“I’m a caring person and wanted to do something meaningful – nursing seemed to fit!”

“I’ve worked towards this for a long time. I feel privileged to have got this job.”

Jenny Hide – Health Visitor
 
Jenny’s route to Sheffield Children’s came via stops in London, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where she completed her nursing training in 1982.
 
Jenny said: “After working in London, myself, my husband and our young children moved up to Sheffield where my husband had studied at university and I fell in love with it! I’ve been working as a health visitor since then and I’ve never looked back.”
 
After fourteen years working as a Health Visitor in the city, Jenny joined Sheffield Children’s in 2014.

Health visiting at Sheffield Children’s 

Health Visiting is part of the Trust’s 0-19 Service through which it supports children and their families at home and at school from birth to 19 years old. This support can come in many ways, from helping new parents recognise illnesses and minor ailments to diet and physical activity. Mental health – for both children and parents – is also very important.
 
Jenny said: “Our focus on mental health is also a priority but even more so now as we’re unable to visit people in our usual way, we want to give people the opportunity to talk and understand that things are even more stressful than usual and mental health needs to be talked about.”
 
Health visitors can build long lasting relationships with families, which suits Jenny’s approach.
 
She added: “It is a privilege to work with families in the way health visitors do – we are welcomed into someone’s home to support them and it’s a real honour to be able to do so in this way. It’s a really collaborative way of working and I’ve found my real passion in providing a holistic approach to care.
 
“It’s all about relationship building, so you have to have an interest in people – especially as a health visitor. Have an open heart, open mind and be able to ask questions and adapt when needed.”
 
If you are interested in joining Jenny and our Health Visiting team – “I work in an amazing team who are all passionate about the work they do” – take a look at our current vacancies page.