The Palliative & End of Life Care Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in palliative and end of life care in a social care or hospice setting. This unique event recognises initiatives within social care and/or hospices, led by care professionals, that improve how people live and die towards the end of their life. The awards shine a light on the complex role social care plays in this area, which often encompasses the care of people living with dementia, complex physical and neurological disorders, as well as other life threatening conditions.
These prestigious awards took place in June, and James Cranswick, Registered Nurse of Cherry Holt Care Home in Retford proudly made it as a finalist of the Excellence in Palliative Care Nursing Award (Independent) category.
James was nominated by the homes’ Clinical Lead Laura Harding, who highlighted his clear determination to drive positive change and his passion for ensuring the highest standards of palliative care for all with his extensive hospice care experience.
Laura Willows, Home Manager has said that James is “a vital part in the running of the home. His passion for his job enables him to be a strong communicator, and his ability to get support from and work with external health professionals in challenging situations is second to none, with residents care, comfort and best interest always being his top priority”
James and Home Manager Laura at the awards ceremony in London
James has worked in the healthcare sector for over 20 years. We’ve asked him to share with us a bit about himself and why he is so passionate in the work that he does:
“I’ve been a nurse for 13 years and a carer/senior carer for 9 years before then. In a care home I worked in, there was a Lady who had a terminal illness and we grew close. I took time on my days off to take her out to enjoy the time she had left. When she died, with her sons permission she left me a suit to go do my nursing interview. I’ve learnt a lot in my years of hospice care and this experience is something I’m proud to bring to Cherry Holt.
Palliative care is my biggest passion in nursing, and this has grown from many years on a surgical ward seeing end of life patients bypassed on ward rounds because the surgeons couldn’t fix them and ultimately leading to poor symptom control at the end of life. I work hard, alongside everyone in Cherry Holt, to ensure that residents receive the best end of life care, achieving excellent symptom management, giving them the peaceful dignified death they deserve
The team we have here from maintenance, domestics, kitchen, admin, activities, carers, seniors, nurses and management are all fantastic. It’s a privilege to work in a home where people genuinely care about the people we look after”
Well done on this fantastic achievement James!
