Hello! My name is Sian, and I am one of the Outreach Clinical Nurse Specialists. I qualified as a children’s nurse in January 2008. Before joining the team at Helen & Douglas House, I worked within the NHS across a number of hospital roles, such as in a children’s surgical ward A&E and paediatric intensive care.
My role is varied and includes:
• Link between Hospice, Hospital, Home and GP
• First assessments and introducing Helen House – in hospital or at home – we are often the first point of contact with families
• Providing symptom control advice and support for infants, children and young people, in hospital and at home
• Helping to write Advance Care Plans – including parallel planning – with children and families.
• Empowering and supporting parents to take their child home / facilitating rapid discharges for end of life care – either from hospice or hospital. We work closely with the child’s local services.
• Teaching and support around palliative care and symptom management to children’s wards/community children’s nursing teams
• Supporting transition to adult services