NHS STAFF INSPIRED TO ENTER BY WINNING DOC
A NEWLY qualified nurse is among NHS staff following in the footsteps of a junior doctor in a bid to be crowned Miss England.
Chloe Webb, 24, has made it to the semifinals of the pageant, despite suffering from body confidence issues as a teenager.
And she was among a “huge surge” of entries from medical staff who were inspired by Bhasha Mukherjee’s success.
Chloe achieved her lifetime dream of beginning a career as a qualified nurse at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital just three weeks ago.
She said: “I was completely inspired to enter Miss England after seeing Bhasha’s success, but I would never have had the confidence to take part in the pageant without having gone into nursing.
“I really wanted to be a nurse from a young age. I loved the idea of taking care of people and helping them to feel better. I even got my mum to make me a fancy dress nurse’s outfit to play in when I was five.
“When I was younger I struggled with body confidence issues like most girls do, but when I became a nurse it helped me to stop focusing so much on myself and to focus on others.
“I stopped only seeing my own issues and started doing what I could to resolve other people’s issues.
“Now I’m here I want to use the platform to carry on showing people that beauty is more than skin deep.
It’s about compassion and caring for those around you.”
The next stage of the contest in June will require her to make an eco-friendly garment out of recycled materials. She plans to rope in her mum Ann, 54, with her fancy dress-making stills.
Chloe, of Dunstable, Beds – who has been with doctor boyfriend George Lafford, 27, for a year – added: “The camaraderie among all the women so far has been fantastic and so empowering.
“It’s been nice having so many other NHS staff entries because you have similar interests and common ground to get talking to people. It’s made settling in a bit easier.” Miss England director Angie Beasley said the contest received more entries than ever before from NHS staff this year. She added: “Miss England is much more than a physical beauty contest. The girls are encouraged to be an all-round good role model.”