Nicola trained at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and stayed there for the first seven months after qualifying. She then accepted a job in Elderly Care on the Exeter Unit at Walsall Manor Hospital.

She worked there for 10 years reaching the position of Junior Sister before moving into respiratory as an Associate Nurse in January 1999.

It was here Nicola found her niche in Respiratory Medicine. After a couple of years, she was promoted to Nurse Specialist and built a team of Nurses which allowed her to set up the COPD Early Supported Discharge Service.

In 2008, she was seconded out to the community to set up the COPD Team alongside Dr Shahid Nadeem as its Lead Nurse. This was initially a 12-month secondment, but Nicola was appointed substantively at the end of this period.

At this time she was also studying for her master’s degree in respiratory care which she completed successfully in 2012. Nicola ran the team until 2021 when she retired from the role and returned in the middle of the first COVID-19 lockdown to work part time.

Her final role entailed seeing patients with COPD and any other complicating respiratory disease.

The grandmother-of-one said: “I have enjoyed my whole career but Respiratory is where I feel I have made the most difference and have also enjoyed the most. Specialising gave me more focus.”

And the 59-year-old said “I will miss my patients and my team the most, some of whom I have worked with for over 20 years.”

Dawn Asbury and Debbie Watson, Community Matrons said:

“Nikki has been a valuable member of Walsall healthcare for many years and working within many roles. Her heart has always been within the field of respiratory illness and this shows within the patients she has treated. This is now time for Nikki to spend with her family and enjoy quality time with her new grandson. Thank you for your dedication and we wish you all the best.”

Karen Dawkins, Respiratory Clinical Nurse Specialist added:

“We’d like to thank Nikki for all her service spanning 40 years. She will be missed but now it is Nikki’s time to spend on herself and with her family and many new adventures in her caravan. From all the Community Respiratory Team, thank you and we wish you all the best.”

During her retirement she will have a few holidays with her husband and friends, spend some time in her tourer caravan and will be taking up ‘nanny duties’ when her daughter goes back to work in the new year.