Introducing…Dalene Steele
Each month you can learn more about the people behind East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership and its Integration Joint Board (IJB).
Find out more about staff and board members and what they enjoy most about their role!
This month we’re ‘Introducing’…
Dalene Steele, EAHSCP Associate Nurse Director and Lead Nurse in our Integration Joint Board
Read on to find out more about Dalene and her role within the partnership and IJB!
I joined East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership as Associate Nurse Director and Lead Nurse for the East Ayrshire Integrated Joint Board in 2021.
My role of Associate Nurse Director is pan-Ayrshire and Arran with a professional nursing responsibility for Community Nursing: District Nursing, Community Care and Treatment (CTAC), Community Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs), Intermediate Care Teams (ICT) Nurses and General Practice Nurses.
Within our team we have a Nurse Consultant and two Senior Nurses and between us we support the professional and operational leadership for a number of portfolios. In addition to our role in the above list of Community Nursing groups, the following are specifically managed from our team: the nurse-led model within East Ayrshire Community Hospital; Respiratory Nurse Specialists; Rapid Respiratory Response and Prescribing Nurse Support service.
I started my nursing career in the Ayrshire and Arran School of Nursing on 8 May 1989. I spent three years in Crosshouse Hospital as a staff nurse before going out into the community in 1995. Since then I have been in many community-based roles and have gained a wide range of experiences and skills.
I have had the privilege of working in East, North and South Health and Social Care Partnerships and use my experience to ensure the delivery of person-centred, safe and effective care.
Soon after coming into the Associate Nurse Director role I instigated a pan-Ayrshire and Arran Community Nursing review, with the aim of further developing our services to better meet the changing needs of the people in our communities and to give clear career pathways for staff – both unregistered and registered.
The transformational work, which has resulted from the outputs of the review, has only been possible due to the commitment and involvement of our community teams.
Without sounding “cheesy” I am in this job to get the best possible conditions for our patients, families and staff. I am also passionate about Palliative and End of Life Care, which means supporting people to be cared for and recognising what matters to them most. This includes ensuring they are cared for in their preferred place.
To achieve this, none of us can work in isolation and the multi-disciplinary team approach, with the appreciation of what everyone can bring, is one of the reasons I came back to work in East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership nearly three years ago.
I feel extremely lucky to work with all the teams within my lead nurse and Associate Nurse Director role – including East Ayrshire Community Hospital, HMP Kilmarnock, Urgent Care and Community Nursing.
I am a wife, a mum and a daughter. When I’m not at work, I love pottering outside with my horse, cows and walking the dogs. I also get great satisfaction (and therapy) from cooking and baking. My husband says he’s 400 calories away from a Channel 4 documentary being made about me being a “feeder”!
Thanks for chatting with us Dalene!
Don’t miss next month’s ‘Introducing’ segment!
