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“It’s about making that little bit of difference”

Admiral Nurses Anna Chadwick and Sheridan Coker, of the Mid Cheshire Foundation NHS Trust, were recently awarded by the hospital for their Outstanding Contribution to Patient Service and Care. Both Anna and Sheridan support patient care but also offer specialist dementia education workshops for other hospital staff. Sheridan also works in the community, helping families at risk of being admitted to hospital, and supporting families after hospital discharges. We caught up with them both to hear what’s so important about the role of an Admiral Nurse and what they enjoy most about their jobs.

Sheridan: “I love working across both hospital and community settings, I enjoy having that bridge between the two and it allows me to have a dialogue with social services, matrons and professionals from other areas than myself. It really helps me to join the dots when dealing with someone with dementia.”

Anna: “This role is all about joining up the dots. We have a chance to get involved with the strategic side of things too and we were recently involved in the hospital’s fundraising strategy, which will cover the next two years!”

Sheridan: “We currently host ‘dementia link’ days to train other staff members in the hospital, with 4 bespoke sessions a year. Anna has also been running a carer’s session group, which has been really beneficial for everyone involved. A local Tesco recently approached us to do some training for their staff – it’s so nice to have your effort recognised like that.”

Anna: “Being an Admiral Nurse is about making that little bit of difference and one of the best aspects of the job is that you have time to get to know the family and learn what makes a meaningful difference to them. This role often involves dealing with families but the important thing to remember is to treat everyone as an individual. It’s all about the individual and being creative.”

Sheridan: “I love the variety and the challenges of this job. I’m always learning something because there are so many surprises – everybody is different. I love to help families build their confidence and help carers and people with dementia to solve the problems they are faced with.”