Rotherham health worker excels in world skills competition

Melissa McTague, who is undertaking her training with Sheffield College, works on Ward B5 at the hospital. She entered the competition, which aims to find the best health and social care students in the country, to help push her to increase her skills and continue her professional development.

After scooping second prize in the regional heats earlier this year, Melissa will be at the UK finals which are being held at Birmingham’s NEC on November 15-17.

Speaking about the competition, Melissa said: “To get to this stage in the competition there have been a range of assessments that I had to do in front of the judges. It really pushed me out of my comfort zone as something which you do every day becomes that little bit more stressful. It was a fantastic experience and I feel on top of the world to have done so well.

“It has been a massive confidence boost for me. When I started at the Trust three years ago in an admin role I could never have imagined I would be doing this. I hope other people see this and see that no matter what role you are in you can go on and continually develop. I couldn’t have done this without the great support I’ve had from colleagues across the Trust, particularly the amazing team I work with on Ward B5.”

Chris Morley, chief nurse at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Melissa and is a testament to the hard work and dedication she has shown to developing her career and caring for our patients. We are all incredibly proud of Melissa at the Trust and are confident that she will do Rotherham proud in the next stage of the competition.”