Edyta Kuchna

Day Nurse

Edyta is a key member of the nursing team at Dame Hannahs. She looks after all our young adults across the Mews and Transitions providing any nursing care they might require. She also supports the Care team with clinical issues and concerns as well as answering any medical emergencies. She oversees medication management and provides support to the Care team when needed. As a nursing team they also work together with the Therapies team as well as the wider multidisciplinary team such as GP, specialists, dieticians, dentists.

“I started working at Dame Hannahs on 4th April 2022. I remember the exact date as I was incredibly excited for my first day! I came across a job advert while looking for my next challenge. It was something completely different and it piqued my interest! I hadn’t heard of Dame Hannahs before, so I did a little research and straight away realised that this place is one of a kind. To be honest what made me apply was the ‘Our stories’ section of the website and hearing people’s experiences.

I am Polish and I moved to the UK when I was 13 with my parents and siblings. After leaving school I spent seven years working as a dental nurse before deciding to study nursing at Plymouth University. I qualified as a nurse in 2019 and went straight into working in the Emergency Department at Torbay Hospital, so a very different environment! I spent three years there (most of it during the Covid pandemic) and loved it. I’ve learned a great deal and gained a lot of experience in dealing with medical emergencies and difficult situations in a very stressful and fast paced environment.

I first joined Dame Hannahs as a full-time night nurse until the nocturnal lifestyle caught up with me! Then I decided to switch to days and it has been lovely to sleep at night. I absolutely love my job! I enjoy spending time with the young adults and being able to help them to stay well and enjoy their lives! Working here is a lot of fun, there is always something exciting going on and it’s just a happy place to be. It has been really rewarding getting to know our young adults and building good relationships with them and their families. I also enjoy working with all my colleagues, everyone is so nice!

I’m also at present part of the Tugboats and Dolphins Community Interest Company. Our mission is fundraising for different charities by taking on crazy challenges! At present we are raising money for Dame Hannahs to renew our sensory room. I am very proud of that and it is a massive part of my life! Recently I took part in the 1000-mile cycle ride from Roscoff in France to Santander in Spain. The support from the young adults and staff has been incredible and it really meant a lot! We also organised a fundraiser at Endsleigh Garden Centre and all the young adults joined us too which was so much fun! Another highlight for me was working last Christmas Day celebrating with everyone and having a big Christmas dinner.

As part of my role I have to keep up to date with all my training, from medication management to manual handling and equipment specific training. The beauty of nursing is that you never stop learning! I feel like we have a great team working at Dame Hannahs from nurses, therapies, support workers to the management. Everyone seems happy and the atmosphere is great! I definitely see myself working here for a long time.”