Ward manager heading to fifth Paralympic Games

Kim Brinkworth works at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead

A hospital ward manager heading to the Paralympic Games to support athletes and staff has praised her "incredible" team of nurses who make it possible for her to go.

Kim Brinkworth, who oversees the acute plastics and reconstructive surgical ward at the Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) in East Grinstead, will be going to her fifth Paralympic Games.

The games in Paris start on 28 August and run until 8 September, with more than 4,000 athletes from around the world competing in 549 medal events across 22 sports.

Ms Brinkworth said: "Without the team of 60 nurses on the Canadian Wing here at QVH, and the support they show me, there is no way I could go away with the ParalympicsGB team.

Ms Brinkworth has worked in the NHS for 20 years

"The team here is absolutely incredible and I can leave for Paris knowing all our patients are in the very best hands receiving world class care."

She has worked in the NHS for 20 years, and currently oversees a ward specialising in reconstructive care for patients following skin, breast, and head and neck cancer treatment, alongside traumas of the eye, hand and lower limb.

Her first Paralympic Games was at Beijing in 2008, this will be her third as lead nurse for ParalympicsGB.

In 2003, Ms Brinkworth started working at the defence medical rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Leatherhead, where she first got involved in sport nursing.

She treated military personnel who had been severely injured, many with life-changing injuries, and turned to sport to help inspire her patients.

'Emotional and rewarding'

Ms Brinkworth said it was "emotional and rewarding" to see former patients Nick Beighton and Dave Henson both win medals in Rio in 2016.

She added: "All the games have been different in different ways; they’ve all been fantastic.

"I think my best memories are coming across individuals I’ve nursed in the past – individuals who came in to me very close to the point of injury, that had lost limbs or suffered traumatic brain injury.

“Seeing some of these individuals come through the journey they have been on and to see them able to represent their country again, but in a sporting environment and some of them actually medalling is so rewarding and a privilege to witness.

"It’s difficult to put into words."