Today is International Nurse Day (12 May 2021) and people and organisations everywhere are celebrating the work done by nurses all over the world. We spoke with our own Head of Nursing Services, Gemma Roberts to find out a bit more about her job and what it involves.
I am Gemma Roberts and I have been Head of Nursing Services at Shipston Home Nursing for just over two years. Prior to this, I worked in District Nursing both in Shipston on Stour and Stratford upon Avon.
I am passionate about community nursing; I feel giving people the option to be nursed at home at the end of their lives is vital. And, we are privileged to offer this service to our local community. Our service is part of the wider palliative care network in Warwickshire to ensure local people are supported to be able to die at home. Our team is extremely experienced, caring, and passionate and without their dedication, the service we provide would not be possible.
A typical Day
I have a dual role; I manage the nursing team, but I also work as a Nurse Coordinator at least once a week. This enables me to maintain my ‘grass roots’ nursing skills and meet the patients, families and carers we support.
On a typical day when I am coordinating, I spend my time synchronising the activities of the nursing staff. In addition, I liaise with District Nurses, GPs, and other members of the multi-disciplinary team. And I go out on planned visits, which range from initial assessments to follow up house calls. This means I am available for a 24-hour period and able to respond to any calls. These may be from patients, families or carers and other healthcare professionals. Sometimes, these involve support or advice or an urgent visit for symptom control or face to face support. The advantage of our service is that we are flexible in our approach.
No two days are the same and we can tailor our service to best suit the needs of the patient. Moreover, the key to this is our vision, mission and values which, when encapsulated, reflect our core focus of ‘patient centred care’.
Learn, Develop and Improve
My Management role is to support the nursing staff, technically and emotionally, ensuring appropriate training is available to them. Additionally, I am responsible for drafting and implementing clinical policies and procedures. These ensure the safety of staff and anyone using our service. In recent years, we have become more integrated with the wider palliative care network. This means I get involved in wider Warwickshire projects which align and improve End of Life care throughout the county. My job is to ensure that we provide outstanding care, and continue to learn, develop and improve our services.
I can honestly say that I love my job. I get a huge amount of satisfaction from what I do. And, I feel very lucky to work with such a fantastic team of nursing staff. Although this job can be emotionally challenging, we receive positive feedback from our patients and families which helps us deal with the highs and lows. It allows us to continue to strive to provide a gold standard service for which we’ve become known.