WIRRAL NHS Community Foundation Trust chief executive Karen Howell writes for the Globe ...

I STILL love working for the NHS.

Always have, always will.

I am proud to still be a registered nurse and chief executive of Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust, proud to wear my NHS ID badge each day and proud of the diverse services our amazing staff deliver.

I know what it's like to work at the heart of delivering care and now, for me to do the best job I can, it's important for me to see first-hand what our skilled teams of professionals do every day.

So, last week I had the absolute pleasure of joining our Eastham and Parkfield community nursing teams and shadowing senior nurse practitioner, Chloe Howard.

I went out with Chloe on her visits, going into people's homes to observe her delivering treatment and care.

Collectively, our community nurses visit over 900 patients on a typical day, providing everything from leg ulcer care to intravenous antibiotics, catheter management and end of life care.

But it's not just patients that they look after; they also support the families and carers who are looking after their loved ones at home in the best way they can.

Over the years the complexity of treatment and care required has become more challenging as our population grows older and more people have increasing and significant needs which are both multiple and sometimes very urgent.

Spending the day with Chloe reminded me of the specialist skills required by practitioners working across the community.

Our front line staff care for people with complex lives and complex health and social conditions.

They need to be able to operate alone and with integrity; often making difficult decisions quickly, in order to support people in their own homes.

They sometimes have to work in difficult environments, where they have to operate clinically and create a safe and clean place in which to provide treatment.

Our social care staff have to be able to assess the needs of people who sometimes have chaotic lives in challenging conditions.

Witnessing the interaction between our staff and the people we care for left me in no doubt that the relationship between health and social care professionals and the communities we serve is one to be safeguarded, valued and even treasured.

The trust and confidence placed in our staff is at the core of a healing, caring and compassionate relationship and integral to the positive outcomes we deliver.

Going back to the shop floor was a really rewarding experience for both of us and one that highlighted the contributions that all NHS staff make, no matter what role we have, to provide the best care we can to our patients, clients, carers and families.