In the community

Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS)

St Catherine’s cares for up to 200 people at a time through our Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) team, who visit people at home across Chorley, Preston and South Ribble, including nursing homes and care homes. They provide assessment, treatment and support, and work together with GPs, district nurses and other health and social care professionals to ensure care is co-ordinated.

They are available seven days a week, offering expert knowledge of complex symptom and pain management alongside psychological support.

Their aim is to help patients achieve the best possible quality of life in the places they call home. The support they offer at the end of life is also invaluable to people who would prefer to die in their usual place of residence, rather than in a hospital or hospice.

Each nurse covers a particular geographical area of Central Lancashire, and we also have one ‘rapid response’ CNS who works across the region and is able to prioritise the new assessment of patients with urgent needs.

We are currently in the process of training our CNS team to be Nurse Independent Prescribers – meaning they are able to prescribe certain medications for patients to help with issues like pain and sickness, without the need of a doctor. Half of the team is now qualified, with further expected in the coming months.

To avoid confusion with Macmillan Cancer Support, it’s important to point out that our CNS team is funded and employed by St Catherine’s Hospice, and are the only such nurses working in the community in the Preston, Chorley and South Ribble areas. We offer a similar, specialised service to Macmillan, but are a completely separate charity.

Hospice Support Assistants

The Hospice Support Assistants are part of the Community team at St Catherine’s Hospice, and work very closely with the Clinical Nurse Specialists. Although they are not clinically trained, through working closely with the CNS team they have developed knowledge and skills to help patients manage certain symptoms.

They have skills to help patients and their carers manage issues such as fatigue, anxiety and breathlessness. The practical advice and emotional support they are able to offer in these areas can have a significant impact on improving people’s quality of life.

The Hospice Support Assistants liaise with a patient’s CNS to ensure any concerns that they are not able to advise about are addressed.