What do you expect if you become really ill?  A hospital stay then convalescence at home assisted by family?

Before 1997, you certainly did not have the option in Nelson of private nursing care. Then Jill McKnight, an experienced nurse started Nelson Nursing Services. It began as a team of two, offering home based care. But Jill quickly saw an opportunity to extend services to include ACC contracts for social rehabilitation assessments, home support and occupational health checks.

Extra services invariably meant more employees, but Jill has been fortunate there has never been a shortage of qualified health staff available. She proudly claims her team as ‘terrific'. With numbers now at 70, the business operates out of a purpose built and impressive two-storey building in Stoke that was four years in the planning.

"It's amazing how successful the business has become but being able to build this building, it's probably the greatest success. Being able to create something where the staff are comfortable, where clients have privacy and a spacious venue with plenty of parking. We want to break down barriers to people getting really good healthcare so if we can be accessible..."

The business offers two onsite multi-disciplinary clinics. The concussion clinic and comprehensive pain assessment clinic both involve the services of a doctor, nurse, functional therapist and psychologist. The patient sees each practitioner one after the other, then the practitioners regroup to discuss their findings and make recommendations.

There is no other business in the country to compare with Nelson Nursing Services. Most specialise in either nursing or occupational health, making Jill's business model unique. Operating a one-of-a-kind service hasn't been easy but her husband, Ian, has been the main sounding board for her ideas. So has the WHK team.

Jill's relationship with WHK began in 2000 with Alan Hinton. As well as doing their accounts, Alan came up with ideas for the business that set her on the right track.

"Alan was very helpful, weighing up the positives and negatives of options, then making sure all our accounts were in order. GST and tax, and all those aspects that if you don't do right you have rather serious penalties. That was absolutely essential then, and now we're in maintenance mode".

Since Alan retired, Grant Miekle has been brainstorming with Jill.

"We meet with Grant twice a year to do a general review of the business, how we are going and where we are going. Grant's very astute. He asks questions that make you think ‘why am I doing that' or ‘what am I going to achieve out of that'".

Jill has been approached twice this year by interested parties seeking to buy her out. To date, she's said no, focussing instead on expanding her services. But Jill works long days and the all-consuming nature of the job is more exhausting now. Three months ago she took on a manager to assist with administration and she envisages that it won't be too long before she'll be able to cut back on work and spend time at home, projecting her best garden bedside manner. She's confident succession will follow when the time is right. In the meantime, the satisfaction she feels about creating a successful health care enterprise is probably just what the doctor ordered.