Vital new support for seriously ill children and families in Staffordshire

Tracy Procter, has begun her role as WellChild Neuromuscular Nurse – Complex Care and is based at The Royal Stoke University Hospital site. She is working alongside other specialist colleagues at University Hospitals North Midlands NHS Trust. The new post was made possible thanks to the generous support of longstanding supporters from a private charitable foundation. This support has enabled WellChild to fund the role to provide expert advice and practical and emotional support to children and young people and their families in the region with a range of neuromuscular disorders.

Tracy brings to the role experience of working with children and young people who have complex health needs and a nursing background which spans across community and hospital care. She is now hard at work supporting children, young people and their families on their journey through childhood to adulthood. She aims to reduce the number of occasions and overall time they have to spend away from home visiting hospital and improve their quality of life and experiences of health services. Tracy said:

“I am passionate about advocating for the best interests of children, young people and their families. I believe in empowering them by providing clear communication and support. My background supporting children in the home and in intensive care has given me a deep understanding of the unique needs and challenges children, young people and families face.”

One child who benefits from Tracy’s support is George who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy. His mother Rebecca said:

“Tracy has and continues to help me in every way she can, she is my go to person if I need anything. We’re very lucky to have her available for us to contact.”

Josh Lilly. from Barnt Green is also supported by Tracy and his mum, Natasha commented on the impact of having Tracy in their lives, said:

"It was a lot easier, more personal, more in-depth. We got to learn more about the machine and it's just nicer to have a friendly face in your house.”

Tracy’s manager, Sadie Clayton, Nurse Consultant said the post would bring vital support to children, young people and their families who have neuromuscular disease and complex care needs. She said:

“The needs of children, young people with neuromuscular disease can be complex, requiring involvement of many specialist teams, frequent health care reviews and multi-agency contacts. Tracy will work closely with all to ensure a high quality service is provided. UHNM is delighted Well-Child have supported this specialist role for the benefit of our patients and families.”

WellChild’s Children’s Nurse programme began in 2006, and its success has resulted in the creation of 53 posts across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It was established to address a clear gap in the provision of care and support for children with long-term serious illness and complex conditions. In addition to keeping families together and benefitting a child’s development, it is often more cost efficient to care for a child at home than in hospital.

Matt James, WellChild CEO, said: “We are working to ensure that the essential service now provided by our network of WellChild Children’s Nurses has a long-reaching impact. Our target is for every seriously ill child or young person to have access to a WellChild Children’s Nurse, and thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our supporters, I am delighted that we have now been able to extend that support to Staffordshire.”

WellChild continues to fundraise to add to its team so that these children across the United Kingdom will benefit from its services. For further information about WellChild’s work please see wellchild.org.uk.

By Isobel Mcfarlane - Contributor