A NURSE at a Crewe care village is calling for people to consider a career in health and social care to help tackle a staffing crisis.

Jane Hughes, who works at Belong, says she never thought she would be dedicating her career to nursing older people after studying for a degree in criminology and psychology.

Now a decade on the 35-year-old she has found her vocation after "falling into" a job in the care sector at the Brookhouse Drive care home, where she is now lead nurse.

"Like many graduates, I didn't know what sort of job I wanted or even where to start," recalled Jane.

"I applied for a role as a care assistant and, to be honest, it wasn't really what I wanted to do. But it surprised me when I fell in love with it straight away, I hadn't anticipated how gratifying it would be."

During the subsequent years, Jane progressed through senior care assistant and care team leader roles before pursuing a nursing degree.

She worked in local hospitals before returning to the Belong village after securing a RGN post.

"I came back to social care because I missed the closeness and the relationships you can build with people over time," she added.

"Working in hospitals, you help patients get better, but then you never see them again. Nursing at Belong enables me to support older people's physical health needs, as well as their social and psychological wellbeing on a long-term basis.

"The best part is being able to work with and help our customers thrive independently in a compassionate setting."

Belong Crewe General Manager Cheryl Davies said: "We're very pleased to have supported Jane's development. It shows the opportunities that social care has to offer and how rewarding the profession can be."

Find out about careers with Belong [L]https://www.belong.org.uk/jobs-with-belong[L+] here.[L]