The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) has a diverse community of nurses with over 400 working in the community bringing care closer home.
Our community nurses work across our Integrated Care Centres (ICC) in addition to an army of nursing colleagues who work with families taking care of loved ones at home.
Amanda Mills has been working as a community nurse for over 40 years and holds the position of Sister based at Glodwick ICC in Oldham. She said: “Like my mum, I decided to pursue a career in nursing. I enjoy working in the community as you get to know a patient and I feel like I am making a difference in helping them feel better. Many of our patients have restricted mobility and they look forward to a visit from their district nurse.
“We get to see the same patients on a regular basis giving us the opportunity to build a relationship with them.
“I spent most of my day out on visits. It can start at a care home where I administer insulin for diabetic patient to changing wound dressings for someone at home. We also provide end of life care, and as a team we can see one single patient up to three times a day ensuring that they are comfortable.”
Community nurses are constantly on the go with those who are more experienced, like Amanda, undertaking patient assessments for new cases. The day does not end after the visits as community nurses make sure they have detailed notes on each patient’s care plan for all the team to view. This ensures consistency for the team’s service users and other community and social care colleagues.
Amanda decided that community nursing was her calling after a student placement early on in her career. She added: “It is all about the teamwork and together we do a fantastic job at making our patients feel more comfortable. I could not imagine doing anything else and really enjoy the conversation and laughs that I have with the patients.”
