Shining a light on the people who make a difference at Nightingale Hospital
For our January Staff Spotlight, we’re delighted to feature Polly Budden, Divisional Business Manager, here at the Nightingale Hospital. Polly plays a key role in supporting our clinical leaders and ensuring our services are well managed, well resourced, and able to deliver an excellent patient experience. Her enthusiasm, strategic thinking, and pride in the Nightingale shine through in everything she does.
Meet Polly – Divisional Business Manager
Can you describe your role in a few sentences?
“I support clinical leaders with the day-to-day running of our services, getting involved in anything to do with budgets, performance, strategy, and anything else that may come my way!”
What does a typical day look like for you?
“Every day is different, but a typical day involves lots of meetings and emails. It might include a meeting with procurement, finance, or estates colleagues to discuss anything related to the Nightingale, followed by one of our operational touchpoints with a Nightingale service MDT. I may then end the day with a meeting about our CDC capital programme, which is a current focus.”
What do you enjoy most about your role?
“I really enjoy representing the Nightingale. I’m so proud of everything our site and services achieve, the quality of patient experience we provide, and how well managed our services are. I enjoy any opportunity to promote and celebrate our successes, and I love the variety and breadth of my role.”
How does your work contribute to patient care and the wider hospital team?
“My aim is always to make it easier for our staff to provide the best patient experience—whether that’s by designing services and processes from scratch, making sure there’s enough money in the budget for appropriate resources, or supporting staff day-to-day in whatever may help them do their jobs.”
What inspired you to pursue this career?
“I helped to set up a baseline dementia screening service for adults with Down syndrome when I was a psychology student. Although I loved working with patients, I enjoyed the challenge of setting up a service even more. All of the planning and organisation felt very suited to me, so this is what I pursued when I started my career as an NHS manager.”
What’s one thing about your job that the public might be surprised to learn?
“The exemplary pathways in place at the Nightingale gather national and international attention—we’ve had visits from healthcare professionals from China and Australia, all coming to learn from our services.”
What advice would you give to someone interested in this type of work?
“Know your strengths and figure out how they can best serve your colleagues and patients—and don’t be afraid to be enthusiastic!”
Thank you, Polly, for your dedication, leadership, and continued support of our teams and services. You are a fantastic ambassador for the Nightingale and a key part of what makes our services so successful.
If you’re interested in joining our team and exploring a rewarding career in healthcare, visit the Join Our Team page on the Nightingale website to view current opportunities.