Meet Our Amazing Nurses at Oakland Care

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on May 12^th, every year, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. As well as marking this important day in our care homes with celebrations and acts of appreciation for our nurses, we have spoken to a few of the amazing nurses that work for us to share their stories.

Fanel Gigel Encea ‘Gigi’ is a Registered General Nurse at our Hastings Court Care Home. Gigi has been working at Hastings Court for almost three years. He is based on the nursing dementia floor and as well as taking care of the medical needs of our residents, he manages the unit along with the community lead.

Gigi was born in Romania and left for the UK six years ago. In Romania, Gigi worked as a nurse in an accident and emergency unit for three years and as a paramedic for a short period of time. Gigi began working as a carer when he first moved to the UK to help him with his language skills and to learn about taking care of residents in a care home environment.

Gigi says: “When I first became a nurse, I didn’t envisage myself working in elderly care, however, since being at Hastings Court I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. We are one big family at Hastings Court and working here has made me love the care home environment.

Hastings Court has changed my perception of care homes and I really enjoy working here. Part of this is because of the support I receive from the Home Manager, Georgina and Deputy Manager, Kaye.

After finishing school, I got accepted in medical school. Originally my dream was to be a doctor or a surgeon but my financial situation didn’t allow for this. However, now I’m so glad, being a nurse allows you to connect better with the residents and empathise better with them.”

Speaking about working in a care home environment Gigi said: “Being a nurse in a care home environment means that I have the opportunity to build relationships with our residents. I love learning more about people’s lives, their stories, achievements and the amazing lives they had previous to being in our home.  I love being there for our residents.”