Katherine becomes first Trainee Nursing Associate

We are super proud of Field Care Supervisor, Katherine Thornton, who recently became the first community-based Trainee Nursing Associate (TNA) in Norfolk & Waveney. This also makes Home Support Matters the first home care provider with nursing provision to put a colleague through the TNA programme.

Katherine is following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother who were both nurses. Although it was what she always wanted to do, the journey wasn’t straightforward. Her first job was at a card factory where she stayed until her son reached school age. She then moved to a local nursing home, initially as a housekeeper and hostess, before spending two years in a care assistant role.

She applied to Home Support Matters after learning that a colleague worked part-time in our Enhanced Home Support Service. Having secured a place in this (now decommissioned) service she approached our Care Delivery Director in the summer of 2021 and asked to be considered for the TNA Programme. The challenge for us was the requirement for two qualified nurses, one to be a mentor and the other to act as an internal assessor. We were pleased to be able to resolve this through an agreement with Independence Matters who offered their Trainer and Clinician Nurse to take on the assessor role.

We also suggested that that Katherine move into a supervisory role to prepare her for the programme. She applied to be a Field Care Supervisor and will remain in this role for the duration of her time on the course.

Her final hurdle was an interview with the university which she passed with flying colours. She is now attending the university once a week and working alongside her mentor for a day each week and tells us she is “extremely appreciative of this amazing opportunity”.