Denise and Rachel are both paediatric nurses at the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle and their roles centre around the practical and emotional elements of kidney disease treatments.
Denise and Rachel are both paediatric nurses. Rachel is a general paediatric nurse and Denise is a paediatric renal nurse specialist, meaning she works exclusively with children living with kidney disease. Their roles as nurses centre around the practicality of treatments such as dialysis, but also around understanding the children’s worries and ensuring that they are as comfortable as possible while in hospital.
Denise works with children when they come into the ward for check-ups and treatments, taking practical measurements and observations such as heart rate, blood pressure and temperature. She works closely with children receiving haemodialysis, ensuring that the treatment runs smoothly and that the children feel comfortable and reassured receiving haemodialysis, or any other treatments.
Children adapt very well, and they make a good group of friends.
Rachel explains how part of her role is ensuring that the children are as comfortable as possible when receiving blood pressure tests in hospital. Rachel talks about how blood pressure can often spike in hospital settings due to ‘white coat hypertension’, and how she works with the children to understand their worries and reassure them around the equipment to try and reduce anxieties.
Being a part of that journey with the family at the time is really inspiring.