Farisha Agraviador, is the head of nursing for senior health at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She leads four wards looking after some of the trust’s most vulnerable elderly patients.
As a child, Farisha planned to become a doctor but, in nursing, she has found the connection with patients that allows her to make a difference every day. When she’s not managing her wards, or ferrying her children to swimming and rugby, this Taylor Swift fan likes nothing better than belting out a tune on her personal karaoke machine.
This interview is part of a series, going behind the scenes to get to know the people who keep NHS services working – in winter and beyond.
Tell us about your job
I’m responsible for four wards, three on site at St George’s and one is at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton. We look after patients aged over 65, who are in hospital for various reasons. It might be that they had a fall or have broken their hip or they have a chest or urine infection that needs to be treated in hospital. They’re our most vulnerable patients.
What’s your career history?
I’ve worked in the NHS for 10 years now. I was trained back home in the Philippines. Since I came to England, care of the elderly has always been my area of practice. At first, I worked in a nursing home, then as a stroke nurse with Kingston Hospital. I joined St George’s in 2019 and carried on working with elderly people.
What made you decide to work in the NHS?
My father is a nurse and my grandmother on my mum’s side is a nurse – I think it’s innate in me, to want to care for people – it doesn’t feel like a job. When I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor. But that changed and I’m very happy in my role as a nurse. I feel like I have a connection to my patients. I can make a difference to them, to their lives, to their journey.
Tell us about a typical day
When I come in to work, I make sure that there are enough staff on the ward so we are able to provide the right care. I find out how many patients are unplaced in the emergency department, because the numbers indicate how busy the day will get. I join ward rounds in the mornings, then the day is spent in meetings. I regularly meet with the matrons and ward sisters to talk about our financial spend or recruitment. I am proud to say that most of our nursing vacancies are now nearly filled.
Is there a story that shows how your job helps people?
One area I manage is the Mary Seacole ward in Queen Mary’s Hospital. It is a 42-bed rehabilitation ward and I’m proud to have helped introduce the Rise+ team of volunteers to the hospital. There’s a group of patients who are at the point in their stay where they are ready to go home, but often they don’t have the support they need. Sometimes they have nobody to move furniture from upstairs or they don’t have a microwave to heat up their food. Rise+ can help us fix that and it makes a big difference. It’s a real success story that there are people out there who are willing to help.
How does your role help the NHS manage winter pressures?
I get to ask the important questions – ‘what else can we do so this patient can go home now?’ My role is about knowing all the people who can help us do that. And for those who need to be here, it’s my job to make sure my nurses and my healthcare assistants are providing the best quality care there is for our patients.
What do you get up to when you’re not nursing?
I’ve got a 12-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. Saturday is our family day. Me and my husband take our children to swimming class, to football class, and rugby. We go to church and then Sunday is spent doing the laundry and cleaning the house. And then, before you know it, it’s Monday again. I like to watch a movie, a series or documentary on Netflix and Disney. It really helps me forget about the busy week that I’ve had at work.
Tell us something we might not know about you?
I love singing. I have a karaoke machine at home. When I was seven, I entered a singing contest in school – and I won. Occasionally on a weekend, me and my husband turn on the TV and we’ll sing our hearts out. I love listening to pop music and I am a Taylor Swift fan.