awarding excellence in transition nursing

Last year we told you how our nurses bring the medicine and the magic to T ˆy Hafan children, how our one-to-one care differentiates us from nurses you’d meet on a ward. They are wonderfully skilled nurses and clinical care is always at the forefront of what they do, but they bring a little something different too, that T ˆy Hafan sparkle that lets families make the most of the time they have together.

To aid their transition, Sophie Williams, who has been a nurse at Tˆy Hafan for almost 20 years, has been appointed our first specialist transition nurse – a post funded by UK-wide charity, Together for Short Lives.

The transition stage is classed as between ages 14 and 18, an already complex and anxious time in a teenager’s life, and it’s become obvious that more specialist and focused care is needed as they shift from paediatric to adult palliative care services. Sophie has seen lots of these children come and go, but she’s also witnessed young people live far beyond their life expectancy and well into adulthood.

Despite only having been in this post since 2018, Sophie’s made huge improvements in the transition support we offer young adults and has already developed new initiatives to empower young people who are close to graduation age, as well as those who are in adulthood.

Through innovative methods, Sophie bridges the gap for young adults and their families and guides them through a new major step in their lives, ensuring that they’re prepared as a family for the changes around health, social, education, independence and even housing too.

Her incredible work has not only been recognised by Tˆy Hafan and the young adults she supports but also by RCN Wales after being awarded the RCN Wales Suzanne Goodall Paediatric Nursing Award in 2019.

Here’s what RCN Wales had to say about Sophie:

“Sophie has been exceptionally innovative in utilising coproduction and personal vision to maximise the opportunities for young people with palliative needs to embrace life to the full. This has enabled young people to reach their potential through accessing higher education and enhanced life experience through travel.”

“In her role as a Specialist Transition Nurse, Sophie has demonstrated great skill in communicating with young people with a wide range of physical and learning disabilities about difficult and distressing subjects, including advanced care planning, future treatment options, emerging sexuality and living independently from their parents. This service has been welcomed by both young people and their families.”