SPECIALIST nurses at Basildon Hospital are the first in the east of England to have carried out full training to complete legal documents relating to resuscitation.
Understandably patients often find discussions around the sensitive topic of resuscitation very difficult, especially those patients facing a life limiting illness. Having a Macmillan nurse, with whom they may already have a rapport, initiate this conversation and aid decision making could help to make this slightly less overwhelming.
If the patient decides they would like to have a do not resuscitate order put in their medical notes, the specialist nurse can complete the paperwork. This is then countersigned by the lead- consultant, creating a legal document which is placed in the patient’s medical notes.
Karen Andrews, head of nursing for Macmillan and end of life care, said: “Traditionally doctors have conversations about resuscitation with patients, which take place under pressure, with time constraints and often without the patient’s family present.
“A nurse specialist being able to engage in these conversations and help finalise decisions and documentation could help to overcome some of these things which could cause the patient distress. An added bonus is that sometimes the patients are already known to the team, which does make this a slightly less intimidating conversation to have.”
The training and competencies have been set up thanks to the hospital’s involvement with the ‘Building on the Best’ programme, a nationwide initiative involving ten hospitals, to improve end of life care across the UK.
A total of 12 nurses have now received the training and the long term plan is for them to facilitate the training of other nurses in other specialities.
Karen added: “It’s all about providing the best possible patient experience, at an incredibly difficult time. As caregivers we have a duty to make that as empathetic and compassionate as possible and any changes we can make to help that happen are paramount.”
