Family praise "exemplary" nurse
Sister Jo Reece
A family have praised a nurse for her “exemplary” compassion. Sister Jo Reece cared for 95-year-old Gladys Green, originally of Smallthorne, when she was admitted following a stroke earlier this year. Mr Graham Green has now written to thank Jo and the team on behalf of the family.
Mr Green, a retired charity manager, of Kidsgrove, said: “During our family visits the attentive care of mum and the additional help we received was wonderful. We were allowed to visit any time and all of our questions and concerns were allayed. We were offered hospitality and we were given private time so that we had an opportunity to reflect and to try to comfort mum. In her final hour we were notified in the change of her breathing rhythm and given the opportunity to come and see her.
“At the time of mum’s passing the nurse in charge was Sister Jo Reece, who found us a quiet environment where she could console us and advise on processes. You can’t teach compassion, but she did this in a very calm way with sincerity.
“We really thank the whole team for their caring professionalism and their end-of-life care, but we would like to pay special thanks to Sister Jo Reece. Her leadership qualities - giving clear instructions to staff, enabling them to achieve necessary results and constantly giving practical help - are second-to-none. It was clear that she is well respected by her peers, possibly due in part to her being the first to get gloved up and quickly respond to ever-changing situations on this very busy ward.
“It is so refreshing to meet someone who goes about their daily work with such diligence and commitment. As busy as Jo was, she has the ability to just freeze everything around her and focus on one issue at a time, to deal with it and move back and forth, directing other staff to various priorities.
“Sister Jo's skillset is exemplary along with her nursing qualifications and she is such a great asset and an ambassador for the NHS. We were very fortunate to have Jo looking after us.”
The Green family have given Jo the UHNM Hero award in recognition of her outstanding empathy and compassion.
Lisa Thomson, director of communications and UHNM Charity, said: “When you’re caring for people when they’ve had a bereavement or a loved one is at the end of their life, everything you do and say makes a massive difference. It then becomes about taking care of the people who are left and what they remember. Everyone has done amazingly and to say thank you by writing in like this is just lovely.”
Jo was presented with her UHNM Hero certificate by Lisa Thomson, director of communications and UHNM Charity
Jo said: “No matter how busy we are, caring for palliative patients is always of the upmost importance to us. We work as a team and it’s lovely to be recognised as one. It’s such a morale boost for everyone to hear about the difference they’ve made.”