Jaki Manu was the busybody and efficient nurse. She was portrayed by
Nancy Brunning until 1994. In 1992 controversy struck when Jaki was pricked by a needle from an HIV patient -
Deborah (
Lisa Chappell). Ostracized by her peers, Jaki was relieved when she was finally cleared of the illness. She started to date
Black Caps cricketer -
Henry (Tamati Rice) and started to managed his career. However, when he brought an infectious disease into the clinic and cheated on her with his new publicist, the relationship was over. In 1993, the clinic expanded with a new wing that introduced new senior nursing roles and Jaki became Charge Nurse for the new ward. It took time for Jaki to readjust her working relationships. During the winter it is revealed that Jaki and two of her relatives were part of an 1980s girl group, reuniting to perform for her mother’s birthday. When
Carrie left for maternity leave, Jacki came second to external candidate to
Paul Churchill to be the Acting Director of Nursing. Jaki grew close to
Rob Hawkins (Patrick Griffiths) but refused to help him euthanise his sick wife Dani. He later killed Dani during a subsequent hospital stay, and attempted to start a relationship with Jaki however the guilt got to her and they broke up. Paul attempted to blackmail Jaki over the relationship in an effort to stop her from reporting his indecent behaviour to the clinic’s management. After Paul was fired, and Carrie having fled the country, Jaki was offered the new permanent role of Senior Charge Nurse in lieu of the Director of Nursing position being readvertised. Whilst this was technically a promotion, it was still a lower title and less pay than what a Director of Nursing role would offer, despite the similarities in the duties and responsibilities - however it was the only role
Michael was willing to budget for at the time. The year finished with Jaki providing safe harbour to
Alison, who had secretly reentered the country in attempt to escape from her sinister husband. Jaki was shocked to see Henry come into hospital in early 1994. Following a recent successful tour, Henri required surgery on his knee. After coming into conflict with Henri’s latest publicist, Henri and Jacqui reunited whilst Henri recovered on the ward. One evening in early February, Jaki took a phone order for medication from Dr
Chris Warner resulting in a dosing error and serious incident for Henri’s roommate. Jaki was soon made the scapegoat for the error. To avoid the incident being referred to the nursing council, and facing potential deregistration as a nurse, Jaki accepted a demotion to a staff nurse position. The role change gave her a chance for reflection and soon turned down the opportunity to return to the Senior Charge Nurse role as well as an offer to become Director of Nursing as part of a new direction for the clinic. Jaki instead applied to
Guy’s Hospital in London for a clinical specialist course. With Henri planning to play in the English summer county competition, the two left Ferndale together. ==Meredith Fleming==