Engaging with members – whether through meaningful connections, welcoming newcomers, or sharing in their nursing journeys – continually opens new doors and creates enriching experiences. We’re proud to be in a position to support and facilitate these opportunities for our community.
I recently joined my fellow Independent Sector & Community Adviser, Pam, and new RCN Wales librarian, Louise on a visit to Hallmark Greenhill Manor Luxury Care Home in south Wales. General Manager Carla Rawlinson kindly hosted a roundtable event for us. We were treated to a superb lunch before we got engaged in presentations and discussions centred on the role of care homes and social care in palliative and end of life care.
Greenhill Manor is a large home offering nursing, residential, respite, dementia and young person’s care. It’s set in the Merthyr valley, a former mining area, and has a strong, family-focused, community culture with a coffee shop at the reception, which the local community are invited to visit.
The team shared with us the work they’re doing with Hospice of the Valleys, a charity providing specialist palliative care, working with people who have life limiting conditions and supporting them in their own homes, care homes, hospitals and outpatient departments.
As part of Hallmark’s End of Life Centres of Excellence project, Regional Care Specialist Louise Inglis approached Hospice of the Valleys for advice on supporting their residents with life limiting conditions. What a panacea of delights they encountered! No, not a cure-all, but certainly a range of toolkits to support their residents and make life a lot more comfortable for them and their loved ones.
Along with Louise, General Manager Karen Beech and staff at the charity provided education and resources for Greenhill Manor to provide Tai Chi, reflexology and aromatherapy. These have been successfully introduced to the home with many reported benefits for residents and team. What started as a service for those needing end of life care has spread to others, making life more comfortable for all. This work demonstrates the value and importance of partnership working across the health and social care sectors.
Large care home companies, like Hallmark Luxury Care Homes, are well resourced and have access to researchers, specialist leaders and computer-assisted record keeping. But what of the small care homes that don’t have these vast resources in place and of those affected by rurality? One of the speakers for the session was Kiera Jones, Lead Nurse at Skanda Vale Hospice, a rural-based Carmarthenshire charity offering free palliative care and support to the elderly with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Kiera spoke of the challenges of working in rural areas and ensuring equity of care.
But here’s where the magic of connecting RCN members comes in. Members attending the session from small care homes now had options; contact details were quickly exchanged!
Nursing staff are vital in the continuing delivery of care and care homes are a vital part of this delivery. There is so much we can learn from each other and so I’m asking you to engage with us. We’d love to come and visit your place of work and share your successes with our members. Please drop me or Pam an email to arrange.
In addition, Louise is currently undertaking a literature search into the use of complementary therapies in the care home sector. Please do get in touch with Louise if you’d like support in finding the evidence to develop your service.
And finally, I’d encourage you to consider joining an RCN forum or network to find out what’s happening in your sector. Together, RCN members can highlight their contribution across the sectors and raise their voices as professionals and advocate for the most vulnerable in our communities, removing barriers and enabling equity.
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