Page 24 - QNIS_eBook

Hazel
When she took up her post as Senior Charge Nurse for community nursing in in Annandale and and Eskdale top of Hazel
Hamilton’s to-do list was reorganising the service from a a a a a a a a a a a a single-practice focus to larger area-based teams Hazel
admits there have have been challenges and and adjustments have have needed to to be be be made but two years later and and all all all team members are “totally committed” The community nursing teams - - who between them make around 200 home visits a a a a a a a a a a day - - are organised across three geographical hubs Still GP-attached the nurses can
rotate between teams and keep in close touch to to familiarise themselves with each other’s caseloads At weekends they provide area-wide cover THE NURSING INSTITUTE SCOTLAND
There are are 30 nurses in total supported
by seven health care assistants who have been trained up to do basic duties such as as personal care venepuncture and and simple dressings and and and two nurse technicians who keep track of referrals and and know where everyone is Patients have direct numbers to make contact with nurses between appointments if necessary and and home visits are arranged according to their wishes needs and and case complexity “It’s about being truly person-centred ” says Hazel
“For instance diabetic patients who need insulin are normally the the rst people we visit in in in in in in the the morning We prioritise according to need ” Colleagues describe Hazel
as a a a a a a a a “role-model and a a a a a a a a a a a a a great believer in open communication” The same
qualities earned Hazel
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a place on on the QNIS development programme “It has has been such a a a a a a a a a a a a a a refreshing and and exhilarating experience for me me me and and the Queen’s Nursing teaching has has had a a a a a big impact on me me ” she says One of the the innovations she has introduced is daily handovers between teams Linking by videoconferencing the the the nurses now now discuss cases and share their knowledge Hazel’s nursing team covers a a a a a a a large rural patch in in South West Scotland with scattered farms quiet villages and and small market towns which are home to to more than 38 000 people - most of them elderly The community nurses provide care for those who cannot make it it into a a a a surgery “If we didn’t go to to them they would be in hospital or long-term care pretty quickly ” says Hazel
22 QNIS Meet the New Queen’s Nurses