In August 2022, Olya Baiorok fled from the war in the Ukraine after her childhood best friend was killed. She was 22 years old when she left her home and arrived in the UK on her own.

Before the war, she had worked as a theatre nurse in the Ukraine. After arriving in the UK, she was taken in by a family who have been supporting her to find a nursing role with us at CHFT.  Olya began working as a healthcare assistant in Surgical Outpatients in July 2023. At the same time, she secured a place on the ReSTORE programme, which is designed to help refugee nurses get back into a healthcare profession.

Through the programme, Olya was nominated to attend Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles as a representative of refugee nurses. Olya said: "Meeting the King was an unforgettable experience for me. I was so nervous though! I think it was his birthday the day I met him he was really nice and thanked me for working to help our patients in the NHS."

Since then, she has gone on to successfully complete her nursing examinations, and last month attended her graduation ceremony. She is now a fully qualified staff nurse, working in Surgical Outpatients. She said: "I am so happy to have graduated, it took a lot of work, but I did it. Even though I've graduated, my studies won't ever stop. I want to learn more and more."

Surgical Outpatients Sister, Melissa West, said: "Olya has flourished within our department. She is incredibly resilient, dedicated, passionate about nursing, and shows sincere empathy towards patients and colleagues alike. 

"She is eager to learn and enhance her skills and has already demonstrated what an asset she is to CHFT. We in outpatients are so proud of her achievements and feel blessed to have her on our team."