Hospice Care Week is a chance to celebrate hospice care nationwide, and the incredible work that is being done to make sure everyone can benefit from the very best end of life care. This year, Hospice Care Week takes place from 9 - 15 October 2023.
Hospice Care Week 2023 will focus on workforce, under the theme: ‘We are hospice care’.
Why? Hospices support more than 300,000 people every year. But the need for hospice care is growing. There aren’t enough people to fill the roles we need to look after dying patients and their families. Without people to fill these empty roles, hospices will struggle to keep providing the gold-standard end-of-life care everyone deserves. We know that hospice staff find it to be the most rewarding and satisfying job of their career.
A focus on our Workforce - we will share with you achievements and stories from our Volunteer and Staff group and we start the week with an achievement by our Director of Clinical Services and Registered Manager, Helen Turner, and it’s very fitting that we can announce and celebrate this week.
Our Congratulations to Helen, who has been recognised as a Queens Nurse.
Helen has achieved formal recognition of her commitment to improving care for patients and it is fantastic that we have someone leading our clinical services with this recognition and Helen’s commitment to learning, leadership and excellence in patient care contributes to our continued drive to deliver outstanding care for local patients at the Hospice and in our local community.
Helen has been a registered nurse for twenty four years and has worked within community settings for the majority of her career, progressing to senior posts leading community services. Helen says ‘there is no greater privilege to caring for someone in their own home or supporting patients through personalised, goal focused care to return to their own home’. It is fantastic to be part of the hospice and continue my commitment to improving care for patients and my commitment to high standards.
A Queen's Nurse is someone who is committed to high standards of practice and person-centred care. They are trusted and valued by the people they serve and respected and admired by their peers. They are enthusiastic and passionate about the care they provide. The Queen’s Nurse title will:
- Connect you with a supportive professional network
- Give you access to free developmental programmes, bursaries and networking
- Link you with a regional QN group
- Entitle you to attend the Queen’s Nurse annual meeting
- Provide other learning and leadership opportunities.
Nurses, Midwives and Health visitors can apply to be a QN, providing evidence of their experience and skills, supported by patient and colleague references. Any nurse with at least five years’ experience working in the community can apply, not just District Nurses. The QN title isn’t an award for past service or a qualification, it is a formal recognition that you are part of a professional network of nurses committed to delivering and leading outstanding care in the community. Well done Helen, we are very proud of you and for you to be leading our Clinical Services.