Jo has worked in the field of pre-operative assessment for 20 years and held the position of council member and Honorary Secretary of the Preoperative Association for six years, until stepping back in 2022, driving a shared vision and enthusiasm to achieve improvements in patient safety and outcomes through robust pre-operative assessment and preparation for surgery.

Since 2022, Jo has led the standardisation of the pre-operative assessment services across Circle Health Group’s 45 hospital sites as the National Lead. Facilitating and supporting all 45 teams. Jo has role-modelled excellence in behaviour to create a supportive environment for our nursing teams. This commitment has been unwavering; the hours required to deliver should not be underestimated, and Jo has worked tirelessly to deliver. Jo has demonstrated the importance of continued professional development in those teams through the delivery of underpinning policy and guidance, monthly team calls across the 45 sites, and the adoption of educational masterclasses to develop the nursing teams and establish the standards of best practice. 

Jo has built trust with the team through regular engagement and making herself accessible at any time of day to ensure teams have access to her expertise, whilst building mutual respect and allowing for a compassionate working ethical relationship. Jo’s work has raised the profile of pre-operative assessment as a nurse-led discipline within our organisation, championing with passion, the pivotal role pre-operative assessment plays in patient safety. There are not many nurses you come across during your working career that you look up to with admiration. Jo is a nursing leader like no other I have had the privilege to work with. Her work ethic and depth of knowledge in her speciality is unrivalled, yet her polite compassionate manner means people are not intimidated, and they feel they are on a shared learning journey, her nursing teaching is patient centric.

There are many examples I could draw upon to reinforce the position and strength of nursing in our organisation. Jo leads a pre-operative assessment service across 45 hospitals. When working across multi-disciplinary teams to achieve consensus in practice standards, policy and guidance, Jo consistently displays patience and understanding to guide fellow healthcare workers to the right decisions. Jo is a pleasure to work with. She is professional, consistent, personable and always kind. I don’t know how she remains so outwardly unruffled even when things are not going to plan. She will always make time for people who need her expertise. From a nursing perspective, the pre-operative service has been strengthened, with greater emphasis on patient preparation and optimisation before surgery, and on shared decision-making whilst increasing nursing engagement.