Specialist Care in Hill Top Home

RETIRED pharmacist Jim Hawley has a bird’s eye view of Haydon Bridge and the A69 bypass from his home high on the hill above the town.

He now rarely leaves the cottage where he has lived for 26 years as he is wheelchair-bound. But he receives the specialist care he needs from the team of district nurses who visit him regularly.

Jim, aged 82, knows that no matter what the weather brings, the nurses will make sure they get up the steep and twisty road to look after him.

“They have been coming for two years since I came out of hospital.

At first they came twice a day but now it’s three times a week,” he said. “We have had some snow during that time but, like my carer who comes every day, they’ve always managed to get here.”

The nurses, from Northumberland Care Trust’s district nursing service, are led by community matrons Sheena Murray and Chris Lloyd.

“We visit housebound patients in the Allendale, Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle area and it’s very rural,” said Sheena.

“We do a lot of driving and it can be hard in winter because of the weather but so far, we have always managed to get where we are needed.”

The team of five staff nurses and three nursing auxiliaries, work closely with GPs, social care and other health professionals. Along with their colleagues in the out of hours service, they provide care mainly to people who are housebound but also to patients in health centres and residential homes.

The nurses look after patients who have chronic diseases or who are terminally ill or who have been discharged from hospital after an operation. They not only provide expert nursing care but also work with local services to make sure patients have any social care or special equipment they need.

“We visit housebound patients in the Allendale, Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle area

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