Nurses don’t let Shakespeare’s birthday celebrations get in the way of patient care

On Saturday 23 April 2016 people lined the streets of Stratford upon Avon to celebrate the legacy of William Shakespeare, 400 years after his death.

During the day there was a program of activities to mark the birthday of Britain’s most famous playwright, including the annual birthday parade through the town. To accommodate the parade lots of the roads were closed, which posed a challenge to Stratford’s District Nursing team.

Aware of the event and how busy the town would become with people travelling from all over to attend, the District Nurses started to work on a plan to ensure that long traffic jams and road closures wouldn’t impact on them getting to their patients and giving them the care they needed. The solution was rely on a new mode of transport, bikes.

After looking at maps of the town and working out the best routes to each patient, the Nurses pumped up their tires, oiled their chains and set off on their bicycles for the day.

Jacqueline Hall, District Nurse said: “What went from being quite a stressful situation, turned in to a great success. Our patients received their care without any delays and we became more 'fit for practice'. It was a really good opportunity for the team to show the general public how important exercise is in leading a healthy lifestyle, something we regularly promote to all our patients.”

Whilst the Nurses are a mobile team, their reliance on bicycles won’t become a permanent change due to challenges with carrying equipment and of course the English weather. However it was a great temporary solution that had patient care at the heart it.

Notes to editors:

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Photo caption (left-right): Elaine Harrison, District Nurse and Chantelle Walker, District Nurse

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