Firm sponsors Sue Ryder nurse

HENLEY investment management firm Invesco is sponsoring one of Sue Ryder’s hospice at home nurses for a year.

The company usually sponsors the charity’s Woman of Achievement Awards but these can’t go ahead this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sylvia Thomas, head of the hospice at home team, which is based at the Sue Ryder palliative care hub in Wallingford, said: “This is an incredibly generous gift of sponsorship from Invesco who have always been so supportive of our work in the community.

“We are dedicated to bringing our expert and compassionate palliative care services to patients in their homes and our dedicated team of nurses and nursing assistants deliver both rapid response and long-term planned care.

“We have seen an increase in demand for our services over the last 12 months and this really has been the toughest year to work through for our healthcare teams.

“I am so proud of the team, who have risen to the challenge and continued to provide this expert care.”

Nurse Lindsey Pitkin, who works 12 hour shifts, said: “We cover a large geographical area visiting patients in their own homes.

“We support them with personal care and symptom management and administer pain relief and medication as needed.

“We visit patients up to three times a day and we are also there to support the family of the patient with anything they need.

“As well as our visits, there is also paperwork to keep on top of and we liaise very closely with our physio team, occupational therapists, social workers, doctors and bereavement support to make sure we provide the best all-round care package to our patients.”

Claire Myers, charity and community support manager at Invesco, said: “We are delighted to be able to continue our long-standing relationship with Sue Ryder.

“It has been a hard year for all and the work that the hospice at home team does for the community is recognised and appreciated more than ever.

“The palliative care the nurses provide is helping families at the most difficult of times.”