Co Tyrone nurse leads takes next stage in evolution of end of life nursing

Leading end of life charity Marie Curie welcomed this partnership initiative, saying that it was “the way forward for palliative care nursing”.

Experienced palliative care nurse, Marie Donnelly, is currently employed by the Western Health and Social Care Trust and is sponsored by Marie Curie to undertake a Master’s in Advanced Nursing Practice.

On completing the Advanced Nurse Practitioner course, Marie will be qualified to work with patients who are nearing the end of life across both hospital and community settings. The Advanced Nurse Practitioner role will allow Marie to work autonomously, taking patient histories, carrying out physical examinations, prescribing and using her expert knowledge and clinical judgment to treat patients.

Marie, a mother of five from Beragh, has 31 years’ experience in nursing and has worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in palliative care within the Western Trust.

She said: “This is the first trainee ANP role within Specialist Palliative Care in the Western Trust, I saw it as an opportunity which was too good to pass.

“I now find myself back at university as three of my children graduate, one currently a student at UU, and the other hoping to go down that path in September. I must admit, doing assignments and studying for exams is challenging, but having the necessary skills and knowledge to support patients and their families makes it all worthwhile’’.

“I believe as time evolves there will be more and more ANP’s in specialist palliative care, demonstrating their ability to work autonomously and make complex decisions.”

Paula Heneghan, Associate Director at Marie Curie in Northern Ireland, expressed her gratitude to all the partners and in particular the Community Foundation of Northern Ireland which manages the Cancer Charities fund, for its support in bringing the vision to reality. She explained that palliative care provides physical, emotional and practical support to anyone with any life-limiting condition and includes end of life nursing care.

“Marie is already making a difference to patients and will continue to do so once she qualifies and beyond that,” she said.

“We are very excited to work in partnership with the Trust to support the opportunity to fund a Trainee Advanced Nurse Practitioner role and believe it’s the way forward for palliative care nursing.”

Emma King, Palliative Care Manager with Western Trust, said: “This is a great step for palliative care and we are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Marie Curie and the Community Foundation of Northern Ireland to develop Marie in her role of trainee Advanced Nurse Practitioner. It’s an exciting time for palliative care nursing and we as a Trust are delighted that patients, carers and staff will benefit from the role.”

Órla Black, Grants Director at the Community Foundation, added: "We're delighted to have been able to support the development of an Advanced Nurse Practitioner role with Marie Curie through the Cancer Charities Support Fund, and it's great to see Marie take up the trainee post. We hope that it will prove really beneficial to cancer patients and their families within the Western Trust area.”