Empowering Nurses, Improving Care: The Impact of HELP’s Development Programme
Giving nurses the confidence and skills to deliver compassionate end-of-life care, and inspire change across their teams
When one of the participants shares that the education course or programme they’ve just completed has changed their life, it’s probably safe to say it’s been a success.
When two make that claim about St Christopher’s Nurse Development Programme, it looks like it’s well and truly started to fulfil its aim of nurturing and sustaining a thriving workforce of nurses who care for individuals with serious advancing conditions and those who are grieving.
For the programme’s commissioner, Kate Heaps, Chief Executive of Community Hospice and ICB palliative care Clinical Lead, and Leonor Pacheco, who designed and project managed it for St Christopher’s, this positive feedback is gratifying but only one part of the story.
Yes, one of the goals was to empower early career nurses to improve end of life care skills, but they also wanted this cohort of 30, representing all settings, to share their new-found skills and knowledge with colleagues, thus delivering systemic change. Listening to those who’ve just finished the programme, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Tope Idowu, who only qualified in January 2025 and works as a District Nurse for Oxleas NHS Trust, speaks for many of her fellow programme members when she says she was immediately drawn to it, in the hope it would help her overcome her fear of caring for people at the end life.
“Whenever I’ve had a palliative patient, I’ve been terrified thinking what am I going to say, how will I do the assessment and will I be supportive enough for them and their family. So, I didn’t need a second invitation.”
When it came to the content, it was the mix of the theoretical and practical that really struck home for many, as evidenced by Harmit Thaker who graduated in 2013 and, during the course of the programme, was promoted from Band 4 to Band 6 working in geriatrics for Lewisham and Greenwich Trust.
“I have learned so many things – sensitive conversations, communication skills, how to use a syringe driver, symptom management and other practical skills. So many things. It’s totally exceeded my expectations.”
With the assistance of the Hospice Education and Learning Programme (HELP), Leonor recruited colleagues with a wide range of experiences to teach at the sessions. Both Leonor and Kate were also determined to ensure the nurses enjoyed first-hand experience and the week-long placement at either Community Hospice or St Christopher’s had a profound impact on participants – perhaps none more so that Bukola Adedoja who works for Guys and St Thomas’ Trust (GSTT), having qualified three years ago.
“The placement was very interesting, and I really enjoyed it because I was able to do more practical things, not just in the class,” says Bukola.
“I was able to see so much. My mentor gave me lots of knowledge about home visits, bereavement, how to talk to patients and families when someone dies. I had to support a patient with medication and talk to the family. It was a lot, but I enjoyed it so much.”
That’s not to say the ‘classroom’ element of the programme didn’t land well too. Doris Frisby, who started the year as a District Nurse at Oxleas and finishes it as Practice Development Nurse in End of Life, enthused about the monthly sessions.
“I couldn’t wait for the next module. Every time we came in it was a wealth of knowledge and was so good.”
Likewise, Tope said: “The lecturers were really brilliant with their experience and knowledge that they had to share.”
“I couldn’t wait for the next module. Every time we came in it was a wealth of knowledge and was so good.”
Likewise, Tope said: “The lecturers were really brilliant with their experience and knowledge that they had to share.”
It’s the transformational effect the programme has had that’s really striking. Words like ‘fortified’, ‘huge’ and ‘grown’ only scratch the surface.
Tope identifies the programme as the source of positive change in her co-workers as well as herself.
“As a result of this course I have been put in charge of my palliative caseload, and we have a very big palliative caseload. It’s a lot of work, but doing this programme means I’ve been able to take on this responsibility. I’m so glad I can do this.
“The programme has fortified me as a nurse and as a person too. I lost my sister during this course and some of the things I have learned have really helped me and my family. It’s empowered me to be less anxious around the end of life. I now feel able to empower colleagues and families too.”
Tendai Mvura, a three-year qualified Staff Nurse in urology at GSTT, recognises the impact the programme has had on her team too, but most of all on herself.
“I have really grown in the last year and am so much more confident. When we have a palliative patient now I know how to care for them with confidence using the information we have gathered here.
“Before this programme I thought I wanted to be an oncology nurse. Now I want to be a palliative Clinical Nurse Specialist. It has changed my life, not just professionally but personally too.”
The ‘platform’ of knowledge and confidence provided by the programme has had an equally profound effect on Doris Frisby.
“It has changed me as a nurse. When I joined, I was a District Nurse and during this time I have been promoted. This course helped me in my interview, has helped my development as a nurse as well as the families I support.”
All of the nurses gained a better understanding of the importance of taking care of themselves too – perhaps best described by Harmit.
He said: “Personally, I am looking after myself better. It can be overwhelming and to look after others the first thing you need is to look after yourself. For me, that means taking breaks, meditation, taking exercise and eating good food. The impact is huge.”
With 12,000 people a year dying in Southeast London, Kate Heaps, while pleased with how the programme has gone for the first cohort, acknowledges that the programme may only be scratching the surface. When you review what she says they’d set out to do, it’s hard to rate the programme as anything but a success though for those who completed it.
“We wanted to create a programme that exposes nurses to palliative care experiences and to give them a flavour of what hospice care looks like. We also wanted to increase their general level of knowledge and confidence so they can then share that with their colleagues to enable positive change in their respective work setting.”
For Leonor the change has been tangible.
“You can really see the difference,” she says. “The stories the nurses now come and tell are positive. They arrive at the sessions and tell us things went really well. You can see how it’s impacted their practice. Our goal is not for them all to move into palliative care but to upskill them because most people don’t die in specialist palliative care.”
There are 30 places available for the 2026 programme and applications are open until Sunday 4 January. Find out more and register here.
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