Lyz Donegan

Full name Elizabeth Donegan RGN, BSc (Hons), SCPHN (School Nursing)

Role School Nurse

Having started nursing in 1980 I am now proud to say I have been in the nursing profession for forty years. The first twenty years of this time was spent working on a variety of wards including paediatrics, orthopaedic rehab and stroke rehab. Just over twenty years ago I was fortunate to be able to start my role as a school nurse, completing the Specialist Community public health nurse degree in 2003.

During the past twenty years I have been involved in a number of projects within school nursing which have included the primary care/primary link project which aimed to increase the role of primary care in primary schools, the school nurse Sex and relationship education project and more recently the ITASC (Integrated teams around schools and colleges) project. I have been able to use experience from these projects together with a sound knowledge of school nursing and the health needs of children and young people, to support the development of the school nurse service, alongside commissioners and the local authority. This is now a highly regarded school nurse service that has become part of an innovative Integrated Children’s trust known as Stockport family, which has brought together partner agencies for service delivery.

For over ten years I was a practice teacher which led to the opportunity to have a role in developing the SCPHN programme with the local university. In addition I have delivered lectures on aspects of school nursing at both of the local universities, as well as supporting many school nurse students. I was the school nurse manager from 2012 to 2018, which included leadership of the school nurse teams across the borough, the continence team and immunisation team.

Alongside school nursing I also spent a number of years working in the Contraceptive and sexual health clinics and was part of the public health nurse on call team responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases and emergency planning. I have now retired from management and have returned to work as a school nurse part time, I remain passionate about promoting the health and wellbeing of children and young people.