Susanne Gray 

“I realised there were around six women who would keep coming into the ward, almost monthly. I would get to know them, and their loved ones, and I was getting more curious about them – what happened when they left the ward, what were the circumstances that led to them keep coming back?”

“It was that curiosity that made me so interested in the community work but also made me so interested in palliative and end-of-life care. When I look back on that when I reflect, I can really vividly bring it to mind.”

“As soon as started, I knew it was the job for me. I really got the chance to build up therapeutic relationships with people, it wasn’t just crisis management.”

“I have now been in my post as community palliative care nurse specialist within the NHS for 12 years but over the last 18 months I have had to adapt to a multitude of changes to my role and responsibilities. During the Covid-19 pandemic I was working with care homes to prevent an outbreak and to manage one should it occur. The landscape was one of rapidly changing environments.”

“At the peak, it felt like shifting sands– the guidance for care homes would be updating every day. I would help the staff navigate that the changes. I had to confidently try to understand where I was in order to support.”

“To be effective in this role, I need to be able to listen, really listen, to myself and others and to be willing to advocate for people.”

“Community nursing relies on good networks; I couldn’t do this job without the support that comes from that.”