The James Paget’s most senior nurse has gained a prestigious qualification for his skills in helping vulnerable people.
But rather than receiving the accolade for the ‘day job’ overseeing care for patients on hospital wards, Paul Morris has been recognised for his work out in the forests and countryside of East Anglia.
Paul, who is the Paget’s Chief Nurse, is a volunteer with the Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue team (SULSAR), an organisation that assists the police in looking for vulnerable missing people.
He forms a search team with his Springador, Bailey - and earlier this month, they were both put through their paces when they participated in a three-day assessment of their searching skills.
The assessment involved searches for an unknown number of missing people (played by actors) in acres of forest and farmland around the Thetford area - with the aim of finding all of them within two hours.
Paul and Bailey (pictured below) passed the assessment, which means they now meet the National Search and Rescue Dog Association standards of an advanced search team.
Their upgrade to the advanced standard means that Bailey is now one of only a handful of search dogs qualified to that level, operating in East Anglia.
“It was an extremely demanding few days - but I am absolutely delighted that we achieved the advanced standard,” said Paul.
“While we are a team, I have to give the credit to Bailey. He was really on his game throughout the three days - and, of course, does most of the running around!”
Paul has worked for the NHS for more than 20 years and was appointed to his current position of Chief Nurse at the James Paget in April 2020.
He has been a member of SULSAR for 15 years. For more information about SULSAR including how to volunteer, please visit: https://www.sulsar.org.uk/home/
