“When I see colleagues working together, with kindness and compassion, alongside children and their families, it fills me with pride.”

“When I see colleagues working together, with kindness and compassion, alongside children and their families, it fills me with pride.”

Sam Sharp – Acute Safeguarding Named Nurse

Sam joined the Safeguarding Team in June 2018 and has seen first-hand the changes brought about by the opening of a new £1m state-of-the-art Safeguarding Support Unit (SSU) at Sheffield Children’s just over a year ago, funded by charitable donations.

She said: “The new unit is purpose built and designed to meet the needs of the children and families that need it. It is lovely, fresh and bright, welcoming and comfortable and this can make the difference when supporting people through trauma and anxiety.”

In the Safeguarding Team, Sam works alongside consultant paediatricians, doctors, specialist nurses, support workers, psychologists and administrative staff to provide full paediatric assessments to children and young people where safeguarding concerns have been raised or where the opinion of a specialist paediatrician has been sought.

Sam said: “We see children for child protection medical examinations and assessments, where there are safeguarding concerns. We also support the Trust with day-to-day safeguarding enquiries as well as devising, developing and delivering safeguarding training.

“As a specialist hospital for children, the SSU sees patients from a wide geographical area and usually more than 1,000 patients every year. Safeguarding is often misunderstood. Colleagues should not be worried about responding to this; in fact it is something that everyone does every day.”

With the help of the Safeguarding Team, Sam has settled in to her role brilliantly, even after a less than ideal first interview!

“I do really love my job. It’s really rewarding to enable staff to have the confidence and skills in safeguarding, so that they can be advocates for the children they see. Safeguarding is not easy, but our team spirit in supporting each other always brings us back the next day.

 “I came for my interview a few months earlier when we had lots of snow. I was so focused on being on time, I forgot to pack my boots and trotted down in high heels. Of course, I fell and was in a bit of a state but thankfully persistence paid off and I got the job!

“I feel honoured to work in such a skilled and professional team, as well as such a supportive Trust at Sheffield Children’s.”

To find out more, visit the SSU webpage.