Compassion in the community – the impact of district nursing and palliative care
“I feel privileged to be welcomed into a patient’s home.”
Maria Betts is currently the only Advanced Nurse Practitioner in District Nursing with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. In this role, she supports District Nursing teams who care for patients living with complex, life-limiting conditions in the community, including frailty, dementia, cancer and long-term conditions which may require palliative and end-of-life care through time.
Maria is also an active non-medical prescriber which means she can prescribe an enhanced range of medications in a timely manner for patients to ensure their continued comfort while at home.
During Palliative Care Week (September 7-13), we are raising awareness about the important role of our District Nursing teams within palliative care, and their contribution to person and family-centred care.
With the campaign theme in mind, ‘living for today, planning for tomorrow’, Maria explains more about the role of district nursing and the District Nurse as a palliative care key worker: “Palliative care can touch any of our lives and District Nurses demonstrate how it can benefit patients and families if, and when, it is needed. District Nurses can support patients to live the best life they can while helping with the issues that could prevent them from achieving a good quality of life such as pain and other physical, social, emotional and spiritual symptoms.
“Creating therapeutic relationships allows us to develop personalised treatment plans, co-produce advanced care plans alongside the patient and their family while respecting their personal wishes and support them to die in their preferred place of care.
“As a service, we all work together through collective leadership to enhance the patient experience.”
Sarah Kirker is a District Nurse and palliative care key worker within the East Antrim locality.
Like Maria, she is also a non-medical prescriber, a hugely valuable part of her role for both the patient and their families.
“I am able to address symptom change through assessment and prescribe relevant medications including anticipatory prescribing for patients who are approaching end of life. I can give the prescription directly to the family to take to the pharmacy, allowing medications to be available in a timely manner,” she said.
Providing care
Continuity of care is another priority, as Sarah said: “I receive valuable input from community staff nurses and senior nursing assistants in my team who may also be visiting the patient.”
“Ultimately, my aim is to coordinate the patient’s care at home while supporting their family, ensuring that they experience relief of symptoms and shared decision making with multidisciplinary colleagues. It is an honour to be involved at such a deeply personal time and also providing support to families following bereavement.”
Reflecting on her role as a palliative care keyworker, District Nurse Lyndsey Laverty, from the Causeway locality, said: “I facilitate the coordination of care for patients and their families to ensure ease of access to services and act as a single point of contact. With encompass now in place we’re able to ensure speedy referrals to other healthcare professionals.”
“It is an honour to be there for patients and families. My team has received positive feedback on Care Opinion about their experience of our palliative care from patients’ families and that is always very encouraging.”
Laura Nicholson, a Senior Community Staff Nurse within the Antrim locality District Nursing team, said developing connections with the patient and their family is very important: “As I know the patient and their families well, I am able to identify when their condition is changing or deteriorating, when a patient might be in their last year of life and when additional interventions are required, such as equipment, carers or external voluntary agencies.”
Palliative care isn’t just for end-of-life care – it’s about helping people, of all ages, with a life-limiting illness to live as well and as fully as possible today and for as long as possible. It puts the person at the centre of care, supporting their physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs as well as their families, carers and those close to them.
Palliative Care Week
Within the Northern Trust, several awareness-raising initiatives are taking place during Palliative Care Week, including a drop-in morning for staff with the Chaplaincy Team at Antrim Area Hospital to raise highlight how our Chaplains can help them as well as their patients and their families.
Medical students will take part in an engaging education session guided by Dr Jenny Wilson, Palliative Medicine Speciality Doctor, to help them learn about palliative care through different scenarios while a group of Team North dietitians will attend a course about managing nutrition for people with palliative conditions.
Fintan Fagan, Chair of All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) and Chief Executive Officer, St Francis Hospice, Dublin, said: “Most of us will encounter palliative care at some stage in our lives, and there are still several misconceptions about it. Many people aren’t aware of the breadth of supports available to them that could benefit them or their loved ones when diagnosed with a life-limiting condition. Whether you’re a patient, a carer, a family member, or simply part of your local community, understanding the benefits of palliative care can make a meaningful difference.”
To find out more about the range of palliative care services within the Northern Trust and to download a useful information booklet go to www.northerntrust.hscni.net/services/palliative-care/
You can also access information about local services, planning ahead and helpful resources from Compassionate Communities NI www.compassionatecommunitiesni.com
8th September 2025
