Fliss Callely always knew she wanted to care for people. Having trained as a nurse at 18, she went on to work as a district nurse in Essex for 23 years.

 

Now a registered nurse for Hospice at Home with St Helena Hospice, in Colchester, Fliss is carrying out the work she dreamed of – looking at ways to make comfortable those with life-limiting illnesses.

 

The 51-year-old says: “I always tried to find ways where I could make a little bit of a difference to someone. I wanted to give back to the community.

 

“After I trained in Colchester, I spent nine years working on the hospital wards before becoming a district nurse and I loved it.”

 

During this time, while caring for people in their homes, Fliss became passionate about palliative care.

 

Her role with St Helena Hospice involves planning out the care for those who have been diagnosed as having three months or less to live.

 

Fliss explains: “Part of my role is to assess patients’ needs, work out the care they require and listen to what they want. It’s very specific and individual.

 

“We look at the Marie Curie night sitting service and respite care during the day too. Once the plan has been worked out the assistant nurses go in to provide the care.”

 

As well as the Hospice at Home service, Fliss’s job also covers a 24- hour single point phone number where patients, family members and healthcare workers can call St Helena registered nurses for advice.

 

A rapid response service is also available, where nurses can visit patients, assess their symptoms and administer medication if required.

 

They also carry out a verification of expected death, to see if someone has passed away, although they do not sign a death certificate.

 

Fliss completed two years of training as a State Enrolled Nurse, with practical work carried out in hospital wards and classroom training at Severalls School of Nursing.

 

She says: “I was tested on the job. Now you need to do a degree to get into nursing.

 

“I was one of the last State Enrolled Nurses because the system for training changed in the early Nineties.”

 

Fliss applied for and carried out a holistic end-of-life course at Anglia Ruskin University to develop her skills.

 

She says: “Palliative care is an emotive part of nursing, but for me it’s a job I’ve always aspired to and it really motivates me.

 

“Not everyone wants to or could do this. My experience has led me to this work and if I can make a little difference, make someone comfortable, then I have done something wonderful.”

 

 

PALLIATIVE CARE AND MORE

 

FLISS advises those interested in following in her footsteps into palliative care to consider a few things.

 

She says: “Communication skills are paramount. We do a two-day advanced communication skills course, which is invaluable.

 

“It heightens our knowledge and expands our skills because we are talking to people in sensitive situations.

 

“You need to learn how to pick up on cues and explore what people say.”

 

With research changing all the time Fliss needs to keep up to date

with new techniques, research and guidelines.

 

The most recent changes will come into play in November, when St Helena Hospice will begin to offer the registered nurse services to patients with a life-threatening illness of a year or less.