I started my journey in care work serving cups of tea in a nursing home at the age of 16. Before 18, I was working as Healthcare Assistant on an NHS hospital ward. That was in 2006. And whilst much about the NHS and the population it serves has changed, the fundamentals of the job remain the same.

Bells, Bedpans & Burnout includes anecdotes, stories, and reflexive accounts from almost 20 years of working as a bedside carer across multiple settings and specialities.

Set against a backdrop of a perpetually underfunded healthcare system servicing an aging population with increasingly complex health needs, this blog offers critical insight into the people, processes and institution that make up care experiences and outcomes in the UK.

Whilst the instances portrayed are situated and personal, and the identities of the people and places involved anonymised and obscured, the circumstances and conditions depicted will be recognisable to anyone who has spent time on an NHS ward.

My hope is that these reflections will foster a deeper understanding of the unseen labour that sustains our healthcare system and the human experiences at its core; serving as both a call to recognise and value the everyday care that belies healthcare data and as a tribute to the dedication of ward staff .