The Night Nursing Team caring for the people of Leeds
As the dark nights start to draw in, the Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Night Service continues to support the most vulnerable across Leeds, helping them to stay at home and not go into hospital.
Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Neighbourhood Nights Service works tirelessly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, offering personalised care in people’s own homes. The team supports around 200 people at any one time throughout the night across Leeds.
People are referred to the service for a range of support, for some this may be providing essential nursing care and treatment such as injections, medication and wound care, or they might have a clinical problem such as a blocked catheter. For others, this may be care at the end of their life, supporting patients to stay at home with their loved ones if this is their preference. The team is always there to support people through the night when they really need it.
Gemma Cannon, Clinical Service Manager for the Neighbourhood Night Service, commented: “The team go unnoticed in the shadows, like owls in the night, they come quietly and leave the same way but the impact they have in between is anything but quiet. Working overnight comes with its own challenges - the 4am lull when your body wants nothing more than to sleep, sleeping during the day when the sun is shining, however the real magic that makes this service work is the staff; not only do staff go above and beyond for patients/families but also for each other and without the team working together, supporting each other, we would not be able to deliver the outstanding service we do. We are immensely proud of the positive impact this service has had on the lives of our community members.”
The Night Service works closely with other healthcare professionals including community nursing teams, physiotherapists, hospices and out of hours GP’s. The daytime element of the service plans the care with patients and families and liaises with other professionals to make sure both patients and staff are safe and comfortable through the night and the patient’s individualised needs are being met.
Sam Prince, Interim Chief Executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, said – “While most of us are sleeping, our Neighbourhood Night Team are busy at work supporting the most vulnerable patients across Leeds. The team often goes unnoticed as the majority of people don’t see them, but the work they do is invaluable to our local community.”
