Paula Elliott joined the team in February 2023 as the manager of our brand-new Hospice at Home Roaming Car Service.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for Hospice at Home care has never been more apparent. Our Hospice at Home service celebrated its seventh anniversary recently, and since its launch in 2016, the total hours of care provided per year has increased by almost 180%. GP surgeries and hospital services are busier than ever, and many more people wish to be cared for in the sanctuary of their home.
This increased demand means we have to build upon the service to ensure we can respond quickly to all those who need our support. Later this year, we’re set to launch a brand-new roaming car service to complement our hugely successful Hospice at Home team to provide even more care to local people who need it.
Paula explained: ‘The service will see expert nurses with palliative care experience, and compassionate healthcare assistants, support patients across North Derbyshire from 10pm to 7am, to administer medication, manage symptoms and provide nursing care; keeping patients at home, and out of hospital.
‘This means that if a local patient experiences a decline in their circumstances and needs nursing support anytime during the night, they will have access to the Hospice at Home team, even when they don’t have an overnight hospice care package planned.’
Prior to starting her role at the hospice, Paula worked as a nurse for almost three decades at local hospitals in Macclesfield, Stockport, Tameside and Glossop.
She said: ‘After working for a couple of years at a nursing home as a nursing auxiliary*, I started my nurse training in 1991 at South Manchester College of Nursing.
‘After qualifying as a registered general nurse in 1994, I worked briefly at Macclesfield Hospital. I then moved to the Cavendish Hospital looking after patients with continuing healthcare needs where I gained a good foundation and understanding of delivering holistic and patient-centred care. I started at Stepping Hill Hospital as staff nurse on a female surgical ward in 1996, to gain a more rounded and acute experience. I developed a passion for surgical nursing and worked on both emergency surgical and short stay surgical wards.
‘In 2010, I joined the night team as a junior sister working closely with bed managers and patient flow teams, eventually becoming a senior night sister, gaining more responsibility and acting as site manager overnight. I returned back to day working in 2017 when I started as a ward sister at Shire Hill Hospital in Glossop.
‘I have cared for palliative patients and people at the end of their lives throughout my career. During the Covid-19 pandemic, my passion for end of life care grew; particularly the issues surrounding supporting patients who wish to die at home. For this reason, when I saw the job advertised I saw the opportunity to contribute to and make a difference to this patient group.
‘Since I started work at the hospice it has been a very busy few months. I, alongside colleagues, have recruited three trained nurses and two healthcare assistants to join the roaming car service. We have purchased all clinical stock, IT equipment and uniforms and I am currently working to put together policies and standard operating procedures relating to the brand-new service, and planning inductions and training for my new colleagues when they start in June 2023.
‘I am grateful to have done a lot of shadowing of external, partner colleagues including DHU Healthcare palliative care car, Treetops Hospice in Risley, near Derby; and our local community nursing teams. This experience has given me a really strong understanding of what they do and why; gaining advice and learning best practice to ensure our new service is the best that it possibly can be.
‘Throughout this year, I am really looking forward to my team starting and for induction weeks so that they’ll be able to meet colleagues across the hospice. Also, in the future, I am incredibly excited for the launch of the brand-new service and how it will improve patient outcomes.’
Stay up to date on our website and social media for information in the future about the launch of the Hospice at Home Roaming Car Service.
