|  |  |  | | | | Information giving and the helpline nurse | | | | |
| |  | |  Nurse helplines
Release Date: 1 October 2008
Helpline nurses are increasingly being used in cancer care to provide information about these serious diseases to the general public. Many charities now employ trained nurses to provide over-the-phone information and successfully provide confidential advice and support
Martin Ledwick qualified as a nurse during the eighties and worked in urology, changing to oncology during the following decade. This led to a post as a helpline nurse at the then Cancerbackup. He has completed professional nurse certificates including the former ENB and an MSc in cancer nursing and care of dying patient and family, and in health promotion. He now works for the charitable organisation CRUK.
The information nurse team comprises of nine nurses to answer individual enquiries from the public. Last year, the team answered over 10,000 enquiries ranging across all cancers. Martin said: "We carry out a user satisfaction survey of our phone and email services each year and the responses we get are consistently positive. Our users find it easier to talk to someone anonymously by email or telephone, especially about difficult issues. Also many of the relatives and friends who contact us may not have easy access to their loved ones healthcare team, or may want to discuss issues privately with someone who is impartial and anonymous."
Their public-user resources include the phone helpline, a website with a news and resources section housing cancer statistics and science information; and a patient information section at www.cancerhelp.org.uk which enables a large population of users to access the charity’s information.
Last year, their website saw over one million users. Martin, who is head of the information nurse department, said: "It is unique in that it has the only clinical trials database available publicly which we specifically aim to write in patient friendly language."
There is an ongoing programme of training and education to help keep the information nurses up date and develop the specialist communication skills they need. Martin said: "We also have weekly clinical supervision as a group with an external supervisor to help us reflect on our practice and deal with the any emotional impact that the work sometimes brings."
Debbie Gibbs, RN, has worked as a cancer information nurse for two years. "I worked on a busy teenage cancer unit for five years before becoming an information nurse," she said. "I was always aware of the importance of information provision while working on the wards, but sometimes a lack of available resources or the business of the ward, made it less possible to meet the information needs of patients or their families. What attracted me to this work was being able to spend time answering questions from patients and their relatives, to help make sense of their situation."
"It has been a steep learning curve, and I enjoy the opportunities to learn about the different types of cancer and the issues raised for individuals. I get a lot of satisfaction from retrieving information and learning something new everyday," Debbie said.
Jean Slocombe’s experience as a clinical nurse has contributed to her information role, and she said: "After over 20 years working with cancer and haematology patients in the NHS, I came to work at CRUK - for a change. I enjoy the challenge of using my existing skills and knowledge in a completely different setting. I am asked a huge range of diverse questions about cancer, I have learnt an enormous amount."
She feels that haematological malignancies are particularly complex in nature, and said: "In order to make treatment decisions patients need to understand very complicated information about their condition. We receive many calls from haematology patients and their families and friends.
Having additional time to talk things through with a helpline nurse, can be very supportive when people are struggling with difficult issues."
She said: "I enjoy being constantly stretched and having opportunities to extend my knowledge and developed communication skills. Leaving the NHS and working for an organisation like Cancer Research UK, gives you a different perspective. But most of all I love having time to talk to people and listen to their concerns, which is what this job is all about."
Support services user distribution at CRUK
 | 36 per cent of enquiries are by email |
| 64 per cent by telephone - 25 per cent of the enquirers are men |
| 48 per cent of enquires are relatives and friends of people affected by cancer. most of the rest are cancer patients or people worried about cancer or wanting to reduce their risk of getting cancer |
| 10 per cent about clinical trial with a relatively high concern
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| Approximately 5 per cent of our enquiries are about haematological malignancies (including lymphoma and myeloma) |
Martin Ledwick is Head Cancer Information Nurse at Cancer Research UK (CRUK). Leukaemia Research work closely with CRUK in research into blood cancers, collaborations into clinical trials and Cancer Research Technology (CRT). Together they currently have a number of successfully joint funded research programmes around the UK.
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