Supporting patients, carers and staff with enteral feeding in the community

06 July 2023
Volume 32 · Issue 13

Abstract

Rosie Romeril (rosie.romeril@nhs.net) Nutrition Nurse Specialist, Bromley Healthcare, won a silver award in the Nutrition Nurse of the Year category of the BJN Awards 2023

My nomination for the Nutrition Nurse of the Year 2023 came as a surprise to me, but I think it reflects my work over more than 20 years to establish a network of carers, and training and supporting them to care for very vulnerable patients requiring enteral feeding in the London Borough of Bromley. I was nominated by a community dietitian colleague with whom I work closely and to be a finalist means so much to me and my dietitian colleagues. We are part of a wonderful team of dietetic clinicians.

I became a community nutrition nurse specialist 22 years ago, working with community adult dietitians for Bromley Healthcare. It was a brand-new post and I was asked to set up and implement the nutrition nurse role in the community to provide a service to care for our enteral feeding patients who needed support when discharged home from hospital. The caseload at this time was an average of 23 patients requiring enteral support; now, average numbers are around 100 plus. This increased temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic as endoscopic procedures were not being performed and more patients were receiving care at home. The fact that this service has been achieved with a minimal increase in resources is a tribute to all the NHS and non-NHS staff engaged in enteral care in Bromley.

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