Appeal for nurses to help Irish Cancer Society provide end of life night nursing

Nurses are urgently required to help deal with a spike in demand for end-of-life care at home, the Irish Cancer Society said.

The charity has seen a 20% increase in requests for its night nursing service which cares for patients who choose to die at home.

Increasing numbers of patients are now being cared for in the community due to the coronavirus pandemic, putting additional pressure on the night nursing team.

The virus has also resulted in reduced funding for the Irish Cancer Society which may now struggle to meet growing demand for its services.

Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power said: “Our Night Nurses perform a free and vital service for cancer patients at an incredibly difficult time and we want everyone who wants to avail of this support to have access to it.

Throughout this pandemic the Irish Cancer Society Night Nurses have provided over 1,000 nights of care to help people spend their precious final days in the comfort of their home.

“However, demand for the service has increased by 20% and we are concerned that we may not have enough nurses at the moment to reach everyone who needs our help.

“As a result, we really need more experienced nurses to provide care for as many people who want to avail of this service as possible.”

The Irish Cancer Society offers its free Night Nursing Service to palliative patients being cared for by family and friends in their homes.

The service gives help and support to these carers, especially at the advanced stage of the patient’s illness.

The Irish Cancer Society night nursing service is complementary to the community palliative care team or the community primary care team.

Details on applying for a role can be found on cancer.ie/jobs or by emailing [e-mail].

Irish Cancer Society services such as Night Nursing are funded by donations from the Irish public.

- To donate, go to cancer.ie or phone [phone] or [phone].