Pharmacy and care of older people

I have worked alongside Nina Barnett since 2015 when I became Matron of The Denham Unit. As a Lead Pharmacist she was responsible for managing all aspects relating to medications management on the Unit. With her support the Unit got through its CQC Inspection before relocating to Central Middlesex Hospital in 2016.

I have experienced her to be professional, knowledgeable and supportive in all she is involved in.

An excellent communicator, she is always ready to listen and support others when the situation requires. Nina has helped navigate her way around problems and given direction to others when it was most welcome.

Since our time in the Denham Unit, we have worked together as Trustees for The Jean and Derek King Trust. I have found her to be driven, efficient and effective in whatever she undertakes.

I cannot recommend her highly enough to be an excellent coach and mentor and wish her every success.

Elaine Walker, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Harrow, UK

I have worked with Nina Barnett for over twenty years [since 1999] in different capacities. Firstly, as a matron in a newly developed community NHS intermediate care unit. Nina was our pharmacy link to the main hospital and assisted in setting up the unit from scratch. She took pride in ensuring that our unit had excellent pharmacy standards, advice, and support.  Nina had a thirst for knowledge and liked being up to date on the latest issues from a pharmacy perspective and took the time to share anything she had learned with staff. She was an incredible resource for me and the Consultant Geriatrician in our unit, freely sharing her expertise on ward rounds. If Nina gave advice you knew it would be one hundred percent accurate, if she wasn’t sure about something, she would be honest about it and then take the time to go and check the facts before feeding back. Nina was always patient focussed and did one to one patient teaching sessions about the medication they were taking, taking an interest in each individual patient. She was exceptionally good at encouraging medication reconciliation for respite or intermediate care patients and was always looking for innovative ways of working to improve patient care. She also assisted me in finding ways to improve efficiency with medication in the unit.

I have also worked with Nina as a charity Trustee, she is passionate about any work she takes on and makes sure everything is done in accordance with rules and regulations. She looks deeply into issues before making decisions, always putting a human touch into the situation when explaining her decisions. Nina works flexibly, is supportive of anyone who asks for help or advice and brings out the best in people. She is professionally assertive and able to express herself at the highest levels in a fair and rational way, always seeing things from the others perspective.

Nina is a genuinely valued professional, supportive of others, knowledgeable in her field and someone who goes above and beyond if a situation requires it. She takes pleasure in supporting others to progress and succeed.

Diana Carne, Formerly Matron of the Denham Unit nursing home, Harrow, Recently Trustee of the Jean and Derek King Trust, Harrow, UK.