Date of release: 31 March 2023
A trailblazing healthcare worker who made history as the first Nurse Prescriber in Birmingham has retired after 37 years with the NHS – to ‘em-bark’ on a new career as a dog sitter.
Jane Dalziel, 55, from Fordhouses, who has been Nurse Practitioner at Phoenix Medical Centre in Parkfields since 2008, has worked for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) for 28 years over two stints
Her career has seen her turn full circle, as she was a Student Nurse at New Cross Hospital when she began her nursing journey in 1986, before becoming a Staff Nurse at the old Royal Hospital in Accident and Emergency on New Year’s Day 1990 until it closed in 1997.
Loving the buzz from A&E, Jane worked in a similar role when she went travelling to Australia and New Zealand for six months, working in an Aboriginal hospital that even had horses roaming around!
Returning to the UK in 1998, she became a Staff Nurse in A&E at City Hospital in Birmingham, where she was promoted to Sister.
A serious car accident which forced her to take a year off work prompted a change of direction. When she returned, Jane started the Emergency Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Prescriber courses at the University of Wolverhampton, becoming the first Prescriber to graduate in the Birmingham area in 2002-03.
On completion of her courses, Jane decided to work in GP practices closer to her home in Wolverhampton to cut down on travelling.
“I loved my training and my time in A&E, and the old Royal and City Hospitals were lovely places to work,” said Jane. “I really enjoyed the busy nature of A&E and the trauma side and I loved my prescriber course – it was quite hard but very factual.
“Coming to work at the Phoenix was my ideal job and it’s a very good team and quite busy and demanding, but I prefer working with injuries than illness and it’s time for a change for me.”
Jane, who has been married to insurance worker Adrian, 56, for 13 years, is excited about her new venture.
“I love dogs and I had my first one to look after recently. I’m keen to have them at my home and look after them for their owners,” she added.
Helen Rubery, fellow Nurse Practitioner, was a colleague of Jane’s for 13 years and they remain close friends.
Helen said: “Jane is a special person and a very good team player. She organises lots of weekends away for her friends and colleagues and has a very wide network of friends.
“She is a lovely person who also absolutely loves dogs and I think she will grow into her new passion even more in retirement.”
Notes to Editor
- For further information, please contact Tim Nash on 07714 741097 or via email tim.nash2@nhs.net
