Critical Care, Cruise Ships and Oil Rigs: Clare Partridge's Story
Clare Partridge, head of health, safety and the environment (HSE) at Holcim UK has had a remarkable career, working predominantly on the front line across a variety of fast-paced and high-risk industries. Whether she’s been saving lives as a nurse in the intensive care unit or as a medic on offshore oil rigs, all aspects of health and safety have been core components of Clare’s life. But at the centre of everything has always been people.
Caring: from the ICU to cruise ships
Clare Partridge began her career by training as a nurse and working her way up to sister in critical care services at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. In this sense, Clare was working at the other end of health and safety, dealing with the aftermath of when things go wrong.
She worked in critical care for five years before leaving for life on a cruise ship in 2005. It was not as stark a career move as at first it might seem, as Clare joined the cruise line as lead nurse.
“As a nurse working on cruise ships, you provide healthcare for all the passengers and crew on board,” Clare said. “The home ports for the ship I worked on were all in the US, including Miami, Long Beach and New Orleans, sailing around the Caribbean and Mexico.
“It was truly fantastic. I got to see so many places and do things I never would have had the opportunity to see or do otherwise. But the best thing for me was working with so many people from different backgrounds and nationalities. There could be about 70 different nationalities working on board, and everyone would get on with the job at hand. Everyone in the medical team had previously worked in critical care, so we would establish our own mini-ICU on the ship.”
While on the crest of a wave for a lot of her time on the cruise ships, there were also moments when Clare needed to make tough decisions.
She said: “The remoteness of working at sea made the job a lot trickier. You had to be very comfortable making decisions. When you’re in the middle of the ocean and somebody begins to deteriorate quite quickly, you could be days away from a hospital. You must act fast and believe in the decisions you’re making.”
During her stint on the cruise line, Clare was completely unaware of anything else going on in the world. Her entire life was based on the ship, to the point where she was reliant on US news to keep her up to date. So much so, that she hadn’t realised the UK’s prime minister had changed until she went home.
Off grid to offshore
Clare’s time spent out at sea didn’t put her off the idea of working away from shore. After three years on the ships, she made the move to offshore oil rigs as a medic. She was mostly based in the East Shetland basin, providing urgent care to those working on the North Sea.
Clare said: “You’d only have one medic on an oil rig platform, so again, you’d have to be very comfortable in your skill set and your decision making. I worked as a primary medic for a couple of years and then started working closely with the offshore health, safety and environment advisers.
“That’s when I became interested in the HSE side and I made the connection that, in my role as a medic, if I could influence health and safety, I could make an impact before anything negative happened.”
Clare wasn’t completely new to offshore oil rigs as her dad had worked on them before retiring. That meant she wasn’t only aware of the intricacies of the job itself but also the catastrophic consequences of what happens when things go wrong – notably in the Piper Alpha disaster.
Clare said: “167 people died in the Piper Alpha disaster. The oil platform in the North Sea exploded and collapsed in 1988, killing 165 men from the platform and two rescuers. Anyone who is associated with the offshore industry was, and still is, deeply affected by it.
“It was a disaster that reshaped the industry and is the reason behind many of the regulations and extra steps we put in place. Mistakes, lack of robust processes and people not speaking up in high-risk industries have the potential to cause significant harm.”
After finding out she was expecting her first child, Clare could no longer work offshore so supported onshore as HSE advisor. She then progressed through to head of HSEQ and sustainability at a global company leading in automation before joining Holcim UK as head of health and safety.
people first, always
From being a nurse and medic to shifting her focus to health and safety and preventative measures, Clare has always been a people person. And this is especially the case in her role at Holcim.
Clare said: “My job at Holcim changes from hour to hour. I engage with stakeholders across the UK business and the wider Holcim global group, but I am also often on the phone to support at site level with various issues.
“I’m passionate about keeping people safe but, more importantly, influencing people to proactively keep themselves safe. That’s what matters most. It’s about making sure everyone goes home every day safe and well.”
It’s not very common that you have the privilege of someone like Clare heading up your health and safety operations. With her phenomenal knowledge of working in high-risk industries and ability to adapt to some of the most stressful situations, she truly is the best person to be looking after our people.
Read more of our stories
Related News and Services
