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To celebrate Day of the Nurse, charge nurse Daryl Arcillas shares more about his role working within critical care

My name is Daryl Arcillas and I’m a charge nurse working in critical care at The Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital. As a charge nurse my role involves caring for patients and supporting my colleagues by ensuring that quality care is not compromised and the service runs smoothly.

I have been a proud registered nurse for 11 years now and look forward to nursing for many more years to come. Nursing has been and always will be a very rewarding job. I enjoy how I can make a positive impact on the lives of my patients and their families, as well as my colleagues.

I love working at Northumbria Healthcare as it is organisation that upholds values which are very close to my own.

The biggest challenge I have experienced so far in my career was working throughout the Covid-19 pandemic on the frontline. The critical care team has been faced with so many challenges but we have worked together to exceed expectations far beyond our comfort zones. I have personally found the change in how we care for patients who are towards their end of life particularly challenging due to visiting restrictions – it was very difficult to watch patients suffering without their loved ones by their sides.

The pandemic has taught me to embrace and be thankful for everything life has to offer, big or small. It has also highlighted how important mental wellbeing is to overall health. The trust has some excellent resources available to support staff and their wellbeing so I am currently investing extra time in strengthening my mental and psychological wellbeing by doing activities that I love including exercising and healthy eating. I am also focusing on refreshing my knowledge by underpinning practice skills, and as a department we are liaising with our clinical educators to continue to develop in our professions.

I cherish every friendship that I have formed with my colleagues here at Northumbria and the memories we have made. There have been times we have shed a tear and times we have shared a laugh. Despite the hardship of the pandemic, we have really thrived and flourished as a team.