Grant Taylor, Site Manager and Director of Nursing for Broadmeadows Hospital and Craigieburn Centre, always starts his working day with a coffee, which he prepares at the office.

“Then I wander to the wards, ask staff how the previous shift has been and meet with the coordinators. I conduct a lot of meetings, take some time to meet patients and it’s all about keeping Broadmeadows Hospital and Craigieburn Centre operational and ensuring we are meeting the demands,” he said.

Prior to coming to Northern Health this winter, Grant was at Melbourne Health for five and a half years as a Nurse Unit Manager and After Hours Manager.

“Northern Health was the right opportunity at the right time. I was looking to get into a more senior role for a long time, and I heard a lot about Northern Health and how it progressed a lot. I saw it as a professional challenge and something that would get me out of my comfort zone,” he said.

Grant lived in Sydney almost all of his life, with two and a half years of living in London and working in emergency nursing. He came to Victoria in 2014, looking for a change of pace and surroundings. He is now enjoying his role and is ready to face any challenges.

“I enjoy leading the team. There is a lot of opportunity here and such a broad mix of services – surgery, subacute, acute, and always something going on here. What I love most is how friendly the team are and how ready they are for change,” he said.

“The challenge is keeping up on where the organisation is going, but that is becoming easier now with all the communication that has been implemented. Access and the demand for services, and balancing with patient expectations is our biggest challenge, as an organisation,” he added.

When he is not busy at work looking after Broadmeadows Hospital or Craigieburn Centre, he usually travels or is planning at least a road trip to a nearby town.

“I have been traveling a lot and I’ve developed a blog too. Every second year I do a big trip of four or six weeks and if I am not planning an overseas trip, I am looking into towns I could visit and drives I can do,” he added.

His interests also include movies, eating out and something not many people know about him.

“I have a quirky sense of humor which only some of my colleagues see now. Also, I used to be a competitive dressage rider – I used to show horses in show jumping, cross country and competitive dressage – haven’t done that in a long time,” he said.

In the future, Grant sees Broadmeadows Hospital as a high functioning acute and subacute service, a place that patients want to come to that not only meets the community expectations, but surpasses them.

“We have a new leadership team coming in the Nurse Unit Manager space and that will help drive Broadmeadows Hospital forward,” he said.

When it comes to Craigieburn Centre, he said it is a fantastic service delivering timely access to health care for a diverse population group.

“There have been some amazing developments in the past 18 months including the introduction of the Rapid Access Iron Infusion Clinic. In the future, I would foresee increased continued growth in the Day Procedure department as well as the addition of new and exciting services,” he added.