Nursing runs in the family for Holly and Chrissie

Many of us want to be just like our mums when we are older – but Holly Batts made it a reality.

The 32 year old followed in her mum’s footsteps as a specialist nurse, and both work for East Kent Hospitals.

Holly is a nurse in the critical care outreach team at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, while mum Chrissie is a specialist nurse for people living with motor neurone disease working with patients across east Kent.

Holly said: “I was always curious about mum’s job and interested in how the body works, and I knew I wanted to do something that would involve helping people.

“It was a toss-up between nursing and teaching, and mum had told me some amazing stories of people she had worked with, so I chose nursing.

“I fell in love with the role from day one and now I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Chrissie, 56, decided on nursing after watching a careers video aged 18.

She said: “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after college but I watched a video about nursing and thought it looked interesting so I decided to give it a go.

“It is a lovely job which I have always enjoyed, having worked in some caring and supportive teams. It’s easy to take it for granted because it’s what we do every day, but it is a real privilege to be there for people at their most vulnerable.

“I think Holly has always had it instinctively in her; she used to watch all the medical programmes. My other daughter doesn’t understand us as she is very different. I’m very proud that Holly also works as a nurse and has the same passion.”

Holly began her career working on the wards, and was always in awe of the specialist critical care outreach team.

During the coronavirus pandemic, her ward became a high-dependency ward for people with the virus, which allowed her to develop extra skills.

She said: “We look after some of the sickest patients in the hospital outside of the critical care unit, and can arrange for them to be transferred to the unit if they need extra care.

“It does require a lot of balance but I love the role and I work with some fantastic people.

“I do get to work alongside mum sometimes as she is very much present in the hospitals, and it’s always lovely to see her at work.”