Meet Michelle, our Clinical Governance Lead Nurse

Clinical Governance Lead Nurse means that I am responsible for ensuring safe nursing care is delivered to the children, young people and their families, who are under the care of Demelza. 

I have oversight of the Nursing and Care Team and ensure staff are supported and any learning and training opportunities are identified early on. My team are instrumental in developing competencies and capabilities across care and family support and as such, I work closely with the Deputy Director of Nursing and the Director of Clinical Services to advise on our strategy – to achieve our paediatric palliative care initiatives and health care agendas; ultimately safeguarding Demelza’s children and their families. 

"Whilst Michelle is currently working through the ‘induction’ phase of her new role, she explains what her day-to-day will look like going forward:  

"Right now, I am trying to meet as many members of the Demelza family as possible, to gain a real understanding of how my team and I can be as effective as possible. I have spent a lot of time going out into the community with our Nurses and Gemma (our Occupational Therapist), which has been really interesting. 

"My role involves keeping up to date with the latest care practices and trends in care delivery; so, for example, if there is a new piece of equipment, we will compile a competency and training package to ensure that everyone is safe and competent, to reduce the risk of harm. 

"I will be working closely with the wider Clinical Governance team to co-ordinate mandatory training and drop- in sessions to support members of the Care team. 

 "I see my role as having an oversight of incidents; ensuring our staff feel supported and are able to grow from them and make changes so that we work better. I ensure we have policies and procedures in place to support practice, as well as ensuring the risk register is up to date and the risks for care are actively being reduced or eliminated. 

"Clinical audit is a great way of benchmarking and making sure that we do follow best practice; my team are responsible for the audit programme and supporting this within the clinical areas. 

"What I am looking forward to the most is having the ability to make a real difference to both our staff and the children and their families. It is a privilege to be working within a nurse led organisation alongside extremely experienced Nurses and Health Care Assistants; who provide the highest standard of care across our Kent and South East London hospices and within the children’s homes in East Sussex. 

"Whilst Michelle jokes that her biggest achievement with Demelza so far is successfully finding her way to all three of our sites, we are thrilled to have her within our Clinical Governance Team." 

Our nursing team is the heartbeat of Demelza, and with compassion and expert clinical care all wrapped up in one they give children and families the vital support they need.

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