I have made so many friends during my career in the NHS. It hasn’t been all plain sailing and sometimes feels like a rollercoaster, but I love it and wouldn’t want to work for anywhere else.”