Nurse of the Year ‘makes you feel there is someone there for you’
A tribute to the RCN Nurse of the Year 2018, arrhythmia nurse specialist Angela Hall, by her patient the Rev Mark Bond
I have been a patient of Angela Hall’s for some time. She is a particularly warm person. She always greets you with a smile and really engages with you. For her, it is not just about me and my heart, it’s about the whole of me.
I’ve been on this road for ten years and initially would see the consultants, but over the past few years I’ve had Angela as the regular person who monitors my progress and how my heart’s going.
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One of the great differences is that this has meant we have built up a strong relationship, and from a patient’s point of view, having someone you can just pick up the phone and speak to is wonderful, especially if anything changes.
‘She always responds so very quickly’
You want to check that you are not being affected by the drugs or the condition. You can get hold of her, and she always responds very quickly.
I have had several cardioversions, and Angela is always there, so I get a sense of continuity and she can tell the doctor my story. Like a good patient I try to be involved in my condition and manage it myself as well, and Angela is good at pointing me in the right direction for things to read and information.
Because you can get hold of her very quickly and she always responds to any call – and responds with such warmth – you feel there is someone there for you.
‘I know that if I have any problems she’ll be there’
I don’t like to take any medicine unless I know why or what it’s for, but she always has the time to explain whenever I try different drugs, so I feel confident I know what I am taking.
There is a sense of continuity as she manages my waiting and all the things involved with it.
I know that if I have any problems she’ll be there. Wherever I go I have one person who I trust to do what needs to be done, and Angela has been wonderful. I’ve had amazing care.
Mr Bond is rector of St Brelade’s parish church in Jersey