At Campden Home Nursing we have three Nurse Coordinators, Naomi Morrey, Sue Herd and Esther Newman. Each plays a crucial role in helping us to provide continuity of care for those approaching the end of their lives. They are the first person a patient and their family will meet. They will assess, plan, and oversee the patient’s care, whilst they are being supported by Campden Home Nursing.
At an initial face to face meeting, the Nurse Coordinators will assess the patient and family’s short term and long-term goals. Following this they will coordinate and allocate care and resources with the rest of the team, as well as the patient’s GP and/or District Nurse. They manage cases using person and family centred care planning, shared decision making, symptom management, and counselling. Often, a patient or their family isn’t prepared or ready for this stage of their care so it’s vital that the Nurse Co-ordinator communicates sensitively and appropriately.
The Link in the Chain
Naomi Morrey, who has worked for Campden Home Nursing for over six years, said: “We are the link between the family and the nursing staff. It’s up to us to make sure the nursing team know absolutely everything about the patient they will be caring for. This can be down to giving explicit directions if a home is hard to find, warning of angry dogs and explaining tricky family dynamics.”
“We are also the ones on the end of the emergency nursing services phone and are on call 24/7 to support the District Nurses in their care of the patients. Sometimes, we will need to go out if there’s a delay in them getting to a patient who is in need, due to pain or agitation.”
The needs of a patient can often change and the Nurse Coordinator is constantly evaluating and revising care plans as the needs and the
conditions of the patient/family change. Their aim is to ensure the patient has the very best quality of life whilst in our care.
A Challenging Year
Nursing during the Coronavirus pandemic has been hard on nurses everywhere and ours are no different. Naomi explained why it was so challenging for her. She said: “We often have to have deep and difficult conversations with our patients. Wearing PPE makes this a real challenge. It’s natural to want to support people by holding their hand or offering a hug. This hasn’t been possible for obvious
reasons.”
“It has been a case of dealing with things differently. We’ve been really well supported by all the team, with provision of PPE, testing and vaccinations. And, we are still needed by our patients and hope we will always be here to serve them.”
We’d like to say a big thank you to all our nurses who have been brave and selfless throughout this last year.
