Meet Catherine

Hello from Dorset! I’m Cat, and I’ve been Chief Respiratory Physiologist at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester for three months now.

I was looking for career progression, and being a country girl I wanted to live somewhere rural. I loved the values of Dorset County Hospital, and that it has great inspection ratings. My interview was very friendly and relaxed – it felt more like a work-related chat, which was a really nice experience. Once I’d been offered the job I came for a visit and to meet the team and just knew that this was the place for me.

Dorset County is a really forward-thinking hospital – they are very much a ‘say yes first, then see how we can make it work’ sort of place. They also have a big emphasis on staff wellbeing. In my induction, the CEO, Patricia, was saying that staff can’t give patients the best care unless the hospital helps and looks after its staff. And it’s not just all good intentions; the trust really does hold staff wellbeing very highly, which is so needed in these chaotic times.

I’ve only been here a few months but I’ve been made to feel so welcome by the team; I’ve been able to suggest some improvements which are working out well and I’ve got stuck in with an exciting research project. I really feel like my career is taking off here.

At the moment, we’re still relocating and are in the process of buying a house in Maiden Newton, which is just outside of Dorchester.

My husband is still in our old house with our dog and cats, but we’ll be living together again soon and having fun exploring our new country!