It was a huge honour to be shortlisted in the Chronic Oedema Nurse of the Year category of the BJN Awards 2023, but to be the winner of this prestigious award has been quite overwhelming.
I was nominated by my colleague Yolande Borthwick, who highlighted some of the successful projects I have helped to implement and sustain. I understand that feedback from patients, known to the lymphoedema service in our area, contributed to the success of my nomination. I am astounded that people took the time to share their comments and experiences.
I have worked in lymphoedema since 2008 and I feel lucky and privileged to enjoy every aspect of my role. The support and encouragement I receive from Yolande, our managers and from the strong links we have with the University of Glasgow, has helped maintain my enthusiasm to develop the service and continue to learn as much as I can about lymphoedema and its management.
I strongly believe that our service ethos and shared vision has contributed immensely to the ongoing development of the service and my own professional development. It is important for me to state that the belief and support of colleagues has been an enormous influence and a great help to me. The effectiveness of the service is evident in the following projects and service developments:
- A volunteer telephone support service
- The creation of a community choir, which we named ‘The Lymph Notes’
- A well-established lymphoedema and lipoedema patient support group.
The volunteer telephone support service
This was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide vital links with patients when they were unable to attend the outpatient clinic. Contributions from patients and the volunteers helped to shape this service and ensure that it was something patients would find helpful.
More than 125 patients have been supported within this initiative and it continues to be a valuable resource and contact method. The telephone support service has been evaluated positively, and helped reduce social isolation and improve confidence in self-management.
The choir project
The benefits of group singing are well known for many long-term conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, dementia and mental health conditions. There is less evidence on the impact of singing for people with lymphoedema or lipoedema. As a member of a large community choir myself, I had experienced first hand the positive effects of singing and being part of a group. It was a natural decision to consider how involvement in a community choir could improve both physical and mental health and wellbeing.
The idea was discussed at several patient support evenings and the feedback led to the proposal for a funded 6-month pilot project. A musical director was commissioned to provide weekly singing sessions.
The choir proved to be successful with several outcome measures demonstrating the positive impact on the group participants. Improved wellbeing, feeling less isolated, and learning a new skill were some of the benefits reported by choir members in regular weekly comments. In some cases, feeling happier and more connected within the group led to increased confidence in self-managing lymphoedema or lipoedema.
Patient support group
The patient support group has been in place since 2009. Three meetings per year are well attended and provide an ideal forum for peer support and to share ideas and opinions on the management of lymphoedema and lipoedema. Feedback from this group has been hugely influential in the recent projects.
Putting patients' wellbeing first
All of these projects aim to put the wellbeing of patients with chronic oedema first. All the projects help to reduce isolation and to increase wellbeing and confidence. I am pleased that this award has highlighted these projects and their benefits.