People living with dementia at the end of their lives, as well as their families and carers, are to receive additional support through a newly appointed Admiral Nurse, as part of the developing services at The Earl Mountbatten Hospice. The appointment will extend the Admiral Nursing team on the Isle of Wight to 5.
The post is the result of a partnership between Earl Mountbatten Hospice and Dementia UK, and has come about due to the generosity of the Island community and tireless fundraising efforts of Lady Sally Grylls, who is a champion for dementia care on the Island.
Highly experienced palliative care, end of life specialist Jill George is to take up the position from 1st September 2016. Jill joined the Hospice in 2003 to set up the then Hospice@Home team, which enabled people to remain in their own homes until the end of their lives, if that was their choice. The highly successful and innovative Community Team now cares for hundreds of patients at any one time, helping with symptom control, social, psychological and spiritual issues, and also helping to support families and carers to look after their loved ones.
There are estimated to be just under 3,000 people living with dementia on the Island and, due to our elderly population and increasing life expectancy, this number is estimated to increase to 3,651 by 2024. People living with dementia at the end of life often have complex palliative conditions and the new hospice Admiral Nurse will provide essential care across the Island community.
Admiral Nurses provide a unique role in care management by joining up the different parts of the health and social care system, so the needs of family, carers and people with dementia can be addressed in a coordinated way. This model of nursing is proven to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and enable people with life-limiting conditions to live the best quality of life that they can, while improving support to their families. Dementia UK, who developed the Admiral Nursing model, will work with Earl Mountbatten to govern and support the Admiral Nurse service.
The Admiral Nurse will lead specialist training and development to ensure that all members of Earl Mountbatten staff, and patient and family-facing volunteers, are kept updated with the latest information and advice on dementia care. Jill will also work closely with the newly established NHS funded Admiral Nurses at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust. Access to the hospice Admiral Nurse will be via other health and social care professionals.
Jill George said: “I am looking forward to working alongside people diagnosed with dementia who are coming to the end of life, their families and formal carers to raise awareness and develop coping strategies, to help them live as well as possible. A key part of my role will be to train Earl Mountbatten staff and volunteers to enable us to extend our reach, as well as working together with all of the Admiral Nurses on the Island, so we can support people, families and carers every step of the way.”
Chief Executive of Earl Mountbatten Hospice, Nigel Hartley, said:
“I am delighted that we have been able to successfully recruit Jill to this vital post and look forward to being able to strengthen our expertise in this area further. Dementia is becoming an increasingly significant factor in how we care for people coming to the end of their lives, and importantly, how we support their families and other care agencies. This will further enhance our leading end of life services and offer our Island community a unique resource in this highly expert area of care.”
Lady Sally Grylls said:
“It is very exciting that the necessary funds have been raised for Dementia UK to appoint an Admiral Nurse to serve alongside the Earl Mountbatten Hospice community team. This is a unique partnership which hopefully will blaze the trail for more Admiral Nurses to serve in local communities all over the Isle of Wight.”
The appeal to raise funds for Admiral Nurses was the chosen charity of Ron Holland during his term in office as High Sheriff in 2015/16. Mr Holland said:
“Thanks to Lady Grylls and all her helpers, I am thrilled all of our hopes have now materialised. The Island community are all indebted and very appreciative of the work carried out by Nigel and his team at Earl Mountbatten Hospice. The addition of a highly trained Admiral Nurse can only add to the level of care here on the Island.”
Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse and CEO Dementia UK said:
“The fundraising efforts of the Isle of Wight community, to enable the appointment of an Admiral Nurse at Earl Mountbatten, are commendable. We’re pleased to see how the Island is supporting families living with dementia through a growing number of Admiral Nurses. With Jill George joining the team her expertise will make a real contribution to enhancing end of life care to local families who are living with dementia, especially as they need that extra specialist health and social care, and emotional support.”
