Meet Laura, Palliative Care Nurse Specialist who works in the community with the children and young adults we support.
It is Laura’s job to ensure families are getting exactly the right care, at the right time. That might mean providing emotional support or helping with medical needs. This can make a massive difference to families going through some of the toughest of times.
“Every day is different,” says Laura.
“As much as we plan, the nature of palliative care means our days can quickly change. But the important thing for me is knowing that my visit can make a difference to a family.
“Whether that is making changes that make a child more comfortable or having a cuppa and chat with a parent to help them cope with what their family are going through.
“I can start my day in Cheshire meeting with the family of a young child who has a muscle wasting disorder to discuss the care they need.
“This means understanding how their child is currently doing and going over their symptoms.
“By doing this, I can understand how they are coping and whether they need changes to some of their medication. This can make a big difference and may save the family a hospital visit.
“As well as discussing care, we will explore the family’s wishes for now and how they want their child to be treated and looked after should their condition get worse. This is far easier to do in advance, when the family is not under pressure and have time to understand the options available.
“For me it is so rewarding, knowing I have alleviated some of that family’s worries, as well helping to ensure the child or young adult is more comfortable.
“From the visit in Cheshire, I then travel to Merseyside after receiving a call from a young adult’s mum to say her son is experiencing pain and has trouble with his breathing.
“Once I get to their home, I find he is really struggling and we need to review his symptoms.
“While we can work with the families and their doctors to assess their medical needs, we are fortunate that we can also offer other services at Claire House.
“For this family, I looked at how our Complementary Therapies Team could arrange some massages to reduce their son’s pain.
“Alongside this, I discussed how our Physiotherapists could offer exercises and techniques to help with his breathing.
“We can never know how these families might need us on any particular day and will be there in the best way we can.
“Once all my visits are done, my day doesn’t end there.
“To ensure that each child or young adult’s needs are being met by the different services, I talk to all the healthcare teams involved in their care. This is to check they are fully up to date with any of the changes following my visits and that we are all on the same page as to what the child or young adult needs going forward.
“My days might be busy, and you can never fully know what they will entail, but after working at Claire House for 10 years now, every day I know I am helping to make a difference to the families we support.
“It is something you can never really get used to, the impact we make to these children, young adults and their families.”
Care staff like Laura are only out in your community every day because of people like you who fundraise, donate and support Claire House.
