Heather's career began as a Student Nurse in the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast in 1980. On qualifying in 1983 her first Staff Nurse (SN) post was in the vascular ward where she quickly decided that wound management was her career pathway. Back then all patients went to the ward treatment room to have their dressings done, as wound management was her passion it was where she often found herself. In those days it was common practice to clean wounds with hydrogen peroxide and Eusol- something her young colleagues find unbelievable. Heather then moved to undertake Midwifery Training at the Royal Maternity Hospital Belfast, followed by a further SN post this time in Belfast City Hospital in vascular X-ray department. In 1986 she moved back home to Fermanagh to a further SN post in a surgical ward inTyrone County Hospital Omagh before returning to the University of Ulster to undertake a Community Nurse Diploma. This prepared Heather for 15 very happy years as a District Nurse where she became the Tissue Viability advisor and set up the first community based Leg Ulcer Clinic which was a great success. In 2005 she took up her Tissue Viability post alongside Nurse Lecturer in University of Ulster. In 2008 Heather's Nurse Lecturer post ended and she went full time Tissue Viability.

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Heather has had an amazing career in Tissue Viability which has allowed her to develop academically and professionally having undertaken post graduate wound care qualifications and a Masters in Health Studies and Tissue Viability. Over the years she has attended many conferences locally, nationally and internationally these included WMAI, EWMA, EUPAP and WUWHS conferences in Paris, Toronto and laterally 6th World Union of Wound Healing Societies Global Healing, Changing Lives in Abu Dhabi in February 2022 where Heather presented two posters. She has been a principal investigator in a wound dressing RCT, involved in wound associated audits and has published in journals such as the Journal of Wound Care and the British Journal of Nursing.

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Heather works full time as Lead Nurse Tissue Viability in the Western Health and Social Care Trust Northern Ireland and work with Fresenius-Kabi as a Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant as and when requested providing wound care support and education to PNH’s across the country.

 

Heather is married to Robert who works for local council, they have 2 boys - Richard who is a veterinarian and Matthew an economist, and Max our Fox Red Labrador. Heather and Robert live in the beautiful lake lands of Fermanagh.