District nurse Hazel Roddan is to be the face of Sirona’s nursing recruitment campaign which is being launched on the 70th birthday of the NHS’ 5 July.
The mother-of-three, who is District Nurse team leader in Yate, specialised in community nursing almost as soon as she was able and has seen huge changes in the last 30 plus years.
It has developed so much; today people don’t need to go into hospital or can be in hospital for much shorter periods because of what we are able to do to help “them at home” she says.
Sirona care & health is a not-for-profit social enterprise providing specialised community health care in South Gloucestershire and parts of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and beyond.
It is holding an open day at Downend Clinic on Saturday 14 July so people can find out more about joining the Community Nursing Service which provides care to individuals who are housebound in their own homes or sees people in clinics.
Hazel said: “When I started we used to spend the mornings delivering personal care, ensuring people were up and out of bed but over time that changed; we certainly weren’t managing large wounds or sorting catheters or other equipment in the home.
“Today we provide care tailored for the person in their home; we build relationships with individuals and their families and are able to really support them and ensure continuity – I wouldn’t do anything else.”
The work within the community includes managing the nursing needs of those undergoing rehabilitation following discharge from hospital or with wound care, catheter care, Intravenous antibiotics and end of life care for those who have chosen to die at home with their family around them.
Hazel said: “Providing End of Life care is also really important to me and giving people the choice to die at home, if that is what they want; that’s something that has developed over the years.”
Hazel began her training in 1981 and recalls: “It was a school of nursing in those days. I have always wanted to care for people; the turning point was when I was 15 and there was a careers event at school and we were advised about pre-nursing courses. It confirmed that was what I wanted to do. I applied for the nursing school and in those days you had to wait to get in.
“After three years I was a registered general nurse; I was one of the first groups as until then it had been state registered nurse – SRN. I couldn’t go straight into the community as I had to have hospital experience and I worked in general surgery, gynaecology and orthopaedic all of which stood me in good stead for working in the community. I was then sponsored to do a district nursing course for a year by the hospital; I was quite unique as I was quite young to make that choice – it tended to be an option for people when they had children.
“I have loved every minute of it; we are able to make a difference in our community and I would encourage any nurse to join us.”
Alison Griffiths, Locality Manager, said: “Community nursing has evolved hugely over the years both in terms of the complexity of conditions experienced by service users and the length of time we care for them; in some cases people are cared for by a community nursing team over a number of years and we really become part of the family.”
The open day is at Downend Clinic on Saturday 14 July from 10am until 3pm; to find out more click here
