Hartlepool hospice worker Barbara becomes a Queen's Nurse

Now it also have a nurse who has the additional qualification – of Queen’s Nurse.

The Queen’s Nursing Institute is a charity which is incorporated by Royal Charter, and its patron is Her Majesty the Queen.

Barbara Thompson, who recently joined the hospice as specialist respiratory nurse, has fulfilled the requirements of The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), and demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient care and nursing practice.

The vision of the QNI is that all people are provided with the best possible nursing care, by the right nurse with the right skills in homes and communities, whenever and wherever it is needed.

Barbara said: “My manager in my previous role in the Community Respiratory Service nominated me for the award, and patients who I cared for wrote to the institute to support the nomination.

“Following a review by a specialist panel I officially became a Queen’s Nurse.”

“As a Queen’s Nurse I am part of a national group who meet regularly and share best practice.

“I can help empower patients to understand their illness and the choices they have in terms of their care, allowing them to make informed decisions.

“The newly-appointed specialist nurses at the hospice, as a group, are working to shape the future of patient care and how the hospice is perceived.

“By being a part of the patient’s journey and helping them understand their choices we can help to keep patients at home longer and make the hospice a choice which no longer represents purely end of life care.

“I am excited about the future of the roles of the hospice’s specialist nurses and proud to be working within the local communities which the hospice serves.”

For more information about the services the hospice can offer, visit www.alicehousehospice.co.uk.

You can find out more information about the roles of the specialist nurses here.