Clinical Nurse Specialist Team
Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialists are just one part of the Trinity family of services that provides specialist palliative care advice and support to patient’s carers and families; whether the patient is in Hospital, in their own home or in a care home, in the Blackpool Fylde and Wyre area.
What is a Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialist?
All Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialists (hereafter referred to as Trinity CNS’s) have chosen to work in Palliative Care, share the same passion and commitment and have the skills to provide Specialist Palliative Care knowledge, expertise and support to patients, carers and their families and also to the caring team involved in the patient’s management of their illness (i.e. their GP, Consultants and all other health care professionals).
Trinity CNS’s have all taken extra training to advance their skills, having achieved Diploma/Degree level of education with some members of the team having recently achieved post-graduate qualifications in Palliative Care.
Each Trinity CNS works on their own and applies highly developed specialist knowledge and advanced communication skills to advise and influence each patient’s current caring team on complex symptom management, psychological, social and spiritual care promoting best practice in order to maximise quality of life.
We have a significant positive impact on patient care, the patient being at the centre of all that we do - always acting in the patient’s best interests.
All Specialist Palliative Care nursing in the community and hospital setting in the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre area is entirely free of charge.
Who can have a Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialist?
Anyone affected by an advanced, progressive life-limiting illness and who has developed problems that are complex and which their own healthcare team are finding difficult to manage.
How do you get help from the Trinity CNS Team?
The patient has to be referred by their GP, Consultant or Nurse Specialist.
We have five secretaries who provide a highly effective co-ordinated confidential service to the Trinity CNS Team and also the Lymphoedema and Complimentary Therapy Services. Our Secretaries are highly skilled with excellent communication skills and if you want to contact anyone about the Trinity CNS Team they can help. Tel. number. 01253 359379.
How many Trinity Clinical Nurse Specialists are there?
There are 12 Trinity CNS’s – 8 who care for patients, carers and families in their homes and 4 who care for patients, carers and families in Blackpool Victoria Hospital and peripheral hospitals and one team leader.
How does The Community Team of Clinical Nurse Specialists Work?
Trinity CNS’s who work in the community do not just visit patients in their own homes. They liaise with the patients’ GP, District Nurses and Social Services. They help manage the patient’s symptoms such as pain, nausea or breathlessness. They assist each patient, their carers and family to understand what is happening and what can be done to help, making sure they are given enough information to be able to make decisions about their future.
They are able to support the patient, carers and families by listening and guiding to the relevant services, also enabling access to some of Trinity’s other services such as the Day Therapy unit, In-patient unit, Complementary Therapy and the Linden Centre.
How does The Hospital Team of Clinical Nurse Specialists Work?
Part of our team, that is 4 of our Trinity CNS’s work at Blackpool Victoria Hospital to care for patients, carers and their families in the hospital setting. They visit patients on the Wards and Out-patient Departments to facilitate the integration of acute and Specialist Palliative Care services contributing to the patient’s total nursing care and management of symptoms being physical, emotional and social issues.
They work closely with all other allied Health Care Professionals acting as the patient’s advocate to achieve the highest quality of care to help the patient, carers and family’s journey through this time of difficulty.