Feature Project – Parish Nursing at the Steeple Church, Dundee

                                    Barbara McFarlana (left) and Davina Dickson (Right)

                                         Interviewed by Varsha Gyawali, FiCDundee

                                   

Recently I met with Barbara McFarlane and Davina Dickson, parish nurses with the Steeple Church Dundee. Parish Nursing ministry provides whole person health care through the local church.

I was keen to learn more about parish nursing so I posed a few questions to Barbara and Davina.

What exactly is a parish nurse  and what role do they play within the Parish?

A parish nurse is a Christ centred registered nurse, who works within the church alongside the ministry team. The roles of a parish nurse are many and varied. This can involve health education, counselling, bereavement support, referring people to appropriate healthcare professionals, networking, training volunteers, advocacy  and some parish nurses administer sacraments. A parish nurse does not divorce the physical care from the spiritual they are intrinsically linked, inclusive of spiritual, physical emotional and social needs.

Is this ministry world wide or just confined to Scotland?

No. Parish Nursing is a world wide organisation,. It started in the USA in the 1980's and came to the UK in 2004. There are over 80 Parish Nurses in the UK, nine in Scotland, the numbers continue to grow.

Tell me about your work and how the project started?

Barbara: I first was introduced to Parish Nursing in 2006 through someone in the Church. What I heard really spoke deeply to me and I felt God challenging me to become involved. I shared this with a few close friends who prayed about it with me. I then approached the Minister and the congregation of the Steeple Church, they too prayed and supported me.

So in 2008 the Parish Nursing Project commenced in the Steeple Church.

The project was initially set up to promote health check-ups. However slowly but surely God opened my eyes to the needs of people on the streets. I started by chatting to them, offered coffee and sausage rolls, gained their confidence and eventually invited them to the Steeple Church for health check-ups.

This evolved, we now have outreach clinics, on a Monday and Thursday from 2.00pm to 3.30pm. At these clinics we provide a warm safe environment for vulnerable people to come to. We provide a warm meal, and if necessary clothing, toiletries, even the occasional sleeping bag for those sleeping rough.  The NHS Health and Homeless team and a mobile dental unit attend on Monday, Lilly Walker Homeless Prevention team attend on Thursdays, working together we provide a wide range of services and support both immediate and on-going.

We are able to do this because of the support we receive from the Church of Scotland, Steeple Church, a local butcher and coffee shop who donate food.  But none of this would be possible if we did not have our volunteers, an amazing dedicated group who come from a variety of backgrounds and ages.

Davina: While all this was going on with Barbara in Dundee, God was busy preparing me in N Ireland. I felt that God was calling me to come to work in Dundee, my previous work and life experience encompassed much of what parish nursing entailed. On completion of the parish nurse course I successfully applied for the parish nurse position in the Steeple church in 2011.  My position is part-time. As well as working with the drop in clinics I partner with the Hot Chocolate project which is a group working alongside young people in Dundee.

How is the project progressing?

Davina and Barbara:

It is growing. In 2012 we had 2210 attendees compare with 650 in 2010.Not only is the attendance increasing so to is our involvement within the community.

A very important link with other agencies was birthed in 2012 out of a simple conversation about resources and who was providing what services in Dundee for vulnerable people. This led to the formation of the Dundee Drop in network (DDI) comprised of a range of Christian churches/organisations, secular groups, statutory, bodies( NHS and Community police) and Hillcrest housing. This group meets quarterly to support, inform and share.

From this group came the publication of a pocket friendly weather proof leaflet detailing the weekly services and service providers for Dundee Drop Ins.  This leaflet is widely circulated in Dundee.

Barbara was invited to share about the Steeple Project and the DDI Partnership with the Health Inequalities Research Group in Dundee University. Dr Fernandez was present at that meeting, he was very impressed by the talk and asked to be introduced to the DDl group.

As a direct result of this contact we are in the early stages of a participant research study. We hope to explore, with the involvement of the folk who use the DDI facilities how best to bring about sustainable changes which may improve the quality of their lives.

FICDundee carried out a needs gaps analysis relating to the DDI group, and based on the findings, a Participatory Action Research has been initiated now along with University of Dundee -  the research aims to identify gaps and needs in service provision for the DDI users and provide evidence for advocating and improving the life experience of these vulnerable people.

What is the connection of your project with Faith?

It is very important to draw alongside people, once a relationship is formed then it is possible to sensitively share our faith and to tell them about God who loves them completely, absolutely and unconditionally. We do not preach we just drawn alongside, accept the person for who they are.

What do you think has been the impact of your work?

It is hard to quantify the impact as some of it is not visible. However we believe and do see evidence that our work has improved the health and well being of vulnerable people in Dundee as well as creating an awareness in our community of health and social issues.

What have been some of the main challenges for your project?

Both nurses feel the problems that they encounter are multi-factorial. They spoke of how people are finding it difficult to cope with the benefit changes and the bedroom tax, so adding more stress to those who are already marginalized. Limited resources, whether volunteers or finances, can sometimes be challenging for Barbara and Davina.   

They expressed that they can become tired and discouraged at times, especially when people who have made progress in improving their lives slip back. When this happens they found the support offered within the church family and each other invaluable. They emphasized that they do not give up on “our folk”, we simply just pick up and start again.

What do you think has made the project accepted by those it  is trying to serve?

One word TRUST!

Explaining their relationship with the people they serve, the Parish Nurses said:

We are respected as nurses, as professionals, but more importantly our folk see and experience our care for them; having been in a position of providing not only food, personal healthcare, been to visit in hospital, prison, court, sat on the pavement and listened they know we care and trust grows. In their own way they become protective towards us. We are not naive we understand the grip addiction has on their lives and how difficult it is for them to cope with day to day living. We choose to show compassion and love because of our faith in God.

Any message for those who are planning to start similar projects like yours?

·         Start small and take time to prepare before setting things up.

·         Identify gaps before you start any initiative, there is no point in duplicating work.
·         Network  Both within your own organisation and  the community
·         Understand  and accept your strengths and weaknesses
·         Get in contact with the DDI group.
·         Be patient and resilient.
·         Be resourceful.
·         A good sense of humour goes a long way!