Publish date: 12 May 2025
Monday 12 May is International Nurses Day, an annual opportunity recognise and celebrate the remarkable contributions of nurses across our Trust and around the world.
To mark this year's International Nurses Day, we caught up with new Chief Nurse Jacqui Burrow shortly after she joined the Trust.
Jacqui welcomed us into her office with a smile and the offer of a cuppa. We quickly settled into the interview to find out how Jacqui arrived here at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, a role she tells us that she’s relishing.
So how are you settling in?
“It has been great; you can feel a real sense of transparency, accountability and a workforce that wants to learn and provide the best possible service for our patients and their families. I got a sense straight from the off that I had joined a good forward-looking organisation, and my time so far in this position has only reinforced that view.”
Tell us about how you arrived here?
Jacqui explains how becoming a nurse was a ‘happy accident’. “I grew up in the home counties, Hertfordshire, just outside of London, and, of course, at the age of 17, 18, and being so close to London, there are a lot of distractions. Despite being more than capable, I didn’t leave college with the grades I wanted. That, for me, meant that I had to work extra hard to make up for the time I had lost. You know what young people are like.” Jacqui chuckles “I soon realised, if I wanted to fulfil my potential, I’d need to refocus – which is what I did.”
Jacqui, a naturally caring and nurturing person, decided she had two potential career options to pursue: a teacher or a nurse. She settled on nursing.
“An opportunity to train as a nurse at Manchester Royal Infirmary School of Nursing came along” Jacqui explained. “It was a fantastic opportunity because the school has an excellent reputation and, despite having to relocate, I was keen to grasp that opportunity.”
Jacqui settled in the Northwest with her husband who’d she’d met at college and explained that after qualifying as a nurse and enjoying working in Accident and Emergency, she decided on a career in health visiting. This was a decision based on work/life balance, as she had a young family and wanted to be there for her children whilst also progressing her career. The decision turned into a 10-year experience as a front-line health visitor in East Lancashire. It’s a period of her career she recalls vividly. “I had some pretty eye-opening experiences being a health visitor” Jacqui tells us. “It was these experiences in East Lancashire that really highlighted how difficult life can be for people, I saw first-hand how deprivation has such an impact of the health and wellbeing of entire families and communities.”
It was these experiences as a health visitor that gave Jacqui exposure to a wide range of NHS roles and services including mental health which eventually led Jacqui to pursing a master’s degree in health and social care management.
From here Jacqui progressed her career in the Northwest with Northern Care Alliance (NCA) initially as a director of nursing at Bury and Rochdale and then as NCA’s deputy chief nurse for a four-year period. This also included Jacqui leading the Mass Vaccination Centre at the Etihad sports centre in Manchester as part of the Covid pandemic response, and several periods as NCA’s interim chief nurse.
What opportunities and challenges have you identified so far?
“As mentioned earlier, I feel I have joined a transparent and focused trust with some really talented people. Some of my immediate observations around challenges are in areas you might expect - we need to ensure we maintain good infection prevention rates; continue to work on preventing falls with harm as well as ensuring all services meet the same high level of standards and to reduce variation where possible. In addition, and everyone know this, finances remain an issue for the entire NHS, so whatever we do, it has to be within our financial parameters.”
Tell us about your working style?
“I’m consistent” Jacqui explains. “I like my team to know where I will be and when I will be there. I feel it is important that people know what they can expect from you , not just in your role as a chief nurse, but generally in life. Structure is the cornerstone of success, and I think we thrive off structure as human beings – it makes us more productive.”
In addition to Jacqui’s formal qualifications, she also spent some time undertaking a Florence Nightingale scholarship, and she explains how this has had a profound effect on the way she now works.
“Undertaking the Florence Nightingale scholarship taught me what it means to be, and act, like a chief nurse. It taught me the skills you wouldn’t necessarily learn from a formal qualification like a master’s degree. In addition to that, and as part of my development, I also spent time at RADA, which is a theatre school in London. It sounds strange, as theatre has nothing to do with nursing, but it is the skills you learn there that really bring out the best in your nursing and leadership style.”
What advice would you give to a newly qualified nurse?
“Keep an open mind” Jacqui says “and, if you’ve decided to become a nurse, remember what drove that decision when things get tough, because it will be that thought which will ensure you don’t give up. Nursing is so rewarding, but it’s not without its stresses and pressure. I undertook a lot of my training and early career as a young mum and wife. I know how hard it is – balancing time with your family whilst also trying to fulfil your career ambitions can be incredibly hard, so if this is you, remember to talk to people. Speak to your family, friends and colleagues.”
Tell us who inspires you?
Jacqui smiles and without hesitation says David Attenborough. She explains; “he just never gives up, does he. Despite all the challenges, he has kept going and still shows that same passion for learning today that he did when he first set out on his incredible journey. That to me is real inspiration and he’s somebody I really respect.
And what do you like to do in your spare time?
“I love to get out with my two dogs, long walks and enjoying nature – that’s an ideal day for me.”
Finally, we ask what music Jacqui likes to listen to; laughing, she says: “well, it’s quite eclectic. I’ve got three sons in their 20s and they like a really wide range of music, which ranges from Snow Patrol to Genesis, but only with Phil Collins.” One of Jacqui’s sons also sings in the Halle choir, so she enjoys that music too.
Jacqui’s role as chief nurse at Tameside and Glossop IC NHS FT will, in 2026, also extend to our sister trust Stockport NHS FT, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital. At that point Jacqui will take up the position of joint chief nurse across both organisations.
