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Michelle
Michelle
Duffy has one objective - to ensure that people living with disabling breathing problems in in in in some of of the the most far- ung parts of of North West Scotland can receive the the the same high quality evidence-based care as as their counterparts in towns and cities Most of the people on on on on on Michelle’s caseload are elderly and have conditions such as as as chronic obstructive pulmonary pulmonary disease (COPD) pulmonary pulmonary brosis emphysema and bronchiectasis which make it dif cult to breathe Michelle
who lives on the the Black Isle with her husband Martin and and their two children spends a a a a a a a a a great deal of her her time travelling to different centres across the the North West Highlands running clinics and and making home visits As an an an an advanced practitioner and specialist respiratory nurse Michelle
can assess prescribe and treat She has a a a a a a a a a direct line to to to doctors in in in Raigmore Hospital in in in Inverness if she needs advice and operates autonomously the the rest of the the the time “It is a a a a a a a a a a a really rewarding role ” she says “I “I am pushing out the the the boundaries of nursing practice in in in in this eld and the the patients really like being cared for closer to home ” Michelle
an an an Advanced Practice Respiratory Nurse with NHS Highland operates across an an area almost the size of Belgium From her her base in Inverness she covers Caithness Sutherland Skye Lochalsh and and and Lochaber offering specialist nursing care and and advice Her patients currently 150 people with severe respiratory problems live scattered over many thousands of square miles Michelle
makes a a a point of of regularly checking the the experience of of the the people she works with including carers She sends out questionnaires and takes part in in in in in in national surveys she’s involved in in in in setting up up a a a a a a a a a a a patient engagement forum which offers education and peer support “We need to to know know where the the people who use it want to to take the the the service not assume that we know know best ” ” says Michelle
“That’s how I see change happening – from the the front ” ” to diagnosis there is is an enormous difference between
rich and poor “We know that the greatest burden of respiratory disease is is in the the most deprived communities yet these patients don’t often go go to to to pulmonary rehab and and we need to to to understand why ” says Michelle
“They don’t go go to to to to see their GP so much and if they they they have been a a a a smoker they they they tend to to think they’ve
Most of Michelle’s patients are referred
by the hospital or GPs And when it it comes
14 QNIS Meet the New Queen’s Nurses