Our Patient and Family Liaison Nurses, Kirsty Caswell and Jo Petheram, continue their inspiring work following up and supporting patients and their families that have been treated by our team. They have been with us now for over two years and have different but complimentary clinical backgrounds, which enable them to bring diverse experiences and knowledge to the patient and family liaison role. Both are continuing to adapt the way they provide their support services to meet the needs of all patients and their families. This is currently done via the telephone, which although is not ideal and they would both prefer the face-to-face option, it does enable them to
continue providing the care, compassion, emotional and practical support to those that need it.

They have also been following up on the patients and their families that have been part of the COVID-19 inter-hospital transfer service. Some people have multiple family members in intensive care, often in different hospitals than one another. As both Kirsty and Jo have
intensive care backgrounds, they can add an extra layer of understanding and information to help these relatives. Their phone calls have been met with gratitude and many relatives have appreciated being thought of and having someone to talk to. Furthermore, Kirsty and Jo
have provided feedback to the referring hospital clinical leads so they can learn of the outcomes of the patients who have been moved from their hospitals. Some of these intensive care units may have been caring for these patients for days, weeks or even months, so a feedback system is very valuable to them.

Kirsty and Jo continue to support DSAA’s patients and their families wherever they are needed. If you or a loved one has needed the help of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and you wish to contact our Patient and Family Liaison Service, please email: [email protected]