LAST week we visited the unsung heroes of our community at their base in Newton Community Hospital.

The visit followed members of the St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust Community Services team receiving the St Helens Star People’s Choice Award.

The award was presented to the team at a prestigious ceremony in July.

 We spent a day with members of the community services team to learn about what they do and how they feel about this achievement.

We first met with two members of the phlebotomy team, commonly known as "blood nurses", Eran Stocks and Sharon Cross.

Eran, who we joked will put "Eran with an A on the map", is the chief phlebotomist within St Helens community services. 

Her enthusiasm when discussing her role was admirable, and her love for the job, even after working through an unprecedented pandemic, was reflected in her words.

Eran said: "It’s all about patient need. We’re there to serve them and want their experience to be as smooth as possible."

St Helens Star: Chief Phlebotomist Eran Stocks Chief Phlebotomist Eran Stocks (Image: Catrin Jones)

Sharon Cross, senior phlebotomist within St Helens community services, also demonstrated how committed she was to the role.

Both appeared to be a strong team with an even stronger friendship, as the two first bonded at a previous job.

To hear about Eran and Sharon’s story and what the award means to them, watch the video below:

A hug from a blue dress

We then moved from phlebotomy to district nursing, where we met Rose Archer and Jacqueline Johnson, clinical team managers for district nursing.

Jacqueline had been a district nurse for 10 years and recently took the role as manager 10 weeks ago.

Rose recently transferred from treatment room and outpatients service and is in her second week.

Their roles ensure that appropriate care is able to be delivered at home to reduce hospital admissions, as well as end-of-life care.

Both women were visibly moved by the award and the praise they had for their hard work throughout their career and particularly throughout the pandemic.

The emotion was contagious as they had time to take a step out of duties and reflect on how far they’ve come.

Jacqueline said: "The part I love about this job is the fact that we’re quite privileged in looking after people who are at the end of their life and if their wish is to be at home, we can help look after them and make sure they’ve got everything in place.

"It’s quite a nice thing to be able to do to patients; being at hospital, particularly at this time as well, is not really the ideal place for people who have a palliative diagnosis, so being able to look after them at home is a sad aspect but nice aspect that we’re able to deliver it for them.

"I couldn’t think of doing another job."

St Helens Star: Jacqueline uses her car multiple times a day Jacqueline uses her car multiple times a day (Image: Catrin Jones)

Rose added: "We’ve always kind of been the unsung heroes; we’ve always been there, and we’ve always worked really hard, so having that recognition from the local people of St Helens is just amazing.

"It’s really nice that they’re recognising the care that we’re providing.

"I started off in district nursing and I’ve come full circle because I love it. I love now being part of this team; they’re all so close and work hard together, it’s just nice to feel a part of that."

Jacqueline also detailed the "massive influx" of patients who were classed as vulnerable during the pandemic and how "overwhelming" it was.

Tearfully, she said: "A huge thank you for appreciating us, recognising us, and giving us this massive achievement."

'It’s really nice to know that we got recognised for what we do'

Amanda Layland is a cardiac team manager for the heart failure service and has been in the service for 27 years.

She mentioned the "wealth of experiences" within the admissions avoidance service and what an achievement it was to receive an award for doing something she enjoys.

Amanda said: "Nurses are dedicated, committed to the role of improving patients’ lives and really during the pandemic we were a service that were able to carry on doing as much as we could within the restrictions at the time.

"To get the award is really good because that’s what we’re here for; to improve patients’ lives, so to get an award from the actual people in the community that really appreciate our services, it’s really nice to know that we got recognised for what we do.

"You do it on a daily basis and don’t think you’re anything special because it’s our job and we enjoy it so much but it’s so nice to be recognised for that.

Patricia Wainwright, who has been a heart failure nurse since 2010, added: "We’ve got time and knowledge in those clinics to pull all of that information together and I think that’s what’s integral to these patients because they are going through a really hard time and they just need to sit down and ask questions and I think that’s part of what they appreciate, the fact that they get that time.

"It’s great to know that they have put you for an award is an amazing achievement."

St Helens Star: Patricia Wainwright Patricia Wainwright (Image: Catrin Jones)

The heart failure nurse also detailed on the 12-month pilot of telemonitoring the service has introduced.

The remote monitoring system allows patients at home to link to a third party and has already been 'really successful' and received 'great feedback'.

The IV Team 

Another key service within St Helens and Knowsley’s Trust is the Community Intravenous (IV) Therapy team.

The team provide care to patients with conditions and illnesses including transplant recipients and cancer patients.

Since 2010, the community service has saved 64,355 hospital bed days that would cost the regional NHS economy £19,306,500.

The IV team are an addition to the testament of the award-winning service provided by St Helens and Knowsley Community Services.

'My chest was bursting with pride'

Throughout the day, it was evident that there was a strong bond between team members.

Sandra Ryan, directorate manager for community services within St Helens and Knowsley teaching hospitals, was praising her team on their resilience and their outstanding performance throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and described members as "absolute role models".

St Helens Star: Directorate Manager Sandra Ryan Directorate Manager Sandra Ryan (Image: Catrin Jones)

Here’s what she had to say: