Being a staff nurse is a hard and demanding role. Balancing that while raising three children is even harder. Yet this is something that Tsitsi Banza excels at.
Tsitsi, 40, from West Bromwich, has been nursing since 1998, and has worked for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust since 2001, when she moved over from Zimbabwe.
She said: “I always wanted to be a nurse, even when I was a child. My mum was a nurse, and seeing her in action really inspired me to follow her into nursing.”
Tsitsi balances her home life with husband Paul and her three children aged six, 13 and 20, with working nights on D25 at City Hospital – a short stay surgical ward.
Patients rarely stay on this ward longer than 72 hours, yet Tsitsi, while doing her ward observations, finds time to interact and get to know patients.
On NHS Change day in March, the Trust made an organisational pledge to adopt Dr Kate Granger’s ‘Hello my name is…’ campaign across the Trust with every contact we make starting with us saying hello and giving our first name. Tsitsi was already ahead of the game as she explained: “I have always introduced myself to patients and enjoy conversations with them, as it helps them to feel more comfortable and by learning a little about them I can understand their needs better.
“I enjoy helping patients and seeing a change in them. When they come in some are very ill and it is fantastic to help make them feel better, to have helped make a change.”
Tsitsi enjoys the support of her colleagues, as they are full of admiration for her.
Her Senior Sister, Kim Kaur said: “She is never fazed by anything, and is well organised and a role model to the rest of us. The patients always speak really highly of her and she handles work and family pressures excellently.
“She was recently recognised on the ward for her fantastic attendance record, having not had a day off sick in five years. She was awarded a certificate and badge by our Chief Nurse Colin Ovington to acknowledge this achievement.”
Tsitsi said: “I would like to thank the lord for keeping me healthy. If I had been ill I would not have come in, but I have felt well over the last five years.”
“I want to continue with the work that I do, as I love helping patients and seeing them back to health.”
When asked who inspires her, Tsitsi named one of her fellow colleagues, who was awarded ‘Employee of the Year’ in the Trust’s annual award ceremony last October.
“Angela Hook, our ward clerk inspires me. She is always there to help everyone. She is very caring and supportive, both to our patients and colleagues. She certainly deserves her title.”
Away from work, Tsitsi spends a lot of her time with her family, but also enjoys catching up with her mum, who still lives in Zimbabwe. From two generations of nurses, there may well be a third if one of Tsitsi’s children decides to follow in mum (and gran’s) footsteps. On that we’ll have to wait and see…
