As we mark National Palliative Care Week, Life and Time (the end-of-life nursing charity) has confirmed that they have added 23 new nurses to service the Mourne region comprising Atticall, Annalong, Ballymartin, Kilkeel and Longstone and the service is due to go ‘live’ later this month.
Following a period of community engagement and recruitment Life & Time Care, is commencing services in the Mourne region end of September, to support patients at end of life who wish to die at home.
The Charity, a Registered Nursing Agency, was first founded in 2018 by Dr Henry McLaughlin, supported by a dedicated voluntary committee, to provide specialist end of life, on-call nursing services – initially to families in Warrenpoint, Burren and Rostrevor.
Demand grew and in 2021, the charity expanded the service to include Hilltown, Rathfriland and Mayobridge – delivered through a network of 76 local nurses.
This latest initiative will see the charity reach into the Mourne area, doubling their geographical span, supported by a team of 23 nurses.
The Charity aims to support each patient referred, providing care and symptom control at home, at end of life, in line with what you might might experience in a hospice or hospital setting. The on-call service requires a GP referral and operates from 10pm to 8am, 365 days a year.
Dr Henry McLaughlin explains: “As awareness grew of the service we provide elsewhere; we had requests for support in the Mourne region which we could not previously service without the local team in place. The addition of the Mourne region, essentially doubles the size of the area that we service and we are delighted to welcome 23 new nurses. In advance of this we’ve spent some time meeting with GPs in the region and the District Nursing team, and the feedback has been very positive.”
Nurse Manage Connie Connolly adds: “Our model is unique; in that it is based on recruiting nurses who live in the local area so that our response rates can be most effective for our ‘on call service’. Through Life & Time, local people care for their own community. As we mark Palliative Care Week nationally, it’s wonderful to be able to confirm our services will be live by the end of September in the Mourne region.”
For more information, please visit www.lifeandtimecare.org
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PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured are some members of the Life & Time Nursing team pictured in Kilkeel this week with Life & Time Director Henry McLaughlin and Nurse Manager Connie Connolly.
